CULTURE

I haven't experienced that much unsual cultural custom either in Japan or USA...
Most people seem to have ordinary lifestyle, though I really don't know what is normal or not.

One thing I can say is that Western people walk into their house with their shoes on.
For Japanese people, floor (tatami) is the place for eating and sleeping.
We also lay babies on the floor directly.
Therefore, we always want to keep the floor clean and are very reluctant to step on the floor with our shoes on.
However, Western people do not have the culture of sitting directly on the floor.
They sleep on bed, eat on table, and sit on chair.
May be they feel uncomfortable and defenseless when they are walking barefoot.

I think Japanese people are making distinction between "UCHI" and "SOTO" by taking off their shoes when their enter house.
Without taking off our shoes, we can't really relax in private, and by putting on our shoes again, we can shift our mind for public.
I'm really interested to know the real reason behind this cultural difference:D