If you are looking for large shoes in Osaka, you might want to check out Otto, a shoe shop located in Tenma, Osaka that caters for the more gaijin sized foot. I was originally introduced to this shop by good friend Beb. This shoe shop is famous amongst locals as there is a sign that reads「もうあかん、やめます！」- mou akan, yamemasu – which roughly translates from Osaka dialect to “It’s no good, we’re finished / closing down”.

As people from Osaka are always on the lookout for a bargain, this closing down sale sign has brought in a lot of customers. And it’s been doing it for the last 20 years. I guess after the first few months, people’s suspicions may have arisen. But now, this hilarious sign has become famous for being completely ridiculous.

At least it made me laugh and I even bought a pair of shoes. Now that is effective marketing!

So, if you are a gaijin with big feet and need some shoes then I would recommend Otto. I was able to find some smart shoes and sneakers and they weren’t too expensive. Here’s a map to the shop.

On a trip to Kyoto, Waka sensei, my friend Naho and I stumbled on a shop that stocks swords and samurai armor called Tozando. It was a treasure trove that the makers of Kill Bill would be proud of. In fact, the craftsmen who made the armor stocked in the shop also made the armor used in “The Last Samurai”. According to the assistant we spoke to, the armor and swords were all made recently but the armor was modeled in the style of the Sengoku period or “Warring states period” roughly 1478 to 1605. The craftsman ship was just incredible and this is a store I highly recommend you visit if you are in Kyoto.

The owners of Tozando kindly let us film in their shop and patiently answered all my questions.
http://www.tozandoshop.com/

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Here is the famous saying “猿も木から落ちる” – Saru mo ki kara ochiru

This literally means, even monkeys fall from trees. In other words, nobody’s perfect.