{"id":5499,"date":"2021-02-15T10:00:41","date_gmt":"2021-02-15T01:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vhbloglive.wpengine.com\/?p=5499"},"modified":"2021-01-28T10:38:13","modified_gmt":"2021-01-28T01:38:13","slug":"how-to-organize-your-genkan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/japanese-apartment-life\/how-to-organize-your-genkan\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Organize Your Genkan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

First time living in a place that has a \u201cgenkan\u201d? Wondering what\nto do with it? Check out our tips on how you can organize your genkan! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While modern apartments across the world share many similarities,\nthere are some notable differences. One new thing that you might discover upon\nmoving into a Japanese house or apartment is a \u201cgenkan\u201d. A genkan is a place to\ntake your shoes off and set them aside when entering a Japanese home. Virtually\nall Japanese people take their shoes off when entering their homes. While it\nmight be the norm to wear shoes in the house in your home country, we suggest\nadopting a \u201cshoes-off\u201d household when living in Japan. Since it\u2019s considered\nimpolite and dirty to wear shoes in the house, any Japanese guests you have\nover will probably be put off by the sight of you wearing shoes in your home.\nIn addition, you\u2019re more likely to scratch or otherwise damage the floor if you\u2019re\nwearing shoes (especially if it\u2019s tatami flooring) and be required to pay for\nthe repairs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If you\u2019ve never lived in a \u201cshoes-off\u201d household before, you might\nfind yourself mystified by your genkan. Aside from shoes, is there anything\nelse you should keep there? Are there any special items that you need to buy\njust for your genkan? Don\u2019t worry, we\u2019ll explain everything! Here\u2019s a guide to\norganizing your genkan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Keep it\nClean<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Your genkan is the first thing people see when they enter your home,\nso it\u2019s important to keep it clean. Make sure to clean up any mud you track in\nright away. Part of your genkan will usually be made of cement, tile, or\nanother material that\u2019s different from the flooring in the rest of your home.\nIt\u2019s usually a material that\u2019s easy to clean dirt and debris off of, as the\ngenkan is meant to be a transitional point between the outdoors and your home.\nSweep this area out at least once a week. Additionally, you might want to use\nroom spray or an aroma diffuser to keep your genkan smelling fresh. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Shoe Storage <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The main purpose of your genkan is to have a place to take off and\nstore your shoes. Some apartments come with a cabinet or shelves intended for\nyou to keep your shoes in. If your genkan doesn\u2019t have one, it\u2019s a good idea to\nbuy one. When looking for storage, think about the size and shape of your\nshoes. If you have boots, you\u2019ll need storage that can accommodate their long,\nslim shape. Adjust your shelves accordingly. If your genkan is very small, you\nmight have to keep only the shoes you wear regularly in it and store the rest\naway elsewhere. Those with the space for larger shoe cabinets or shelves should\nthink about keeping a box for shoe polish and brushes inside. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Genkan Essentials <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Aside from shoe storage, there are a few other things you\u2019ll want\nto keep in your genkan. Umbrellas are usually kept in the genkan so you can\neasily grab them on your way out. If you have space, you can get an umbrella\nstand, but if your genkan is tiny, you should opt for a small rack to hang your\numbrellas from. It\u2019s also a good idea to keep slippers for your guests at your\ngenkan. It is considered good manners to offer your guests slippers in Japan,\nand they might think less of you if you don\u2019t have any. You should also keep a\nshoehorn in your genkan. Even if you typically don\u2019t have trouble getting your\nshoes on, you might have elderly visitors that\u2019ll need to use it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Other Things You Might Want for Your Genkan\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Depending on the size of your genkan, you can keep far more than footwear in it. If you have a larger genkan, you can store your bicycle in it. To keep your bicycle from getting in the way, consider installing a bike rack on your genkan wall. You may also want to keep a dish with your watch, keys, and any other items you forget to grab when running out the door. In addition, you can add some trinkets or other decorative items to make your genkan look nicer. Alternatively, you can keep a small plant or two in your genkan to liven up the space! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

First time living in a place that has a \u201cgenkan\u201d? Wondering what to do with it? Check out our tips on how you can organize your genkan!  While modern apartments across the world share many similarities, there are some notable differences. One new thing that you might discover upon moving into a Japanese house or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":5506,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-japanese-apartment-life"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5499","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5499"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5499\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}