Shoes

[Joanna_IshikawaPA]

I'm American size 9.5 of Japanese 25.5/26.

I brought:
Crocs for indoors
Chaco sandals
Converse All-Stars
One pair of heels
One pair of flats
One pair of running shoes
One pair of heeled boots
One pair of boots
One pair of rain boots
...possibly more?

I wish I had brought:
Chaco sandals
One pair of heels
Two pairs of nice flats
One pair of running shoes
One pair of winter/rain boots

Since getting here I've bought multiple pairs of Vans to use for indoor (and outdoor!) shoes because I ended up hating the Crocs. I've picked up some other stylish stuff since I love sneakers, but those have been unnecessary. Basically, I wish I had brought fewer shoes! Even someone with feet as big as mine can get shoes in Japan (in unisex styles) or online (in any style).

[Gizmotech]

Come to think of it, if you have an ABC Mart somewhere near by you can generally find shoes on the "bigger" end. If you're sitting at a 12+ back home you're probably SoL, but I found lots of 10.5-11.5 in them. It's also nice because you can get some better made shoes there. Sadly I only have shoe plaza near me which means the shoes are cheap (which is good), just wear out very easily.

Sports shoes are also easier to get in larger sizes as well, as the sports shops have all the standard north american lines. They might not all have "big sizes" but generally one in the area will stock something that might fit. Xebio for instance has my Asics in stock usually, just at NA prices

[Takoyaki]

Im planning to go with 4 pairs of various coloured vans and one pair of formal shoes, recon that'll do me?

[kawaiijutsu]

Im genuinely impressed with the number of shoes some people managed to bring. I think I fit 3 pairs in with all my other crap. What I've discovered over time is I have inside shoes for each of my schools (you can get those VERY easy here, so dont worry bringing them. you can wear slippers for the first few days if needed), I have some sneakers that I wear around and to the gym, some sandals for summer, boots for the motherloving snow we get, and some dress shoes. My best advice is make sure your sneakers you wear on the way to school are velcro or slipon or something. Or just remove the laces and replace them with rubber to make them slip ons. You will save hours of time this way.

[Siyris]

Im genuinely impressed with the number of shoes some people managed to bring. I think I fit 3 pairs in with all my other crap. What I've discovered over time is I have inside shoes for each of my schools (you can get those VERY easy here, so dont worry bringing them. you can wear slippers for the first few days if needed), I have some sneakers that I wear around and to the gym, some sandals for summer, boots for the motherloving snow we get, and some dress shoes. My best advice is make sure your sneakers you wear on the way to school are velcro or slipon or something. Or just remove the laces and replace them with rubber to make them slip ons. You will save hours of time this way.

Or just tie them loosely so you can slip them on and off.

[pageofwands11]

I'm a girl with size 11 feet (kinda wide too..arg!), size 27 in Japan.
Preparing shoes to bring with me to Japan was also a big concern for me!! ^^
I pretty much gave up finding women's shoes here.... but there are other solutions

Although I brought my winter boots with me, if you are really hoping to save space in your suitcase for other things and don't mind spending the money later when the snow starts falling, you can probably just buy those once you've arrived in Japan.
Same goes for rain boots, unless you are attached to a pair you already own! Although I can't buy women's boots here, some of the men's ones look pretty "sleek" and feminine, so I just went with a basic black pair of those.

Also, indoor runners are something that may be optional for some of you depending on placements. I only brought my one pair of running shoes with me. Only now, almost 9 months into my stay here, have I finally bought indoor runners! Someone mentioned earlier in this thread that men's runners come in all sorts of colours (including pink!), which is very true! I just looked this week and they had a wide variety of many brand names like Nike, New Balance, etc, in various bright colour combinations. So even for girls with big feet, it would save you suitcase space to buy those kind of things later. (I can't buy women's running shoes in Canada anyway, so it wasn't really a big deal for me to wait until I got to Japan!) However, when I went back home at Christmas, I will admit I brought quite a few of my neglected pairs of heels that were waiting for me at home in Canada back to Japan with me...!!)

Main shoes I brought:
- 1 pair basic heels (orientation, first days to school, important events, etc)
- 1 pair sneakers (everyday)
- 1 pair of outdoor flats (heading to work)
- 1 pair of indoor flats (for schools)
- 1 pair of running shoes (for outdoors - if they are moderately clean, you could scrub the bottoms and they would be fine for indoor use too probably!!)

Could be bought in Japan, but brought with me anyways!:
- my winter boots - since they were snazzy I had them already! (I'm also living in Yamagata prefecture in the north. We get a LOT of snow)

[OhNoRiaRobo]

I highly recommend waiting until you speak to your predecessor before purchasing any shoes! My school doesn't require special shoes anywhere excepting the gym, and even then, most teachers just go barefoot or wear their socks. I am also allowed to wear Chucks during regular school days. I could have gotten away with a pair of dress shoes, a pair or runners, and some flip flops.

[KumaNate]

Just a quick note on shoes:

If you are a male above size 9.5 or so and in a rural area, do not plan on buying shoes in Japan....size 10 and above are pretty rare...in Kyushu at least haha.

[shinmei2006]

Anyone wear those Vibram five-finger shoes?

[nicole.ai]

Anyone wear those Vibram five-finger shoes?

My significant other wears them around Sapporo when the weather's nice.

[Roseberry]

Thanks for all the great insight! I'm a tall girl with size 9 feet...I was really confused about what I could get/not be able to get when over there, so it's a relief to see that I wasn't the only one concerned about it ;p

[wiensama]

What about socks? I have a lot of fun socks ( printed and colors) are these generally accepted? My fav pair has little birdies on them

[teabot]

What about socks? I have a lot of fun socks ( printed and colors) are these generally accepted? My fav pair has little birdies on them

i don't think you should run into issues. depending on your indoor shoes, they will likely be mostly or entirely covered anyway. Japan is the land of cute socks, so i find it a little difficult to think that it would be an issue.

[Siyris]

Anyone wear those Vibram five-finger shoes?

I don't wear them to school but I do wear them when I go for walks around my little inaka town's mountains. Really nice to hike/walk in. They're a little hard to get into and out of for the sake of wearing at school though -- takes too long to make sure your toes go into the right holes. However, if you wear them outside of work and your students see them, the kids love it.

[orangedude]

Basically, as a guy with size 14 foot (sometimes 15 depending on fit) who has been to Japan before

1 x comfortable indoor shoes for everyday. Do not let style be an issue. Most teachers wear suits with white sneakers for god's sake. Slip ons/clogs are handy and comfortable.
1x indoor gym shoes. These are for INDOOR USE ONLY.
1 x own slippers for indoor. I never really had these because who can carry slippers everywhere? However NO slippers at places (eg town hall etc) would even vaguely fit me.

Whatever else you want.

Even for a big foot like me I found a pair of snow overboot/gumshoe type things in my semi-rural town.

It's a real pain as an Australian as we only get 20kg luggage (back in the day, USA used to get 40kg, but that might have changed) and big shoes take up SPACE.

For me I am taking some black New Balance sneakers for school (comfortable, black), pair of black formal shoes, thongs (flip flips), wearing a pair of cross trainer/hiking boots, packing another pair of sturdier ones for longer hikes, pair of water shoes (mesh style that dry quick). We have a month holiday when we get there so I can order anything else online.

Basically you can ship stuff before you go so it will be there before or soon after you arrive.

I'm a guy that needs 13 to 13 1/2 sized shoes, so thank you for putting this up! I can't imagine I'm gonna find many shoes in Japan that are my size...