Traditional Japanese Sandal Makers Invent Virtually Painless ‘Spongey’ Geta

You’ll probably hear them before you see them. The sound of geta sandals clopping along the street is synonymous with the summer festival atmosphere in Japan, when the blocky footwear is worn by yukata-donning revellers.

But since they are made of wood, geta sandals can be unforgiving on the feet, leading to some decidedly unstylish blisters or cuts for those who have been walking around a festival all day and night.

If you've ever been unfortunate enough to experience this, these new offerings from Nara Getaya will be of interest to you. The Japanese footwear maker based in Nara prefecture have come up with an innovative take on the tradtional sandal so we won’t have to suffer for fashion any longer.

They’ve done away with the usual wood and made the shoes out of a resin material called EVA-R. The flexible and spongey material will ensure comfort throughout your summer festival frolicking.

Apart from the wooden base, another source of pain can be the geta strap which can chafe between the toes. But Nara Getaya have tacked this issue too, swapping out the traditional strap for a pliable and soft resin material which is kinder on the old foot digits. The strap is also constructed in their very own 'I-slit' structure which they claim will prevent any pain, even when the geta are worn for a long time.

There are two designs, the more masculine ‘sui’ has squared edges, and ‘rei’ has a softer, rounder and more feminine appeal.

Although they debuted these 'spongey' geta a while ago in 2013, in response to customer feedback, Nara Getaya refined the design to make the shoes more influenced by Japanese style and also give them a more luxurious feel.

There’s lots of colours available to match with any get-up.

Usually, geta sandals are worn with traditional Japanese garments but, as Nara Getaya show, they can also be paired with casual clothing to put a fashionable twist on your day-to-day wear.