24/7 Ian - Japanese culture watch (episode 1)

I've been meaning to get around to this piece for a few days now, but I wanted to double check a few things with Max first for an insider's perspective, just to make sure I wasn't stepping over the line or making any blinding indiscretions. So thanks Max for the clarifications and additional explanations to some of these points. I hope you don't mind me working your answers into this piece. I feel like I'm proper researching for our travelogue now and everything, even if I did just phone a knowledgeable friend...!

Ever since strolling the streets of Tokyo, we've both observed certain bits and bobs which have stood out culturally. Here are some of the ones that have particularly intrigued and fascinated us. Sometimes we got the explanations behind them ourselves, and sometimes Max came to the rescue.

The first is ladies' toes. Or where they point, to be more precise. A good proportion of the younger ladies, particularly in the cities, both stand and walk along extremely pigeon toed. To an untrained western eye, sometimes this looks reasonably cute and attractive, but often it looks rather odd. More alarmingly, in some cases it looks like it will ultimately cause muscular or skeletal issues if uncorrected, if it hasn't already. Max comes to the rescue, explaining that from a Japanese perspective it's more 'ladylike' to have toes pointing inward (uchimata) than outward (ganimata). It forces the girls to take 'cute' baby steps. From a historical perspective the skirt of the traditional lady's kimono is so tight that the wearer can only take tiny shuffling steps. This is perhaps a modern cultural manifestation. Not everybody delights in this affectation though - Max once saw a diagram in a doctor's surgery showing the dreadful things a pigeon-toed posture does to the skeleton. You can see this in action out on the streets.

Another observation relating to the younger ladies - I'll get to other demographics later, trust me, I haven't just been looking at the young ladies ;) - is that many of them wear big heels. Big as in high, even when climbing mountain sides up to religions shrines etc. But also big as in just way too big - sometimes several sizes! Max comments on the former, saying that he saw one advert that was written in simple enough Japanese for him to understand 'Shoes tall enough to really irritate your dad'! Again, it probably also promotes a gait of little lady-like steps. There is also the pretty universal element of heels just looking good (on a lady, obviously - less so on a man). But as for the shoes just being too big, who knows?! Some we've seen are quite literally falling off like flip-flops, causing the owner to shuffle along. Perhaps a designer bargain in Ginza too good to refuse, even if they don't actually fit? Or the current trend borrowed off an older sister, maybe? I think I'll have to keep pondering this one.

That's all for now, as it's time Claz had a turn on the laptop! Stay tuned for episode 2....