Yes, to us Westerners it looks weird and strange...like you are

peering into an ER in a hospital hahah! I had noted that when I first arrived 8 years ago and thought ...how weird! haha!

But now it is just taken for granted to me. Firstly, you must know how germ phobic the Japanese are and how cleanliness obsessed IMO the culture is ...but the word 'obsessed' is just a foreigner's opinion.Over the years there were some cleanliness habits which made common sense, once you got used to the weather here. During summer, you always see shoes and slippers and runners drying outside in neat pairs, having been washed. After a rainfall, you see umbrellas opened up in row (very photogenic subject! hehe) and drying outside homes etc! (we in the west just let them dry folded up, right?). At the entrance to stores (banks, department stores etc) there are umbrella clear narrow bags in which you put the wet umbrella in to avoid drippings inside!

If a person has a cold, adult or child, he/she will use the mask to prevent germs from spreading, so the belief is. So now, tis flu season and more masks will be worn, especially in schools. Also the mask actually is worn during very cold mornings to avoid inhaling the cold air, which can make you cough!

You can see this concept of PURITY of belief also in the majority of WHITE colored cars!!! and white cheap cotten gloves worn by drivers, taxi drivers, garbage collectors etc. You also take your shoes off when in many offices as dental or doctor rooms, homes etc. so as not to track in dirt! This is just Japanese culture. Now I try to buy shoes which are the slip-on kind! haha! or use a shoehorn! hahahaa!

I must be the only one who wears black driving gloves haha!