Killer Crocs Plague Tokyo Station and the Rest of Japan
OMG! It’s the rain time and many folks here are wearing these butt-ugly Killer Alien Crocs® for better “traction”…enough sticky-icky traction to get sucked into the gaps of escalators. The biggest problem is with children wearing Croc-like shoes—not only are Japanese feet tiny but all Japanese have a odd cultural habit of dragging their feet as they walk*.
Soft resin material in sandals blamed for escalator accidents
(Mainichi Japan) April 18, 2008—An investigation into a spate of accidents in which foam resin sandals have got caught in escalators, injuring people’s feet, has found problems with the soft material used in the sandals.
….at JR Tokyo Station in August last year, a 5-year-old girl got her foot caught between one of the steps and the side of the escalator, and suffered a broken middle toe. In its survey, NITE compared resin sandals produced by U.S. company Crocs and seven similar products with sports shoes and other sandals not made from resin. It found that only the resin sandals got caught...more…
*Japanese traditionally like to drag their feet. As my judo and kendo sensai mentioned to me as part of proper form, it’s a throwback to the days of loose zori sandals and especially important as politeness indoors as to not stir up dust from the tatami mats.
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