Genkan

Genkan is the sunken entryway you step into when you arrive at a Japanese hotel room, ryokan, or private home. The floor is lower than the rest of the room, usually stone or tile, and that's where shoes come off, before you step up onto the wooden or tatami floor. In high-end places (Aman Tokyo, Hoshinoya Tokyo, any decent ryokan), the genkan of your suite is its own little theater: a stone slab, indirect light, your slippers waiting in line, sometimes a folded kimono on a stand. It's also a useful place to put wet umbrellas, ski boots, or muddy hiking shoes. Practical and ritualistic at the same time.