CLOTHING
ALTHOUGH JAPANESE are becoming slightly more casual, they continue to be rather
more careful about the way they dress than people from other contries. Therefore,
when you are planning the wardrobe you will wear in Japan, it is wise to plan to be
just one level dressier than you might be in your home country. People will form an im-
pression from the way you dress, so it is to your advantage to have nice-looking clothes,
even if they are casual.
In Japan you will have many occasions for removing footwear and putting on slippers
inside homes and in Japanese inns and restaurants, so it is highly recommended that
you bring at least one pair of shoes which do not have to be tied and that you leave
at home boots that require elaborate lacing. it is awkward, to say the least, to have to tie
and untie footwear in narrow spaces where other people are standing by waiting for you.
It is much easier to use the longhandled shoehorns that are provided and slip gracefully
into no-tie shoes. This holds true for both men and women.