At a Japanese School

I am sorry I keep posting on my trip to Japan.

I visited a Japanese school while I was there in Ajigasawa, Aomori.

Visitors were required to remove there shoes and put on slippers.

The pupils were not allowed to wear outdoor shoes; they wore sneakers that were worn indoors only. But they had to remove these in the computer room (often in Japan, you are supposed to remove even slippers before stepping on carpet).

The teachers wore a mixture of indoor-only shoes. Some wore smart dress shoes; others wore sneakers or birkenstock sandals.

Dancing Shoes

I saw through the door to one Japanese house that the owner had a large collection of fancy dancing shoes in her genkan (entrance way). In a western house, such a collection would almost certainly be stored in a bedroom rather than by the door (even if the owners usually took their shoes off at the door). However, in Japan, all shoes are stored by the door.

Every House a 'Shoes-Off Home'

My main task during my short-term mission trip to Japan was to put leaflets through peoples' letter boxes. When I am doing that in England (usually on behalf of the Conservative party), I look for clues that the owners of the house might have a shoes-off policy. It was amazing in Japan going past each house in the knowledge that every single one would have a shoes-off policy.

Back in England Again

I am back in England again. I enjoyed being in Japan immensely. I very much enjoyed being in a country where removing shoes in homes (and many other places) was the normal.

What I shall miss most about Japan is wearing slippers in church. It was so comfortable!

Japanese Kindergartens

I have been teaching basic English (numbers, colours, names of animals) at many Japanese nurseries. At all of them, visitors have to remvoe their shoes. Slippers are always provided.

It is a great idea. Nurseries need to be hygienic places for children, and having a no-outdoor shoes rule must help a lot. I once worked as an administrative assistent at a nursery and it was not always as clean as might be desired.