Professor Akira Otsuka has been leading a research group which has been working since 2005 to develop a pair of shoes to use for walking on a sandy beach. You might be thinking this is akin to developing gloves to stroke cats. However, the professor says the aim was to find an efficient way to walk on sandy surfaces which are hot, may conceal sharp objects and which tend to tire out a walker. He does, however, think they may be also suitable for kids sandpits and playgrounds. Here he is with the prototype shoes made by Atom, a local specialist glove maker. Full story in the Asahi (Japanese).
