Nagoya City is located in the center of Japan and is one of the three largest cities in Japan. It is easily accessible from both overseas and within Japan, has a well-developed transportation network within the city, and is a city where many different cultures come together.

This time, we visited Wash your Sneakers NAGOYA, which opened a little outside of the center of Nagoya with the concept of a "sneaker laundry shop."

While the culture of washing shoes has yet to take root in Japan, it is becoming a new trend in the capital, Tokyo, with specialized stores opening in large shopping malls. This is a store where you can feel the owner's love for his sneakers, as he wants to cherish each pair of shoes and use them for a long time.

A shop located in a quiet residential area, not in the city center

Wash your Sneakers NAGOYA is a blue and white shop that suddenly appears in a quiet residential area. It is within walking distance of the subway, and there is a jazz-themed coffee shop next door, as well as an izakaya and clothing store nearby, making it an area with a relaxed atmosphere.

The owner, Mr. Ito, enjoys playing baseball twice a month at the izakaya next door. In this area where you can feel the warmth and ties of the local community, many customers come to ask for their shoes to be washed.

 A shop that values ideas born from passion and human connections

The owner says that he started the shop because he loves sneakers. You can see his extensive sneaker collection inside the shop. He loves sneakers so he wants to keep them nice. When he went to a specialty store in Tokyo, they didn't come out very clean, so he thought he'd try doing it himself.

When I tell people that I've started a shop, they have lively conversations, come to visit, and even leave their shop cards, making me feel the warmth of the local community. New customers come by word of mouth from people who came once and liked it, and I feel the trust that comes from knowing that it's run by someone who loves shoes.

The culture of valuing your shoes is slowly taking root in Nagoya

The owner says he enjoys being able to take in the shoes himself, wash them himself, and see the customer's reaction.

One of the things I enjoy is not only the process of getting my shoes cleaned, but also the changes in the customers. One customer said that he started buying second-hand shoes because he got his shoes cleaned here, and another customer said that he used to throw away his white shoes after one season, or choose black shoes because he doesn't mind them getting dirty, but now he can choose white shoes because he gets his shoes cleaned here.

This is a shoe-specializing laundry that adds color to the life choices of its customers. The smile of the owner, who said, "I'm happy to touch all kinds of shoes," left a strong impression on me. If your feet are clean, it seems like it will be fun to go anywhere.

Wash your Sneakers NAGOYA
Address: Azuma Building 1F, 16-16 Kanda-gai, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture
HP: https://www.washyoursneakers.com
SNS: https://www.instagram.com/wys_nagoya/

*For details on business hours and holidays, please check the link above.