Toilet slippers are a must-wear inside the toilet in Japan.
Japanese culture places significant emphasis on cleanliness and separating clean from unclean spaces. This is particularly evident in bathroom etiquette, where a designated pair of slippers, known as toire surippa (トイレ スリッパ), are kept specifically for use inside the toilet.
Why Toilet Slippers?
- Hygiene: Wearing toilet slippers prevents the spread of dirt and germs from the bathroom floor to other parts of the house.
- Cleanliness: It's considered polite to avoid tracking potentially unclean surfaces into living areas.
- Cultural Norm: Using toilet slippers is a standard practice and expected behavior in most Japanese homes and public restrooms.
How it Works:
- Before entering the toilet, remove your regular footwear.
- Step into the toilet slippers provided.
- After using the toilet, remove the toilet slippers and switch back to your regular footwear before leaving the bathroom.
The toilet slippers are usually left just outside the bathroom door for the next person to use. In some households, there might be a sign reminding people to change slippers.
