Japanese take their shoes off when they enter a home..

Japanese take off their shoes as soon as they enter. Homes have a kind of entry hall called genkan which can be very large or quite small. They leave their shoes in the genkan. Then they step up from there into the home. Japanese do the same thing in some Japanese-style restaurants too.

There are usually slippers available, and they wear them in　the home. But they take off the slippers too before entering a tatami room, if there is one.

There are many reasons why they don't wear shoes in the home. One is that, if you remove your shoes before entering the home, the floor stays much cleaner. Most Japanese do a lot of living on the floor. They sit there and even sleep there. It's important that the floor be very clean.

Guests at Japanese home...

Japanese entertain guests at home, but not like in the West. When Japanese want to entertain friends or business associates they normally take them out. That's what entertaining means to Japanese. Japanese believe that a guest will be more comfortable in a restaurant than in homes. Most Japanese live in very small places - perhaps even cramped by western standards. Not all of them have room to entertain at home.

Some homes are suitable for entertaining. Another important consideration for inviting people home is where they live. It may take two or even three hours by train to travel between some suburbs of the large cities. But young people are beginning to visit each others' homes rather frequently.

A Japanese friend might invite foreigners home. Or he or she might arrange for foreigners to visit someone else's home. You'd be very welcome.