Thursday, December 4, 2008

Taking shoes off

Before I left for Japan, I read in my guidebook:

Don't leave home without ...
1) Slip-on shoes - you want shoes that are easy to slip on and off for the frequent occasions where they must be removed.
2) Unholey socks - your socks will be on display a lot of the time.


And I haven't even imagined how true this was!

In Japan you take shoes off at work. When you arrive, you change into slippers. Any visitors to the office should also take their shoes off when entering, even if just for 1 minute. This is in front of the lab, where we put our shoes.


In Japan you take shoes off in restaurants with tatami.

In Japan you take shoes off when visiting temples and shrines.

In Japan you take shoes off even in fitting rooms in shops.

Every time we go for lunch, they have to wait for me because I'm very slow with putting my shoes on!

And no one in Japan wants to stand out of the crowd, so none of my colour socks are in use. I'm strange enough without them. If only I've known this, I would bring more pairs of black socks with me!

3 comments:

Boza said...

Ti bo Miklavž prinesel črne, a kaj ko nosi že v petek, pa še to le doma.

Boza said...

Tvojih čevljev ne najdem na sliki, ker je veliko črnih, vidim pa tvoj šal na polici.

Tina said...

Moji cevlji so bele adidaske levo spodaj - drugi stolpec.