So I was at an onsen in Niigata two weeks ago and these this Canadian dude comes into the shower room wearing bright yellow crocs. There were a decent amount of people in there but of course the first person to give him shit is a racist ol jiji. I didn't catch all of what he said but there were alot of angry sighs, gaijin this, gaijin that, kanada de wa wakaranai kedo kore ha nihon and the last resort, really loud, "KO-RE-WA-DA-MEsssu!" at the end. Up til this point the guy was just smiling and nodding. To my surprise, dude spoke better japgo than me and started lecturing the jiji on mizumushi. (He apparently rocks the crocs in every onsen he goes to and seems to have his lecture memorized) Still, the jiji and a few other gruff older doods aren't having any of it, point to me "datte, kono gaijin wa wakatteru, naze omae wa toraburu tsukuru?" Nihondewadewa blah blah blah blah.....at the end of the incident, most of the guys were grumpy still but sorta pacified when he explained the crocs he had on were only used in showers/onsen, not outside.
I've heard all kinds of wacky theories from the locals about mizumushi. Everything from "it's a disease" to "only people who don't wash their feet get that." Modern science tell us it's simply a fungal infection and one of the best ways to prevent it is "wearing sandals at public pools and showers." Back in California, wearing sandals inside public showers and such is pretty normal...but it seems like nobody dares to do so here, even the shawaasenyou type like the Canadian dude. I wash my feet crazy good and do my best to dry between my toes but I've got the mizumushi from onsens here more than a couple times. Honestly, I'd prefer to have some onsen sandals but I don't have the energy to argue everytime I go to an onsen (which is often) So are most Japanese walking mizumushi gardens or how the fuck are they not getting it everytime they visit an onsen? Is there some sort of secret powdered freeze-dried monkey penis suppli I should be taking before I visit an onsen or what gives?
