Get Your Geta!

[nebosuke]

I just thought I would post this in case anybody had interest in purchasing geta for themselves or somebody else, but aren't in Japan. I had wanted some for a while, but finding a good pair is hard enough, finding a pair in my size is near impossible. Anyway, I came accross a site maintained by a great guy who obviously has passion for geta and wants to share them with the world. He has many styles in a good variety of sizes, and many different hanao to choose from. He also sells some nice zori, also with many options. I received mine in only 3 days (including Saturday and Sunday) from him, I do live in L.A., so that helps. Anyway, for anybody interested, the site is at http://www.karankoron.com , and the english version of the shop is at http://www.karankoron.com/online_shop_geta.html .

[thomas]

They also offer cheap yukatas. Nice page, might add them to our directory.

[Scott]

Woah! Nice. I'd like a pair of those too. Are they hard to walk in?

[moyashi]

walking in them depends. Running is an art that needs good balance. Also, wearing them for a while gets tiring. They don't have an arch inner sole so that is the only draw back.

Although they do make you look taller.

Years, I mean years ago. There was a fashion of wearing super high geta. These days zori are much more popular but yet ... regular sandals seem to be easier to wear.

But don't get me wrong. I won't let my wife throw away my pair no matter how old they've gotten.

;)

[samuraitora]

@moyashisensei
I am only 6'2" tall...should I get a pair of the super high getas???...LOL

[moyashi]

ugh got me beat by 2 inches. I'm like 182cm and with a pair of standard geta, I tower over almost everybody.

One got thing about geta is that resoleing them (??? lack of better vocabulary) is pretty easy. 2 blocks of wood and some screws

[samuraitora]

LOL...never thought of having to resole them

[moyashi]

pavement wears the blocks out pretty fast. Mine have rounded alot just after about 10 times of using them.

[samuraitora]

wow...what a short life span.

when would you use geta?

[nebosuke]

10 times?? Did you run marathons in them? Are they as worn down as these?

[moyashi]

Dam, that pair are worn about half way. No, but then again it was hanabi time and I was out dinking ... so, the amount I was floating around between tables ....

But the wear and tear looks similar as to the page that you posted Nebosuke.

cheers and enjoy your Geta !

[nebosuke]

Sounds like you got good use out of them!

[samuraitora]

does it hurt your feet to wear them???

[photokyo]

I think people get used to them. I have a pair of SETTA, which are the tatami style ones. Here is a picture of my sexy legs wearing them (rofl):

http://www.photokyo.com/showpicture.asp?number=366

[deborah gormley]

wow they are great!!

but I do think that the one tooth geta would require the balance of a ninja, or get some kind of walking aid to assist you while wearing them,, but I suppose they are an aquired art form, are these one tooth geta worn mostly by the older generation after years of wearing the two teeth regular type??

[moyashi]

@ site
hey, not bad ... I'm gonna have to cruise the site when my wife's isn't looking over my shoulder ... too many pics, I wanna slow down and savor over .... ;)

@ geta

They're pretty easy. Feel like you'll fall face forward but beyond that not too difficult.

I tooth geta probably came about after one tooth fell off ;)

[Stradini]

I really want tengu no ashida geta...I plan to visit akai hanao no jojo when I visit japan (this winter)...have to pick 'em out special and in person...

[moyashi]

[georget98]

Actually walking on tengu geta is not especially difficult. The hard part is stopping and standing still 15 minutes daily practice for a couple weeks and you'll be able to stand on one foot.

The geta in the photo are 20 cm tall and were given to me by Jojo the owner of Akai Hanao no Jojo when I visited him at his shop in Morioka last May.

I learned to walk on 12 cm tengu geta and the above ones are a bit scary to wear away from things to lean on.

I wanted geta for a long time but didn't know where to get them. When I got on the internet, I met a Japanese woman who sent me a pair, but there was still a lack of information.

So, looking for a snowy winter weekend project I started The Geta Page. I'm getting about 20,000 visitors per year to the page, so there seem to be a lot of us out there

[thomas]

Wow, they look great indeed!

At 191cm I wouldn't dare to wear geta, at least not without helmet.

[moyashi]

geta-zoku in japan

[nebosuke]

Those are great georget98! I also read your page when I was searching for a way to get a pair. I wish Jojo sold tengu geta in my size on his site, maybe I can special order some day, or drop by the shop to talk him into it if I ever make it over to Japan again. Thanks for the photo!

[georget98]

Nebosuke, how big do you need them? (I assume you need big, not small)

The tengu geta in the photo are 25.5 cm and I wear a US men's size 10 1/2 shoe.

consider the following in putting little geta on big feet:

• the two sides of the straps are the same length, but the one on the outside of your foot should be longer. this causes your foot to rest diagonally on the sole, so the effective length of a 11 cm wide and 25.5 cm long sole is over 28.5 cm.
• where the bottom of your heel touches the ground is a few cm forward of the "shoe" back of your foot.
• geta are normally worn with the foot hanging off the back.

Actually, in the world of geta, 25.5 cm is big for me. 24 cm geta are only a bit on the small side but not unwearable.

Jojo does not actually make geta at his shop. He attaches the straps to soles (dai?) he buys elsewhere. I think he gets most of his stock from wholesalers, probably in Asakusa (Tokyo), or Hiroshima. His brother DOES make geta.

Jojo's brother also has a shop in Morioka but was not there the day I visited. I did see some regular geta, but he had many pairs of miniature and other decorative geta on display, too.

[moyashi]

hehe, I have a regular pair that barely fits. I went through several shops to fit my 10 1/2 or 28.5 size foot. My heel hangs just about the right amount off the back. The straps though I stretched to fit my foot in though.

ugh, I wanna go to a matsuri

[deborah gormley]

wow now thats high!! thats the hight I would need being a small 5'2, lol but they sure do look scarey, and I would take thomas advice and get a helmet, knee pads,elbow pads (hehe)