Value Village ／ Before you come to Japan
This answer is a draft. It stays unpublished until legal review and source verification are complete.
Buying clothes and shoes is on many visitors' lists, and it is where disappointment is most common: the letter on the label means something different, and the shoe size uses a different unit entirely.
| Japan (cm) | US men | US women | UK | EU |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23.0 | — | 6 | 4 | 36–37 |
| 24.0 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 38 |
| 25.0 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 39–40 |
| 26.0 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 41 |
| 27.0 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 42–43 |
| 28.0 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 44 |
Sizes above 28.0 cm (men) and 25.5 cm (women) are limited in ordinary shops; look for "large size" (大きいサイズ) sections or specialist stores.
| Japan | US | UK | EU |
|---|---|---|---|
| S (7) | XS (0–2) | 6 | 34 |
| M (9) | S (4) | 8 | 36 |
| L (11) | M (6–8) | 10 | 38 |
| LL / XL (13) | L (10) | 12 | 40 |
[Verify] Conversion tables are approximations; brands vary. JIS references with the Japanese Standards Association.
Go up one or two. Or ignore letters and read the cm measurements on the tag — Japanese labels are unusually precise.
They are centimetres of your foot. Measure heel to longest toe standing; that number is your Japanese size. Add 0.5 cm for thick socks.
The opposite: standard Japanese widths (E–2E) are wider than many Western standard lasts, because Japanese feet are on average wider. If you have narrow feet, look for D or C widths.
They exist in specialist shops and online; department stores and big fashion chains carry limited ranges beyond L. Men's tall sizes (身長 180 cm+) are the hardest.
Return policies are stricter than in the US; many shops refuse returns of worn or tagged-removed items, and some allow exchange only. Try on before paying.
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https://www.jsa.or.jp/
https://www.caa.go.jp/policies/policy/representation/household_goods/
https://www.japan.travel/en/guide/shopping/
⚠️ Editorial note: the source URLs above were identified by search. Our working environment cannot reach go.jp domains, so the contents have not been checked against the text. Verify every source before publication and record who checked it and when.
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