(Illustration by Yukiyo Oda/Stripes Okinawa)

Genkan are the entrance to traditional Japanese houses and are usually built higher than ground level by about six inches, so you can take off your shoes before entering. If you are invited to a Japanese house, be sure to wear your clean socks, preferably the ones without holes, so you can take off your shoes without making your feet the talk of the party. Slippers can be used on the floors, but make sure you take them off when you enter a tatami room.

Machi/cho [town] (Image by Stripes Okinawa)