The Least Useful Guide to Fukuoka

(Retrieved from: https://www.pansy.co.jp/)

It has been several years since I tried a pair of geriatric shoes for the first time. I then seemed to be too young to enjoy a comfort they offer and left them in shoe cupboard until it was fluffily covered with mould.

Now, I think I am old enough, in the middle of menopause, to benefit from their forgiveness.

(The following few paragraphs are about how I bought them—in other words, I will derail a bit)

The purchasing method I took this time was quite analogue. I did not entirely rely on Amazon. I did a little research at local supermarkets and DIY stores where you can find and freely try this kind of shoes. My conclusion was that I should find a pair made of stretchy material (for functional reasons) without Velcro or zipper for fastening (for aesthetic reasons).

Then here they are. I found them at a manufacturer’s web shop and asked the company where I could physically try them on. As the manufacturer does not have a dedicated call centre or chat service to deal with this kind of question, I called directly (LtoL: landline to landline) to the manufacturer’s Fukuoka office.

 I felt quite nervous when calling because they do not have to, and might not willingly help an anonymous consumer. But the lady on the phone was very attentive, trying to find stores as near as possible from where I live, which I highly appreciate.

 By the way, why (in my opinion) are companies with placid and friendly attitude are always unlisted or employees’ own?

(End of my shopping saga)

After all that fuss, I finally got them at JPY2,480 at a local shoe store whose main clients are ladies over certain ages, in other words. Local obachans.

To my surprise, they weigh only 200 grams,

a quarter of the weight of my heaviest shoes

and nearly a third of my trainers.

When I went out putting on them for the first time, the lightweightness of the shoes made me feel anxious. It was felt like walking without anchor or support. I can’t expect a pendulum effect the weight of my shoes might create (I hope this sentence makes sense).

However, once getting used to its weightlessness, I experienced a peculiar sensation: it was like walking without shoes. 

Thanks to their stretchy material and relatively thin (compared to heavier shoes I own) sole, they are more like socks than shoes. Actually, I didn’t feel my feet squeezed in something rigidly constructed. The fingers of my feet  move freely in the stretchy structure.

I am not sure how I might rate this pair of shoes in long term (or whether they could survive in long term), but so far they work well. What I can say at the moment is that they could be comfortable for cycling on Mamachari, probably for long flight or train ride and film-watching. Depending on the floor material (as the rubber sole might stick to the floor), they might also be good room shoes.

And they definitely provide much better cost per wear. I guess they have already exceeded that cost of my five-year-old leather shoes which I have put on only several times.