What Is With These Shoes?! (GT)

…was my initial thought on the infamous tabi flats.

Because seriously.

What are those?!

But after looking a little closer at the trend surrounding their recent spike in popularity, I have to admit,

This is actually adorable.

If you’ve been on Pinterest or TikTok recently, you may have seen people traveling to Japan and recreating a very specific photo: a bird’s eye angle of their feet, and a deer’s hooves in Nara.

Here’s where things get interesting.

The shoes people are wearing?

Tabi flats.

The shape?

Suspiciously similar to a deer hoof.

Coincidence?

I think not.

This all stemmed from a viral Pinterest photo featuring a girl and the deer’s feet from above. Other travelers saw it, posted their own versions, and now the shoes have become part of the experience.

Modern marketing: social media turning a product into a prop.

The tabi flat isn't necessarily the reason people are traveling to Japan, people want to participate in a moment.

Here's my main takeaway: the tabi flats are content!

I mean, if you're going to convince me to buy a weird-looking shoe, at least give me a cute deer to take my Instagram pictures with.