Bare feet or socks

My boyfriend and I are traveling to Japan at the end of August. So I have been reading all of the travel blogs, but I still have one question no one has answered yet. Everyone keeps saying to bring socks, but is it just as acceptable to be bare. This is so we know whether or not to pack the flip flops. =P

Kari, dozens of threads were found just by typing "bare feet" on the Search devise of this Forum.
http://www.japan-guide.com/search/?cx=015609760794546757367%...

My opinion is that, since bare feet might stink or be dirty depending on the condition of your feet, it is often safer to at least carry a pair of thin socks just in case you need to take your shoes off in front of others. And in Japan, due to the custom, there are many occasions where you'd need to take off your footwear.

Kari,

A large proportion of the local population (male and female) wears sandals/flipflops/Crocs without socks in the summer. No one likes to see dirty/smelly feet, but there is no particular taboo about bare feet, so I wouldn't worry about it.

Feet only usually get smelly if they have been stuffed into socks and shoes all day beforehand.

Feel free to wear flipflops- half the population of Tokyo under 40 is wearing them or other sandals right now. I was at a Japanese style family restaurant this week and made a point of looking at the feet of the people who came to the counter to see if they were wearing socks or not- about 2 thirds were, one third weren't.

The only issue is people step tend to on the back of your flip flops in crowded stations, especially when going up stairs, which can be annoying. There's no point getting irritated though.