Giles Kanreki Suprise
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We are off to see Goto san on Tuesday.
@tokyoGringo will be coming to provide translation services
Goto san is meeting us at the nearest train station and taking us to his work shop, we are round-eyes, so clearly can't be trusted to find our own way
Seriously, that is such a Japanese thing, when we were in Osaka we were approached a good half a dozen times by people who thought we may need help or who just wanted to practice speaking English….That included on Taxi rank man, who left his post for 10 minutes to show us the way to our Hotel. And, as you will know, tipping is frowned upon (positively rude) here, so acts like this are 100% pure kindness..... -
Enjoy the experience, now all that needs to happen is making it to the train station on the morning, everything else is in hand.
FWIW I've never been helped like you guys are/have been in the 6 (7?) trips I've been to Japan. I speak none of the language. Maybe it's you guys are super cute?
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Ditto for me @Snowy , in fact in Osaka a dude who provided concierge at a big hotel went out of his way to be rude to is with the crossed arm thing…..back in Kyoto people we met said "yep, that's Osaka for you"
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maybe you need a @Madame Buttonfly with you…..
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I'm not sure if Giles is saying that we get approached by kind Japanese people because I look cute and approachable, or because I spend most of my time wandering around looking pitiful, lost and in need of help… :-\
have a feeling it's probably the latter!
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Off for the fitting with Goto san at White Kloud tomorrow afternoon - full report to follow
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@Madame:
I'm not sure if Giles is saying that we get approached by kind Japanese people because I look cute and approachable, or because I spend most of my time wandering around looking pitiful, lost and in need of help… :-\
have a feeling it's probably the latter!
Could be both! [emoji4]
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Say hello to Goto-San for me please @Madame Buttonfly , he's a good guy. He actually sent me a message saying that "I will do my best to make your friend Giles happy"….I didn't point out the futility of that statement
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OK. We've been and done it
It was a really great experience and made all the more special when Goto-san told me that I was only the second round-eye to have a pair of White Kloud boots made….. @Madame Buttonfly and @Lindsey will bore you to tears later… This won't be the last time I say this, but a huge and emotional thank you to all involved....
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. . . . This won't be the last time I say this, but a huge and emotional thank you to all involved….
So the process has begun [emoji4]looking forward to updates and, in time, the boots themselves. Awesome [emoji122]
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That's fantastic!
It is also really well deserved! Yes you are better at taking our money than Her Majesty's Customs and Revenue, but look at all we get back in terms of great product, wonderful service and a unique forum. So thank you , Giles.
I look forward to reading more about the experience [emoji4]
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Well said Neph!
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Goto-San just sent this one to me
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So, today we made the much-anticipated trip to meet Goto san at White Kloud!
This is a quick overview of the boot fitting, we have dozens more photos which will be posted later!
Huge thanks to @tokyoGringo for being our top translator and tour guide.
One of the first things we discovered is that Giles in the 2nd non-Japanese person to get a pair of White Kloud boots! (Some darn American got in first!)
We arrived at the appointed time of 2pm and after introductions got down to the first step of measuring Giles’s bare feet: this took quite a while, with comments made on the width of his feet, his very high instep and missing little toes.
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Next step was putting socks back on and trying on several boots to confirm the base size of his feet in White Kloud boots – which turned out to be between 10EE and 10.5EE (with the 10.5EE being a little too long but still a little too narrow).
Once two (unmatched) boots were found which fit well on each foot, Goto san took Giles for a walk around the block to check comfort/hot spots on the boots.
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