Why do japanese wear slippers

Zori slippers are modern footwear made from a style known as nuno zori , which are a traditional type of Japanese sandal, and a popular handicraft often seen in the Japanese countryside. Enjoyed for their comfort and sandal-like design, these slippers are a popular choice for indoor comfort.

Their open design keeps your feel cool in summer, and the soft fabric protects your feet from cold floors in the colder seasons. All types of Japanese sandals are made by threading a fabric or sometimes vinyl strap through a sold base, the main difference lies in how the base is made. For geta, the wooden sole, including its teeth, is carved from a single block of wood. This tradition continues today, as modern geta sandals are still created without joints from and individual piece of wood.

Formal zori are usually a fabric-covered wooded block, whereas nuno zori slippers are created by woven fabric alone, which is why they are so soft. These setta are quite unusual in their production as they are designed to be especially comfortable. Instead of a single rope of fabric, the straps are made from three layers of cotton so they the fit snuggly in place and do not rub. The upper sole is made from woven grasses to provide the comfort of a tatami mat on the sole of the foot, but they are also thickly cushioned, and have a deep rubber sole to provide protection from any kind of surface.

Jikatabi by Ki-Yan x Sou Sou. Jikatabi literally means ground tabi socks , and true to that name they are like sturdy tabi socks with reinforced soles , which are worn outside like shoes.

The sole is usally made of rubber, the fabric is coarse, they have fasteners on the side, and they are higher than tabi socks. Although jikatabi are of course unique to Japan, they are not exactly traditional footwear, it might surprise you to learn they were actually created in the 20 th century!

They are favoured during matsuri festivals, often worn by men with fundoshi loincloth and a happi jacket. They have recently been favoured as sports shoes too, and NIKE even created their own jikatabi model called Nike Rifts. The socks worn with Japanese sandals are known as tabi, and are distinguished by the indentation between the big toe and the others, making them perfectly suited to wear with sandals.

Whether or not to wear tabi with sandals depends on the occasion, the weather, and personal choice. Tabi are always worn for formal occasions , usually paired with zori, or sometimes geta. They are also always worn in cold weather , because to go barefoot in winter would be silly! Another reason to wear tabi with zori, is that the strap of modern zori is often vinyl coated and would be quite uncomfortable on naked toes!

You can find a selection of authentic Japanese tabi socks at Japan Objects Store! The similarity between traditional Japanese footwear and flip-flops or thongs for antipodean readers is no coincidence. English speakers have been known to call flip-flops Japanese sandals or even jandals , and in Polish, Serbian and other Slavic languages they are called japonki , japanke or a similar variant. Some wires must have crossed on the way to Russia though, as the flip-flops over there are known as vietnamki!

In ryokan traditional Japanese inns , you are expected to wear wooden sandals called Geta you have an example of these sandals on Amazon for your short walks in the ryokan garden. Usually, you will be given some Japanese socks to wear with the wooden sandals.

The only exception to this slipper mania is a tatami room. Tatami is the traditional Japanese flooring that you will find in most houses, or probably all the Japanese houses. You can only enter tatami rooms using socks or barefoot. It is kind of fragile, so barefoot or socks are the best only option. I know that most of you must be really confused about all this shoe thing in Japan, and I must confess that it took me a while to really understand when and how should I take off my shoes in Japan.

Luckily, there are some signs in Japan that will help understand if you are going to face a shoe problem or not. The genkan are not only seen in houses, but also in traditional restaurants, ryokan, onsen, etc. Another sign in Japan for taking off your shoes is the presence of shelves at the entrance.

If you see lots of shelves, specially with shoes inside, then it is clear that you are expected to remove your shoes. In some places, like restaurants, shelves can be replaced by lockers. If you see lots of lockers at the entrance, it is also a sign. In addition to all these signs, it is not uncommon to see slippers laid out. Ultimately, if you see tatami floors, then you know that you have to remove your shoes and slippers too.

There is a high chance that you will have to wear a different pair of slippers when you visit the restroom. At the restroom, you need to swap your slippers for another pair of slippers made especially for the restroom. Japanese people believe that the restroom floor is not clean so they want to use a different pair of slippers in that room.

Japanese landlords are sometimes reluctant to rent their property to foreigners because foreign tenants ruin the carpets and tatami mats by walking around with their shoes on when living there.

So people from abroad sometimes might have a problem to find a house to rent in Japan. It may be hard to get used to this custom for a foreigner who has just arrived from abroad especially if they do not have the same custom in their own country. However, once you get used to it, your life in Japan will become much easier.

If you have any question, team Guidable is ready! Guidable Japan is a platform that offers guidance to Non-Japanese people who want to visit or are living in the Land of the Rising Sun. However, those visitors of course walked straight into the houses or hotel rooms without taking their shoes off. Japanese people worried that the floor would eventually get dirty and the tatami would be damaged. Slipper was devised to deal with those problems and to welcome people who came from different cultural background.

However, unfortunately, we barely find slippers made in Japan these days.