It's gotta be the shoes

Over my last 15 or so years of running, I've done most of it in Asics shoes. The 2130 shown above will probably be my next pair. I used to buy the 1100 series (1110, 1120). I tried the 2110s two years ago because I couldn't even find a pair of 1120s at that time in Pittsburgh. The selection over there is surprisingly sparse, even at running stores, where they fill up the shelves by displaying the same 3 shoes over and over again.

Eventually I just gave up and bought a pair of whatever they were pushing at the time - in this case some nondistinguished style of Nike Shox (maybe Saikano?). But it's time to replace them again, and that means shopping for sportswear in Tokyo.

To put this experience in perspective, keep in mind that in Tokyo we're crazy about hobbies and everything related to hobbies. Most of the time, participating in a sport is more than just training, teamwork, effort, or achievement - it's an opportunity to buy "gear". I've seen it on the ski/snowboard hills, where everybody out there is dressed like they've got an endorsement of some kind. But watch out, only a few have actually skied before. As a result of this mentality, there are plenty of specialty stores packed with flashy stuff for you to use - or just show off with - while you train.

One problem for me is finding out where these stores are, exactly. We started with this list from the Namban Rango running club. But because it was compiled in 2002, the "list" is really more of a cryptic, historical clue. We followed the directions to ART Sports Okachimachi, only to find that they now sell only camping equipment. Fortunately, in addition to being cleverly hidden, Tokyo shops are also clustered according to purpose. So by traversing from the camp store to a nearby climbing store, and eventually to an all-things-outdoor store, we eventually got directions to the displaced running store.


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Down an alley and around a corner, behind the JR Okachimachi train station, we found a tiny doorway leading to 4 floors' worth of every kind of running device, tool, supply, accessory, or clothing you could want. That is, assuming that you don't want shoes bigger than women's 7.5, which I'm told they don't carry in Japan. So at the end of this marathon of shopping, I will probably run the actual marathon in shoes that come from roadrunnersports.com.