Living in this way is one of the many things that gives japan such a unique culture.
Japanese floor culture.
For example meals are traditionally held on a tatami floor around a low table.
The formal way of sitting for both genders is kneeling seiza as shown on the picture below people who are not used to sit in seiza style may become.
A tatami is a type of flooring material and a mat which is still used in traditional japanese style rooms.
Tatami are more than mats they represent a lifestyle.
In korea floor is used for sitting.
Chairs are one of the many foreign technologies that japan has wholeheartedly adopted but most japanese people would just as soon sit on the floor.
Sitting upright on the floor is common in many situations in japan.
Floor culture is daily practiced in south korea.
There are already a lot of very good speculations answers out there on why japanese and koreans still practice the floor culture today but not much on why and when did this floor culture disappear from the everyday life of the chinese.
Relaxing eating and sleeping on the floor can be comfortable in its own way.
In fact you re more likely to be afforded the luxury of a floor seat at a posh hotel or restaurant than at a cheap one.
When you re in japan even sitting down can be an exotic experience.
This tradition was adapted from the floor culture in china and it was adapted into a more sophisticated tatami culture.