A post about Japanese cleanliness
My kitchen has at least 3 types of rags/towels to wipe up with.
At the bottom of the cleanliness totem pole is the humble "zoukin" used for wiping floors.
Above that is the "fukin" used for wiping cleaner things in general...
But there are sub-categories like the "dai-fukin" used for wiping tables or counters,
and the "te-fukin" used for wiping hands.
New hand towels can be used as te-fukin or for drying dishes (general fukin). Then when they get older, they are demoted to dai-fukin for counters, stovetops, etc (but not the floor! -which is already pretty clean since people wear no shoes indoor).
After its service as a table-wiper, the old dai-fukin becomes a zoukin for floors. After it is all beat up as a floor-wiper, it reaches its last stage of life -for cleaning toilets or the outside.
As long as we are educating here, I should add for those interested that Japanese take their shoes off at the door to their homes as well as in schools, clinics, etc. Slippers are made available in public places to change into. Many people know this, but many do not appreciate that there are also different slippers to put on when you go into a bathroom. At a school, you will take off shoes, put on slippers -ten, at the bathroom, you will take off slippers and put on harder sandal-like slippers made for the bathroom. This prevents cross-contamination and is common sense to Japanese.
= new reply since forum marked as read
I have never really distinguished between "zokin" and "fukin", since they both meant "rag" to me. So when I have asked someone to wipe something relatively clean with a "zokin", I was actually referring to a somewhat dirty rag near the end of its useful life. And no one has ever corrected me about that. 
To us, once you wash a "rag", it is clean. And therefore it can be used for anything, right? That was how we grew up... BUT then again, if you think about it, you wouldn't want to wash your face with a towel I cleaned the toilet with, right? Even if it WAS Put through the washer.
I have to agree, the Japanese have it right. Reluctantly, yes. I once again have to admit that my wife is right. You'd think I'd be used to it by now... 
In a home, ryokan or inn, you removed your shoes and face them outward, toward the door. Shoe storage in a hostel entryway can be rather random due to the number of shoes going in and out.
No shoes or slippers of any type are permitted on tatami floors.
Shoes in the Toilet Room
Many establishments provide special slippers for use in the toilet area. As a visitor to Japan, you should abide by Japanese customs. Slip into the special footwear even though you might consider it tedious. Toilet slippers stay inside the toilet room. You switch from indoor slippers to toilet slippers on a wooden platform at some inns. Switch back to indoor slippers before reentering the rest of the living area.
Before you step off the wooden platform, switch into the bathroom shoes. This is the Japanese way in many inns, ryokans, hostels and homes. Often, toilets slippers are worn instead of bathroom shoes.
Shoes at Japanese Restaurants
Many hotels provide slippers for your use inside the guest room. Many establishments sanitize and clean the public-use slippers daily.
Some restaurants also have a no-shoes policy. In such cases, they may provide slippers and a cubby hole or locker for your shoes. Restaurant personnel direct you to a bench for shoe removal, so you know for certain when it is required. You can also know by watching what Japanese patrons do.
more...http://www.villagehiker.com/travel/japan-travel-shoe-etiquette.html
