They Handed You a Rubber Key. Walk Out Without It and Your Shoes Stay in Japan.
To say shoe box (the numbered cabinet) in Japanese, say 下駄箱 (getabako).
They handed you a rubber key. That is not a souvenir. It is your shoes.
下駄箱
getabako
shoe box (the numbered cabinet)
In this video
- 下駄箱。 getabako. Shoe box.
- 靴は下駄箱へどうぞ。 kutsu wa getabako e dōzo. Shoes in the shoe box, please.
Kanji in this phrase
- 下駄箱
- げたばこ
Why this phrase
At many restaurants, onsen, and temples, shoes go in a numbered 下駄箱, a wooden shoe box. You clip the key on a belt loop or bag and keep it the whole meal. Decode the kanji on the cabinet. Walk out without the key and the box stays locked until staff cut it. One word: 下駄箱.
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