question about removing shoes
 

I have a foot problem that requires orthodics in my shoes. It is painful to walk without using them. What is the best way to handle this in homes, restaurants, bathrooms etc. I could try to remove the orthodic from my shoe and put it in a slipper. Any suggestions are welcomed!

Which country/countries are you traveling to ?

Sorry, we are travelling to Japan

I have been to Tokyo twice and never remember removing my shoes in any restaurant or bathroom. However, I never went into anyone's home.

Most western style, as well as large restaurants don't require you to take your shoes off...but traditional Japanese or smaller establishments do. Many places have special bathroom slippers for toilet use only. Every home requires you to remove your shoes before you enter. Slippers are only worn in the parts of the restaurant, house, building etc, where the floor is NOT tatami (woven mat). Where there is tatami, the slippers are removed too and you wear only your socks or go barefoot.

The slippers are slide in type and are are one size fits all, usually on the small side. Homes and high scale restaurants will have fabric covered slides. Public buildings, cheaper restaurants and such will have plastic slides.

I honestly don't know if an orthotic would stay positioned in the slippers. If possible, you might wear the orthotic inside your socks...or layered between two pairs of socks? I say this because even once you are inside, the slippers are taken off and put on many times...on at the doorway, off in the tatami area, on to leave the tatami area, off to use the bathroom where you put on seperate slippers...see what I mean?

You may also want to consider just leaving the orthotic inside your shoes if you can manage room to room movement without them.

Good luck!
Kim

Hmmm, this is a tough one! In private homes and restaurants you would not need to walk very far. I would think you could manage it without your orthotics.

The situation of more concern is sightseeing in a place like a temple or historic building that will require you to remove your shoes and then do quite a bit of walking. I can't imagine the orthotics staying in the slippers -- it's hard enough to keep your feet inside the slippers.

Maybe you could use medical tape to affix them to your feet inside your socks?

The only other solution I can think of is to bring your own slippers that you know the orthotics will work in. They would need to be soft soled and of course pristine on the bottom. Maybe a pair of those fold-up leather travel slippers that have backs? You can show them to the official and indicate that they are clean "indoor" shoes.

If you are going to do a lot of this, it might be worth getting a second set of orthotics and keeping them in the slippers.

The only other solution I can think of is that you get a few pairs of hospital-type cloth shoe covers. I'm not sure if you know what I mean - they are usually blue or white cloth, rather shapeless shoe covers that go on over your shoes and stay put with elastic will fix around your ankles. I've been given them a few times when touring a show home in the states, for example. You could bring a couple of these with you, and even ask your hotel to write you a quick note in Japanese explaining that for health reasons you need to keep your shoes on. The reason for taking shoes off is for sanitary reasons, which would be mitigated by the use of the shoe covers. You might get some funny looks, but they'll chalk it up to "strange foreigners", and you wouldn't offend anyone, IMO.

Good luck!

Andrea, that's a GREAT idea! Steelhead, that is what I would do.

Thank you for all the suggestions. We are looking forward to a great trip.

Now that I think about it, I did take my shoes off in a restaurant. The place had tatami mats so I was in my socks and had to put slippers on to use the toilet, which had a tile floor (who would want to walk on a toilet floor in socks?) There were slippers of various sizes outside the men's room door.