Case of the Missing Shoes

On May 16th I had a wedding in Kameyama (亀山) Japan. Yes, I owe my readers a ton of write-ups on this and the surrounding events, but I’m not ready for all that right now; particularly since I am leaving on the ‘real’ honeymoon just days hence. However, here’s a little humorous bit.

Naturally, Japan is far from America so it was hard for most family and friends to make it to the wedding; however, one couple of friends from America and one friend from Thailand managed to make the trip. The couple, Steve and Denise, who came in from America have a certain love for Japan and so, first stopped in Tokyo to play with other friends before finding their way down here.

Efficiency is important for good, active travel and Steve did a good job of being efficient. In this case, almost too efficient. He packed one pair of shoes which were suitable for hoofing it around for sightseeing and such, but also were nice enough to serve as wedding guest attire. Unfortunately, shortly after arriving in Ise, they were out for a walk and his footwear failed.

He rang me up and in a very understated tone, informed me of a need for some repair. He was interested in some tape or a shop that could quickly solve his troubles. Nothing he said had fully prepared me for the extent of the problem… apparently, from the toe to the heel, all down one side of the shoe, the sole and the upper had come apart. At this point, I don’t think it can be classified as a shoe any longer.

Comparing foot sizes, I found that we were probably close enough that he could use my shoes. I pulled out a pair of running shoes, which I might wear to walk in, but was wanting replacements to do any running. I also had a pair of Panama Jack’s, which are nice shoes, but I rarely wear them in the heat here. Steve managed to survive the remainder of the trip on these two pair.

I thought there was a lot of humor involved in this, but I’m not sure Steve felt the same way. Just one of those trials that pops up in life. I was under the gun to finish writing vows and various other tasks, so you know that’s when something will go wrong.

The next chapter is even funnier, or at least I hope it turns out so. On the wedding night, all the foreign guests went by boat to the airport hotel with us. Steve donned the running shoes and doffed the dress shoes to lighten his load. He saw an opportunity at the dock and put the dress shoes in our car with other goods, my wedding clothes, presents, etc. After the ‘practice’ honeymoon, we returned home and collected all the items from my parents-in-law, but I never found the shoes. Everytime I plan to visit their home, I think “now I can get the shoes!”; however, I always get distracted and forget to ask. Now, everyone’s memory is washing away and the location of the shoes has become a mystery. In the next month or so, I hope to solve it all.

Yesterday I bought new running shoes! They were 30% off on clearance. The display model was the only pair left and they were marked down an additional 10%… I guess that would be 37% off. In Japan, finding shoes about 26 or 27 cm gets tricky, yet these shoes were a nice-fitting 27.5 cm pair. Happiness.

Tags: honeymoon, incident, Japan, mystery, sale, shoes