Japanese Sandals: 下駄

げた。。。下駄
カランコロン　
カランコロン
私のげただ。

This time the topic is geta !
WHY GETA?
Because I am obsessed about geta... he he Urgh, I am not going to do the informative type of blog about geta because I am just going to tell a story LOL

To put things short, geta is Japanese wooden clogs or sandals, worn with yukata (summer kimono- very thin and not as heavy as real kimono that has layers and layers inside).
I asked my Japanese friend if I can wear it with shorts or just with plain western clothes, and he said no, it should be worn with wafuku (Japanese clothes). Shux, anyhow, I should respect it :D

A good geta is made from paulownia wood because it is very light and for many other reasons which I am not familiar with hahaha

Seriously if you want to know lots more about geta go to wikipedia LOL

Anyway I bought 3 pairs of geta sandals in a shop in asakusa just a couple of streets away from Sensouji temple. I'm familiar with the owners, a pair of lovely ojiichan and obaachan, and this is the thing about me, I came across this shop by accident.
I got the sandals, and forgot to take the business card and just too busy talking to the owners.

The geta that I've uploaded on this website are custom-made by the ojiichan fit only for me.
He adjusted the fabric thong to fit my chubby toes LOL


When my mom wore it, obviously it could not fit her feet well.. ha ha ha ha
She also asked me "why are your heels outside the thongs, not inside the thongs"
I said to her "I also asked the same thing to the seller but they said it is how you wear it"
And I have the answer to the question.
To balance! You'll know why when you own and put on a pair, I hope the sellers will explain it to you and I think it also depends on the type of geta you buy! :D

I opted for the 2-ha (2 teeth) geta, they are really pretty and more traditional, harder to walk in than the modern ones where there's just one continuous heel for the geta.

Anyway, geta is different to zoori, the Japanese sandals where geisha maiko usually wear or just with really pretty kimono(s).

For this pair, I paid around 7000 yen-ish. Not bad for a pair of traditional Japanese sandals. The ones I bought for my priest and my son were slightly more expensive, the wood is really nice and smooth. The guys' geta are square-ish and of course really BIG. Mine is for females so the dai (台)is more oval. Dai is like the shape of the sandals.

And I think if I wear it with my yukata to the Tanabata festival, I will wear my hair like this.
ha ha ha ha with a little bit of kanzashi (hair accessories) pin somewhere at the side. hehe
Too bad I can't go to any of the festivals.. :( sad....

Now, what about this picture??


WHY Do i post a picture of another type of wooden sandals here? hahahahaha
Because this is Indonesian 'geta'.
We call it bakiak (ba from bark, ki for key, ak from whack). so ba-key-ack. :D
Sorry, I have really poor examples LOL

Now I will explain the difference between Indonesian bakiak and Japanese geta.
The most obvious is, we wear bakiak to dirty places LOL
To the toilet, to the super slippery dirtiest market places, and usually good ol grandmamas wear them.
We wear them because they are not slippery and the thong, yea not the nice fabric thongs like the Geta, they are made from rubber band ha h ah ah aha h ah a

And they nail it on the two sides with 2 small nails and you're done. hahahahaha

Very simple, not artistic, we just think of the use not the esthetic value like the Japanese does. :D
Bad thing about bakiak, well, common sense, wood + water = mouldy bakiak(s). LOL

So after we use it, we usually dry them out in the sun but even if we do so, they still get mouldy.
sigh...

Anyway, I really miss the shop in Asakusa, and I hope I can go to Japan again before I start any new job (still hunting) LOL.

Then, gonna go to Ryougoku and take my beloved Toshiba rice-cooker back to Sydney.

I love my brown coloured rice-cooker. It's like my baby.... he he he he

By the way, I don't know if it is just me, but when I buy something, I love it so much that I wipe it everyday just to get rid of the dust.

Am I a clean freak? ha ha ha ha

Anyway, enjoy the blog, gahhh!!!

Cheers,
XOXO
Sasa