Do you have any shop recommendations for women with larger shoe sizes that typical Japanese sizes?

@@shiina8543 try amazon my kid got a pair of geta from there for her demon slayer cosplay

What a great memory! Thanks for sharing ❤️

I used to call it zori in my youth, why I don’t know but all the kids called them zori in my neighborhood.

OMG, I grew up calling them zori too; my father lived in Japan for a bit when he was young and retained some words so we always heard it at home. Took me more years in life than I want to think about before the reason why clicked ^_^;;

WardaDelphinia yess! It’s a really got way to deal with vintage kimono 👍🏻

I am a giant (178) so finding the right size on budget is difficult. Might try pairing the too short one with skirts, I see this combination a lot and love it. Though I am still shy wearing it out in public, I would be even more with a western combination.

@@BillyMatsunaga why you wear small size of traditional shoes?

Lenore talon thank you!! I’m glad you like this video ❤️ living on a farm and wearing kimono, that sounds so wonderful!!

Billy Matsunaga you are very kind.

me encantaria ver tus chanclas o tabi y con tus uñas pintadas 😋😋😋😋😋😋

Ghost Street thank you so much for your kind words. This really means a lot to me ❤️

iloveragdollcats hey! First sorry for the typo. They are called “nimaiha” ... btw, thank you for pointing that typo out to me 🙈🙈🙈 (so embarrassing) I usually do recommend ukon Geta to get used to walking in Geta itself and the move on to nimaiha. 😊

abdoulay siby thank you so much!! ❤️

If your zori has those flaps on the underside you can remove the small pins there carefully with some pliers and open them to find the knot. You can then thighten the knot and put everything back together. It's what I do with my zori both when they are too thight and too loose. I usually only do this with the front knot and not the two in the back but it depends on the hanao.

Regine Gamlem thanks for jumping in for me!! I’ve btw never tried that. Is it hard to do?

Avery George it’s like Regine wrote in the comment. I’ve btw never tried it myself 🙈

@@BillyMatsunaga Depending on the age of the zori it can be, especially if the pins have rusted a little or if the knot inside is made of plant fiber instead of the usual cotton thread. If you have a pair of zori you are not too fond of with these flaps you can try and see for yourself and practise on them. I often find the hardest bit to be putting the pins back in since they are kind of poking in different directions to stay put.

@@Snailirific Thank you for the details! Footwear stores in Japan do these kind of things for free, so I never will have the urgent to practice 😅 but it is very cool that you can manage to do this by yourself. Please keep on sharing your experience and knowledge that I can't provide on this channel. In comments or in any other form. That really helps!! 💖

oh I should have watched the entire video first before commenting, you answered my question at the end ahah

Hi, I think (some) Japanese (mostly elderly) just find it awkward when you don't wear "wafuku" as a whole "wafuku outfit". Japanese are very good in drawing lines and "yofuku (western clothes)" and "wafuku (Japanese clothes)" are totally different things that shouldn't be mixed up. Luckily that way of thinking is changing step by step. And yes, when you wear geta with jeans today, ppl would also stare at you. Although mixing the shoe types was pretty normal in pre-war Japan.

Was hoping it was clear enough in the video: Geta are always casual! (Unless you’re a geisha)

@@BillyMatsunaga Ah ok, thank you for clarifying :)

You're actually supposed to get geta where the back of your heel hangs off a tiny bit because of how they're supposed to balance

Hi there. I am in rural NC. Check out and see if there are any local events or groups around Japanese culture( you may be surprised). I started taking ikebana classes near my hometown and ended up being able to wear kimono when I helped my teacher set up for Japanese cultural events and wore yukata to my classes. She was also a certified in tea ceremony and had her own kimono to wear so she was a great help when it came to helping me put outfits together. If you are worried about wearing full on kimono in public just because, you can always incorporate separate items into your wardrobe. I have made skirts out of old kimono fabric, and you can also incorporate things like vintage kanzashi etc.

I know it's a little harder than just saying "Do it" and trusting a stranger, but I know now as a 36 year old that if I could re-live my high school years and wear anything I wanted, I would do it and it would be okay. I've gone from no self esteem in my youth to great confidence and self esteem today. And wearing something that I really like and that makes me feel happy only makes that stronger. Of course, I don't want to look like an idiot who just idolizes another culture or something like that, so you have to throw out that mindset. You know what you know, and the most important thing in my opinion is simply making sure everything fits correctly, because then you can truly feel comfortable. People can tell (to some extent) how you feel about what you are wearing and how you are carrying yourself. I started wearing hair sticks several years ago for example and it made me stand out a lot more before I treated it as a normal thing, I got lots of compliments because they weren't common at all where I lived so it looked unique I assume. Now that I think nothing of it I think other people also notice it less, because it is just part of MY look now. I believe you can make YOUR look and increase your self-esteem, for sure.

Don't worry what other people think. Just wear it and be you.

They are supposed to be "too small", they are made so that you have a good balance. If you buy ones that are the right size (by Western standards) you will fall over, because your center of gravity is off :)

No. You need zōri in your size. The zōri will then exactly look like in this video 😉

Oh... I've never lived in the US, so I really don't know. Can anyone help out??

eBay, Ohio ohio kimono, privet sellers, flea market, second hand stores, consignment stores, thift stores, antique stores, places like crages list, Facebook, sometimes even speciality stores, places that sell anime stuff or even at anime or Japanese cultural events or clubs. Don't be afraid to Google, Facebook, eBay or ask around, some people even make kimono and accessories. I hope that helps! 😊

The socks are called “tabi” and you don’t have to wear them with geta but I believe you do have to wear them with zori.. white is only required for formal situations

Anji Salz Hahahaha! Sorry for the chaos! That is obviously a typo (that I haven’t noticed until now...🙈🙈🙈😭😭) You can tell, because the kanji are right. If the last 歯 is a “ha” or “ba” seems to be regional. It’s like おはしょり and おはしより or おびしめ and おびじめ.

@@BillyMatsunaga Haha OMG I am glad now! I thought I embarrassed myself haha. Typos can happen so don't fret!

Anji Salz still super embarrassing for me! But thanks for pointing it out to me in comment ❤️❤️

You will have to contact a zōri store in Japan and have them custom made for you. That’s the only way, because 28cm zōri are not mass produced in Japan. (And please don’t wear geta, that would be the wrong formality of shoes.)

Do you recommend any stores that can do this? I’m also just staring to learn Japanese and not fluent in the language, my knowledge is very little. Are there any that accommodate for non-Japanese speakers?

Yes, a tabi video is planned. But I’m not sure to what extend I’ll be able to answer your questions... if there is a shop with kohaze shipping to the US, I’ll let you know!

We are Italian we make shoes to.

There is no deep meaning in any Geta or kimono, you can wear it and no one will judge you.

The meaning is to have shoes and not be naked. Knock it off with the bullshit and wear what you want. The only ones offended are teenage white people

Yeah I mean that goes with most stuff that it is ok unless you are trying to be offensive. If anything it's a compliment to their culture that you are interested by it.

@@CrudeConduct666 Fortunately I am not a teenage white person.

Mironty hi! As I said in the video: they put so much work into zōri and geta, so that’s what they should cost. I hope you’ll have some money on the side to buy some really nice geta or zōri that are super comfortable and you can enjoy for a very long time ❤️