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It is a pretty well-known fact that upon entering a Japanese dwelling, one's shoes must be removed.  All Japanese houses and apartments have a specialized open space, located just inside the front door, where shoes are taken off and stored -- it is called "genkan" (玄関) and for more details, see the link below.  After shoes have been removed, it is OK to go into the house just wearing socks or even barefoot.  However, many Japanese prefer to use slippers, which keep their feet warm and clean.  House slippers are sold at department stores, home improvement stores, footwear stores, etc., and usually there is an entire shopping aisle with nothing but slippers.  There is a huge variety of slipper types, sizes, and colors to choose from.  Of interest, in a Japanese style home, different slippers are often worn depending on the room.  For example, there are "general use/clean" slippers, which are kept near the genkan and worn around the house.  However, a different pair of slippers is worn in the toilet room and bathing room.  Also, yet another pair of slippers is worn while out on the balcony hang-drying clothes.  The floors of the genkan, the toilet room, and the balcony are not as clean as the rest of the house, and therefore Japanese are careful not to spread dirt, dust, and/or germs, by using a variety of specialized slippers.  When you come to our office, and we go to see a house which might be rented, you will notice that we will always provide & wear slippers while walking around the house.  We hope you will visit us soon and enjoy living in Japan!  

Written by Goodfield                        

Links:

"Genkan" entry room/vestibule

https://us.iino.cc/blog/blog.html?eid=00024

Toilet room, Bathing room

https://us.iino.cc/blog/blog.html?eid=00154