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Remove the shoes before entering a house or hotel.
In the hotels and in the hostel there are safety boxes to store your shoes. When you come to a hostel/hotel you have to be careful where you stand to take off your shoes and be careful not to steer an area already used for slippers! My underside has happened several times to lower myself and lean on a step to get off my shoes and understand sooner that I did not have to do it.The strangest thing is that when you go to the public bathroom of a hotel (not that of your room), there are slippers in the bathrooms, so basically take off your shoes and walk in bare feet or socks and then there You will put on the slippers that are just for the bathroom! This obviously happens in typical places that retain traditional uses. I happened to enter the hotel where the room was made according to the traditional canons but in all and everything was western hotels where this ritual was not foreseen.
What I liked most when I lived in Japan was just that aspect, walking barefoot at home knowing it was a clean environment.
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Instructions for placing the futon. The most amazing thing about the rooms in the Japanese rooms and they look great even though in fact they are not so much, this is because there is few furniture and especially in the case of the bedrooms, there is no bed. It’s amazing how much space you can get from not having a bed. In the Osaka guesthouse where we stayed, we opened the closet where there was the chance to build its own futon and even over the mattress and blankets, the hotel staff gave a sheet with instructions on how to make the futon, This for Westerners like me who have not in theory never done it before. In my case being with a Japanese, I did not need it!
Unlike people I spoke to, I found it comfortable to sleep on the futon, and from the first moment, I found myself comfortable.
The most beautiful thing is that once you wake up, roll up or fold everything and put yourself in the lockers!
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Yukata. Yukata is a traditional Japanese garment used as a dressing gown and worn after bathing in ryokan or traditional Japanese hotels.
Personally, I did not know about this type of informal kimono that apparently is worn in summer even during events or on the road. I discovered the existence when we stayed at a hotel from the traditional Kyoto rooms and found it on the table. It’s not easy to wear, and like all Japanese things, there is a technique and a special way to do it, it has wide sleeves and closes with a belt, obi. I found it very comfortable to use just like it was pajamas.
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Hot towel (Oshibori). When you enter a pub or restaurant, even before ordering, a hot towel is offered to the customer, Oshibori resting on a small tray. Towels besides wiping your hands can also serve your face.
It is a practice that reminded me of the first time I took a plane to the East with a Middle Eastern company where on the plane were giving these hot towels to cleanse the face and hands.
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No smoking. Although smoke is banned in many areas of major cities with special ban on smoking, in Japan you can still smoke in bars and restaurants