A genkan is the entrance area of a Japanese home where you take off outdoor shoes before crossing onto the indoor floor beyond. Your shoes stay on the entrance side of that boundary. The Japan Forum
Find the boundary before stepping in
Pause just inside the doorway and look at the floor before walking farther. In a typical home, the genkan is lower than the rooms beyond it. Saitama Prefecture's household guide explains this arrangement as a way to keep dirt from shoes out of the house. Take off your outdoor shoes before crossing onto the main indoor floor. Saitama household guide
A ryokan is a Japanese-style inn; shoe removal does not happen at the same point in every one. Aichi's official ryokan guidance describes shoes coming off before entering a guest room, with some inns using the entrance hall instead. Aichi Now
When you arrive with a bag and follow someone to your room, look for instructions or wait for the host to show you where to stop. The building's front door alone does not tell you to change footwear immediately. If you are unsure, ask before carrying on.
Use the designated shoe space
Kanagawa's accommodation guidance asks ryokan guests to leave footwear in the designated area and use the indoor slippers provided. Follow the host's directions: use a rack or cubby if you are shown one, or leave your pair on the entrance floor if that is where the host points. Visit Kanagawa
Once you know the spot, leave your own pair together and clear of the route in. If shoes are left on the entrance floor, a neat arrangement is with the toes facing back towards the door, ready for your return through the entrance. The Japan Forum's guide describes guest shoes left this way. The Japan Forum
Slippers stop before tatami
Tatami are the floor mats associated with Japanese-style rooms. Saitama's household guide describes them as straw mats and says to remove slippers before entering a tatami room. Leave the slippers at that room's boundary. Saitama household guide
Easy-to-remove shoes can simplify repeated changes during a trip. JNTO
Before heading outside, return any borrowed slippers to the place the host indicates and change back into your own shoes at the entrance.
Shoes for repeated changes
Choose shoes for the walking you plan to do, with easy removal in mind.
🛒 Browse slip-on walking shoes on Amazon →Amazon paid link
