The Japanese take cleaning seriously. The other day I was at a hotel and I saw the hotel front desk staff cleaning the elevator door track late at night.

Their approach to floors and feet is one of my favourite things about Japan. No shoes in the house. No slippers on the tatami. Designated slippers for the toilet. Completely thought out and sane. Traditionally the Japanese life revolves around the floor - you eat sitting on the floor and you sleep on the floor. As such they built very strong processes around maintaining clean floors.

Shoes in the house is insane. Dogs (and humans) regularly excrete on the surfaces you walk on. Studies have found people who drive regularly traipse in lead around the house coming from petrol refilling.

I find the rest of the world's approach to feet and shoes completely upside down. An old roommate explained to me that only after you walk around your home barefoot do you appreciate how clean your floors are and more importantly how clean your feet are.