Uwabaki (上履き), are a type of Japanese slippers worn indoors at home, school or certain companies and public buildings where street shoes are prohibited.
Traditionally, Japanese people dislike wearing the same shoes indoors that they wear on the street, so they take off their shoes when they enter the genkan or entrance hall and put on footwear designated for indoors use.
At the entrance of every school, from preschool to college, there is an assigned locker for each student to put his or her uwabaki.
In South Korea, uwabaki are known as silnaehwa (실내화). They are worn in an identical manner in schools, hospitals, and other institutions, though they are perhaps less common in private homes (bare feet or socks being preferred instead).
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