Your ‘Sole’ Guide to Socks in Japan
Socks in the West have a slightly notorious reputation; an obligatory Christmas gift to please your father or a fashion faux pas when paired with sandals. But in Japan, the deep-rooted reverence for footwear produces a fascinating market filled with a plethora of multi-colored, wonderfully weird and scandalous socks. For centuries, the Japanese have taken off their shoes indoors, and once they do, they should be wearing good material underneath (10-year-old, socks with holes in the toes won’t cut it and don’t even think about going barefoot.) There is even a special slang term: zettai ryōiki, ...