Why do Japanese tap their shoes?
Probably to make sure its on right or if their feet got bigger before they go out with a shoe that might be all crowded and uncomfortable at the tip of their shoe all day and not able to go home and simply change their shoes if they are running late.
Japanese customs surrounding shoes are not so simple
By taking off their shoes at school, students signify that no matter their family status, everyone is equal once they enter school.
People in Japan hold cleanliness in high regard, taking great care in keeping an immaculate home. This means that their home should not be soiled by the dirt on your shoes. So it is customary to take off your shoes and usually wear the provided slippers.
Chinese superstitions enforce the rule: wearing outdoor shoes inside is believed to introduce “bad luck”, a metaphor for germs, into the home. Going barefoot indoors is also unusual; slippers or rubber sandals being worn instead.
They make noise
— This is actually not true at all. Heel taps make noise and a lot of it. Toe taps really don't make any, unless you start tap dancing with them. But walking like a normal human being you would be surprise to ever hear them striking the pavement.
Taps are tiny pieces of plastic nailed into the sole of your shoe to keep you from wearing down specific areas ahead of the rest. Generally, that's the heel, which absorbs the brunt of your step.
In Japan, the majority of people sleep on the floor rather than in western-style beds. This has always been a part of Japanese customs dating back to the 10th century when people placed hemp mats on the floor before sleeping. Today, many Japanese people sleep on a tatami mat made of rice straw.
Japanese culture mandates that people should remove their shoes when entering homes and other buildings, especially where the floors may have rugs, polished wood floors, or tatami. Uwabaki are light, flexible shoes which are easy to slip on and off, designated for indoor use.
You have to change shoes inside school
In most Japanese schools, everyone has to change out of their outside shoes and into their inside shoes (called Uwabaki or Uwagutsu) when they enter the school. By wearing indoor shoes they avoid bringing in dirt from outside.
Japanese have developed the custom of eating meals sitting on tatami mats, not on chairs. They also roll out the futon on which they sleep on the tatami floor. Therefore, they take their shoes off when entering the house to avoid getting the floor dirty.
What culture takes their shoes off?
In many countries like Germany, Switzerland, Skandinavian countries, Turkey, Japan, Korea etc. it is common use to take off the shoes when entering someone's home. In these countries it is considered a major faux pas to walk through a house with shoes on.
It is common practice in Japan to sleep on a very thin mattress over a tatami mat, made of rice straw and woven with soft rush grass.
In most of Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East, shoes are never worn inside homes, and it can be seen as a sign of disrespect for guests to enter a host's home without leaving them at the door.
Always be gracious. If you failed to let your guests know that you have a no-shoe policy in your home because you did not decide you had one until someone shows up with dirty footwear, asking your friend to take off his or her shoes may feel rude—especially if the rest of your guests are still wearing theirs.
According to the experts, about one-third of the matter building up inside your home comes from outside, much of it being tracked in on the soles of our shoes. And on those shoes, they have found “a high prevalence of microbiological pathogens”.
The Japanese have a lot of rules regarding footwear. Basically, you are expected to go barefoot in Japan pretty much anywhere inside.
In Japan, the majority of people sleep on the floor rather than in western-style beds. This has always been a part of Japanese customs dating back to the 10th century when people placed hemp mats on the floor before sleeping. Today, many Japanese people sleep on a tatami mat made of rice straw.
As such, in many mandirs and mosques, as well as in churches and synagogues of the Indian subcontinent and Middle East, it is customary for worshippers to remove their shoes before entering a house of worship, where they believe they are entering into the presence of the divine.
