Shoes

[coop52]

I wear a US7, so fortunately I have absolutely no problems finding shoes . Here's a list of shoes I think are important to have though:

-indoor shoes- ask your pred about style, but prioritize comfort over everything! You'll probably want multiple pairs for visit schools. Guest slippers suck.
-outdoor work shoes- I wore niceish office lady heels at first, but they wore out so fast! I ended up buying black sneakers.
-sneakers for the gym- they're nice to have for clubs, but if you aren't going to be a part of a club, then you don't really need them.
-days off shoes
-snow boots- you will want some sort of boots that are non-slip, no matter where your placement is. It gets really icy here, and many places don't clear off the sidewalks.

As for slippers/bathroom shoes/veranda shoes, use whatever you like or don't use them if you like. Remember, it's your house, so who cares? I have slippers for the winter for inside the house, but I don't bother with bathroom or veranda slippers. I usually don't bother to change out of my slippers if I'm just running down to check my mail or something.

[kenkennif]

For men:

You can buy any shoes out here up to size 28cm without difficulty from malls or supermarkets.

Thats US size 10, UK NZ AUS size 9.5 and/or Europe size 44.

Don't waste packing space/mailing cost on rain/welly boots if you won't need them for 5 months and you can buy them here.

I brought a pair of black work shoes, a pair of vans, and a pair of tennis shoes.
I've bought rugby boots, new work shoes, rain boots and new tennis shoes and two new vans pairs with no difficulty out here.

Also, when people start referring to 'slippers' for indoors, they're really meaning tennis shoes. That confused me a lot befor I got here!

[Patryn]

My feet are 30cm and I find it difficult to find shoes here. I did find a big pair of snow boots though, so yay!

I bought with me:
2x runners
1x dress shoes (wore these at TOA and maybe 10 times since as I am just in my first year)
1x thongs/flip-flops.

I found some slippers (sandals) that are just a bit too small, but ok to wear inside school. I actually wear my outside runners in the gym if I have to run (the students use the same shoes on the school ground and the gym), but I also just play in my socks sometimes. xD

I have only bought my snow boots and sandals here as I can't find actual shoes that fit me well. I can squeeze into the 30cm shoes that I very rarely find but I have wide feet, so it's not comfy at all! >_<

One tip, if you can't compress your shoes down, just stuff your socks and underwear in them to utilise every available space! haha.

And yeah, the USA JETs have it good with their 2x 50lb bags. Aussies get one 20kg-ish bag only (pretty much half what Americans can bring).

[Kain of the Wired]

Make sure your indoor shoes have decent grip. The floors in the schools get waxed (sometimes) and they can be pretty dangerous. You also need to climb lots of stair in them. Tennis shoes are good.

[ljoekelsoey4]

My feet are 30cm and I find it difficult to find shoes here. I did find a big pair of snow boots though, so yay!

I bought with me:
2x runners
1x dress shoes (wore these at TOA and maybe 10 times since as I am just in my first year)
1x thongs/flip-flops.

are you american? in the UK a thong is really skimpy underwear :L

[Kirari]

My feet are 30cm and I find it difficult to find shoes here. I did find a big pair of snow boots though, so yay!

I bought with me:
2x runners
1x dress shoes (wore these at TOA and maybe 10 times since as I am just in my first year)
1x thongs/flip-flops.

are you american? in the UK a thong is really skimpy underwear :L

I'm an American, and I call them flip-flops (and thongs are skimpy underwear). But I believe that in other parts of the country, flip-flops are called thongs. And isn't that true for Australia, too? Separated by a common language, blah, blah, blah...

*off-topic for a sec* But even within the US, since our origins are a mash-up of so many different nationalities and influences, it can be so different from place to place. My favorite instance was when I was at my friend's parents' house in Pennsylvania - we were sitting down to dinner, and they asked if we needed anything else out of the 'reefer'. OMG, we laughed so hard (if you don't know, reefer refers to a certain illegal drug), especially since his parents are so straight-laced and conservative. Obviously they meant refrigerator, but damn it was funny.

So yeah, shoes! Gotta bring some thongs. A lotta thongs.

[ljoekelsoey4]

My feet are 30cm and I find it difficult to find shoes here. I did find a big pair of snow boots though, so yay!

I bought with me:
2x runners
1x dress shoes (wore these at TOA and maybe 10 times since as I am just in my first year)
1x thongs/flip-flops.

are you american? in the UK a thong is really skimpy underwear :L

I'm an American, and I call them flip-flops (and thongs are skimpy underwear). But I believe that in other parts of the country, flip-flops are called thongs. And isn't that true for Australia, too? Separated by a common language, blah, blah, blah...

*off-topic for a sec* But even within the US, since our origins are a mash-up of so many different nationalities and influences, it can be so different from place to place. My favorite instance was when I was at my friend's parents' house in Pennsylvania - we were sitting down to dinner, and they asked if we needed anything else out of the 'reefer'. OMG, we laughed so hard (if you don't know, reefer refers to a certain illegal drug), especially since his parents are so straight-laced and conservative. Obviously they meant refrigerator, but damn it was funny.

So yeah, shoes! Gotta bring some thongs. A lotta thongs.

hahahaha reefer, yeh, ive seen many an american teen movie

[nicole.ai]

My feet are 30cm and I find it difficult to find shoes here. I did find a big pair of snow boots though, so yay!

I bought with me:
2x runners
1x dress shoes (wore these at TOA and maybe 10 times since as I am just in my first year)
1x thongs/flip-flops.

are you american? in the UK a thong is really skimpy underwear :L

I'm an American, and I call them flip-flops (and thongs are skimpy underwear). But I believe that in other parts of the country, flip-flops are called thongs. And isn't that true for Australia, too? Separated by a common language, blah, blah, blah...

*off-topic for a sec* But even within the US, since our origins are a mash-up of so many different nationalities and influences, it can be so different from place to place. My favorite instance was when I was at my friend's parents' house in Pennsylvania - we were sitting down to dinner, and they asked if we needed anything else out of the 'reefer'. OMG, we laughed so hard (if you don't know, reefer refers to a certain illegal drug), especially since his parents are so straight-laced and conservative. Obviously they meant refrigerator, but damn it was funny.

So yeah, shoes! Gotta bring some thongs. A lotta thongs.

I'm from Oregon, and I've heard people refer to flip-flops as thongs. Not tons of people, but enough to know it's common enough. Perhaps it's a Pacific Northwest thing.

[Anigi]

I'm from Oregon, and I've heard people refer to flip-flops as thongs. Not tons of people, but enough to know it's common enough. Perhaps it's a Pacific Northwest thing.

I'm from Alberta Canada and currently live in Vancouver and I call them thongs, but I also refer to them as flip flops and sandals and I know I am not the only one... so ya it may be a Pacific Northwest thing. Who knows Mind you I also refer to the skimp undies as thongs or g-strings, usually I know what we are talking about when taken in context

[kenkennif]

Australians call them thongs.

My mate here dave's a kangaroo and he's always jabbering on about his immese supply of thongs!!

[btlef0]

Being from Australia, I wonder how taking a pair of thongs with the Australian flag on them as an omiyage (for principals/supervisors etc.) would go down haha

[merkypie]

We call them flip flops or thongs in Florida.
And those shoes are a staple here.

[Kirari]

We call them flip flops or thongs in Florida.
And those shoes are a staple here.

Absolutely a staple. Often preferred by non-Ugg-wearing college students in 40-degree January weather. "I got my swim trunks and my flippy floppies."

[Mordoc]

think of school shoes and other shoes.

At school you will need a pair of indoor shoes - I wear a pair of slippers I bought at Seiyu for about ¥400 in the winter, and Birkenstocks in the summer, you want these to be comfortable as you will be standing a lot. Many of my teachers have shoes they have cut the backs off of or cuts traps off of to make them easier to put on and take off. There are many rooms at my school where you do not wear shoes. People do not look at your feet when considering if you are well dressed. Also, if you go to just a couple of schools, you may want a pair to leave at each school, you will probably have your own cubby for shoes. If you go to more schools, consider indoor shoes that you can throw into a bag, or into your car if you're somewhere that you drive.
You also may need a pair of indoor gym shoes. I usually wear just my socks in the gym for assemblies and such, but when there is an event or doing sports I have a pair of gym shoes.
I have other schools I visit, but I just throw my slippers in my backpack and head off to my school.

For other shoes bring whatever you like. I have a pair of dress shoes that I never wear because my everyday shoes are black and they look good enough with my suit.
As far as every day shoes, find something that you can put on and take off easily. Boots that you have to lace up and take 15 minutes to put on probably won't be your best choice. You have to take your shoes off all the time: when you go into someone's home, at many restaurants, when you go to school, any time you walk on tatami. I have shoes with laces that I just tie in a knot as loosely as possible and have converted into slipons, I never untie them.
I also have sandals for the summer.
Bring a pair of athletic shoes for outside as well if you like.

[mattclough]

I don't know if I can stress enough how little you actually need to bring. Granted, I only have one school, and as for shoes that I actually need, I have two pairs: one for school, one for everywhere else. I also have some flip flops and some boots for inclement weather, but so long as your feet aren't too big (I wear a 10.5 in the states, and I can buy shoes in Japan), you can find all of this stuff here. I highly recommend packing lightly and outfitting yourself once you get here. I was the lightest packed person leaving from DC in my group and 9 months in, I have too much stuff.