Footwear Status: Critical

I've written before about how Japanese shoes don't fit me. Extra large is a centimeter too small for my feet. I'm generalizing a little bit, because I did buy a pair of running shoes when I got here, and they fit me well. But in most shoes - to wear on a daily basis, or high heels, Japanese shoes don't fit me. And my feet aren't that big, by North American standards. I'm a women's 8.5. Not small, but not way large, either.

Why am I talking about shoes again? With 51 days left in Japan, I am in the initial stages of a footwear crisis . I (generally wear my black and pink skate shoes. They still function relatively fine - if the ground is dry. However, due to the four large holes in the bottom, if the ground is at all wet, my shoes become foot soak tubs. It's like walking with my feet submerged in small swimming pools. For business occasions, I generally wear my low black heels or my black flats. The faithful heels are completely decimated. All that remains of the end of the heel is the inner metal post. Not all that stable, and definitely not good for the floor I'm walking on. No problem - just wear the black flats, right? Unfortunately, my favorite black flats have been reduced to sewage. Well, not really. But they got wet (due to rain) and didn't dry properly (my fault - I put them in my shoe locker when I should have left them out in the open). So now they smell like rotting pond scum.

Fortunately, I do still have some low sandal heels (not really business appropriate, but would work in a pinch), a pair of sandals, a pair of flipflops, and hiking shoes. I don't think the situation will reach the crisis stage in the 51 days, but it is most certainly in the commencement stages.