Shoes on shoes off

We don't usually think of Scandinavia as "shoes off" countries, but then I talked to some Americans who couldn't understand why their Scandinavian friends were always hovering around in the entrance if they only visited to pick something up real quick. The mystery was solved when they explained that it's impolite to walk around people's houses with shoes on in Scandinavia. You either take them off or at least ask if you should. Even if the homeowner don't expect you to take your shoes off they might still get offended if you don't ask, so the rules are a bit more complicated than in Japan.