Take your shoes off at the genkan (the lowered entryway) and step up into the house in socks or bare feet, then into the slippers provided if there are any.
Tatami-mat rooms are a further step down: slippers come off again before you walk on tatami. There are often separate slippers just for the bathroom, don’t wear those back out into the rest of the house.
- Turn your shoes around to face the door as you step up, so they’re ready to slip back into on your way out — a small habit that locals notice.
- Never leave the bathroom still wearing the toilet slippers — swap back into your house slippers immediately after. Forgetting is the single most common mistake foreign guests make.