Trying to decide which footwear to bring on my trip, and I know i should be dressing comfortably for the long walks. I’ll be bringing sneakers, but wondered if I should bring my DM boots.
I’m pretty comfortable with doc martens boots but I’m not sure if it can survive 20-30k steps lol. Any thoughts on this?
Edit: Thanks everyone for your suggestions. Yes, my docs are broken in and I’ll be in Tokyo this feb, so major city walking! From your comments, I’ve gathered I’ll be fine walking with them, but the major thing I have to think about is its weight and its “easiness” to remove lol!
by PhoenixPizza
28 comments
Never tried doc marts, but I don’t think my feet would survive 20k steps with boots. 13k perhaps, 20k impossible lol. Even with my most comfortable sneakers, walking 20k per day still made my feet sore.
If you have plenty space on baggage, I would say bring it along with other sneakers. You can try wearing the boots on your chill day.
You should add when you plan on going
Are your doc marts broken in? If they are, 20-30k steps should be fine as long as you’re mostly just walking around cities. If you’re going to do actual hiking in the mountains or something I would recommend proper hiking boots. I didn’t bring my doc martens last time I was in Japan but for reference I wore them in Taiwan and walked 12k-28k steps a day, it was fine
It’s worth noting that, depending on what you want to do, it might be worth bringing shoes you can slip on and off easily.
For example, some traditional restaurants require you to remove your shoes upon entry, and if you want to enter certain parts of some historic attractions such as temples, shrines and castles, you will have to remove your shoes. The same goes for staying in ryokan (traditional Japanese inns), where you leave your shoes at the entrance.
If those sound like some of the activities you have in mind, you may want to wear easy on/off shoes, rather than having to unlace and lace up boots potentially a few times a day (probably more so in Kyoto and Nara than elsewhere).
i prob on avg did 15-20k steps for 2 weeks with my docs and was fine. really depends on how broken in they are and your general tolerance for what discomfort is
If their broken in you’ll be fine. I just got back from Japan and wore them and had no issues!
Sounds like a “no” if you’re asking yourself this question.
Why not take more comfortable shoes that you can take in and off more easily?
I wouldn’t wear docs for that much ch walking honestly
In the summer flip flops worked for every where I went except for Mount Zau (rock shale). Any type of hiking or other boots would have been fine for that. Sneakers seemed to be the footware of most of the locals.
I’ve never owned a pair of Doc Martins, but when I visited Japan, I brought both my walking shoes, and a pair of more fashionable Vaans. I wore the Vaans *once* and regretted it.
Wear whatever you’re comfortable walking a long distance in, because you’ll be walking a lot.
im having the same question, docs are probably the cutest shoe i own- in my case they aren’t really broken in.
As everyone has said, if they are broken in you will be fine. Docs are extremely comfy and great for your feet once they aren’t stiff anymore. I leave Friday and was going to bring a pair, but due to the nature of my trip I needed some specific other shoes so I just don’t have room.
Try Palladium instead.
Will be a bit more comfortable for the frequent, long walks you’ll endure.
Still has style, without sacrificing the utility of what you’ll need.
Palladium boots will also survive any winter you encounter if you plan on walking in snow or slick sidewalk ice at all.
This seems like more of a Doc Martins question than a Japan question.
I wore one when I went 5 years ago. I didn’t have a problem
But I admit, we probably not the 25000 step a day kind of traveler, and back then our trip was only a week.
But yeah, I do like dress up a bit during travel, even sometimes maybe not the best convenience – as I like to blend in and not looking too much like a tourist (ok I am Asian so I could get away with it), and I want to look nice in photo.
If it really become an issue, it will be a very nice excuse for you to buy new shoes there 🙂
You want to wear really supportive shoes, and sometimes that isn’t a pair of sneakers. I wore a pair of Vionic boots, that had a zipper on the side. The high arch and supportive ankle were what I need to go up and down stairs, through the train stations, and walking up hills. They also kept my feet warm. If the Doc Martens are what you’re used to them go with that. But if they are heavy and clunky, the consider going out and finding something else.
I made the mistake of bringing a pair of 1460 industrial docs (actually a lot more comfortable than you’d think,these were soft toe no less) and a pair of Chelsea boots last year thinking I’d pick up some walking shoes in Japan and ended up wearing them the whole time. It worked out but man my dogs were barking near the end of a week.
What season as well? I wouldn’t wear them in summer, your feet would be so hot
I have two pairs of Docs I was originally going to bring and decided against it: one, because one pair hadn’t fully broken in, and two, because the soles on my other boots were heavy. I will say I’m not in good shape so that also contributed to my decision as I needed extra support.
That being said, I saw a guy today at the halfway point at Fushimi Inari wearing these awesome purple Docs which I complimented him on. Wish I had asked him how he was faring in them.
I would say if they’re comfortable, supportive, broken in, and not too heavy you would be good. I would also be prepared just in case you need to buy new walking shoes.
Depends on how broken in they are, just got back from my trip I walked 170 miles in some trainers and still got blisters so maybe you can take them for a day to look cool one day? And wear crocs the next to look cooler
wore my broken in 1460s (like over 8 years old at this point), climbed fushimi inari (30k steps that day) and regularly did 15-20k steps in them. feet did hurt a bit at the end of those days, but a nice soak in the onsen helped out. did the hakone loop in them too. did take a pair of sneakers to switch every now and then but they were my primary shoe.
My docs are broken in, had them for years, thought they were comfy, recently wore them for a weekend city break with lots of walking and now I hate them. It’s the weight of them which will get you, and the more broken in they are the more the padding in the sole gets squished down resulting in more impact on your joints and base of your foot. So I personally wouldn’t take them, I’d look at lighter options!
Trust me on this one. I just came back from Japan. I had a pair of Quechua hiking shoes as I was expecting it to be cold and wet. But I couldn’t survive two days. I had to buy a pair of comfortable gel ASICS. My feet thanked me for the rest two weeks I was there.
I used to wear nothing but Docs, 3 and 10 eyelet. If they’re broken in, 20k steps isn’t a problem at all.
But anything with a lot of laces is gonna be a massive pain in Japan because on/off.
I would not wear boots for that many steps. I’d wear good running shoes or walking shoes like Mephistos instead. I wore a pair of Mephisto Match on our EU trip last year where we regularly did 30k steps a day for 2.5 weeks
Thanks for posting this. I also wanna bring my doc martens in our future trip and the comments are just helpful.
If I was 20 again, I might’ve been able to survive walkin around Japan in my docs. But now that I’m older and got some extra pounds on me? HELL NO, it’ll be my most comfortable pair of skechers or new balance lol.
Doc Martens are heavy. I wouldn’t bring them if you care about luggage weight.