Asics from Japan

What is the difference between ASICS and Onitsuka Tiger in Japan?

They are two brands of the same Kobe company, sold and listed separately. Kihachiro Onitsuka founded the company in 1949; the ASICS name dates from the 1977 merger that created it, and Onitsuka Tiger was revived in the 2000s as a heritage brand for the pre-1977 designs such as the Mexico 66. In Japan, ASICS covers running, sport and the SportStyle line — GEL-Lyte III, GEL-Kayano 14, GEL-NYC, GT-2160 — while Onitsuka Tiger has its own stores and its own listings under オニツカタイガー. Japan also gets ASICS collaborations and colourways released through Japanese retailers, and the resale market for both brands is on Mercari and Yahoo Auctions. Those channels deliver inside Japan only; OneMall supplies the Japanese address and yen payment and forwards from our Japan warehouse.

What size should I order in ASICS from a Japanese listing?

The centimetre size on the box label, which is how Japanese listings state shoe size: 27.0cm, 27.5cm and so on, matching the label inside the shoe. Japanese sellers photograph the box end or the tongue label, and the same centimetre number applies whether the shoe was sold in Japan or abroad, so convert your usual size to centimetres once and search by that. Width is listed when it is not standard.

• 27.0cm / 28.0cm — the size as written in Japanese listings
• 箱付き / 箱なし — with or without the original box
• タグ付き / 未使用 — tags attached / unused
• ワイド / 2E — wide fit
• 着用回数少なめ — worn a few times

What does 加水分解 mean on a used ASICS listing?

Hydrolysis of the midsole: the polyurethane in older GEL models breaks down with age, so the sole crumbles or separates even if the upper is unworn, and Japanese sellers name it because it decides whether a vintage pair can be worn. A listing that says 加水分解なし has no sole deterioration; ソール割れ or ソール剥がれ means the sole has cracked or separated. For recent models the notes are the ordinary ones: sole wear, upper creasing and box condition.

• 加水分解 / 加水分解なし — sole hydrolysis / none
• ソール割れ / ソール剥がれ — sole cracked / separated
• ソール減り — sole wear
• シワ / 履きジワ — creasing on the upper
• 箱ダメージ — box damage
• 国内正規 — bought through the Japanese channel, as stated by the seller

Where are ASICS sneakers sold in Japan?

New from ASICS Japan's online store and Japanese retailers on Rakuten and Amazon Japan, including Japan-market colourways; secondhand and sold-out collaborations on Mercari, Rakuma and Yahoo Auctions; shop-graded pairs at 2nd STREET. Onitsuka Tiger is sold through its own Japanese stores and online shop and appears on the same resale sites under its own name.

How much does it cost to ship sneakers from Japan?

The box decides it. A pair of sneakers is light, but a shoebox is priced on volume when it leaves our Japan warehouse, so one boxed pair costs more to ship than its weight suggests and several boxed pairs stack into a large carton. Ask to ship without the box if you do not collect boxes, and consolidate pairs from different sellers into one parcel. At order time you pay the yen price, OneMall's service fee, shown before you confirm, and the seller's domestic shipping if charged. Import duty, if your country charges it, is collected on delivery.

Estimate shipping with the OneMall calculator →

Which Japanese search terms bring up ASICS listings?

アシックス or ASICS plus the model in katakana or by its number, and the centimetre size. Collaborations are listed with the partner name and コラボ; Onitsuka Tiger needs its own search.

• アシックス / ASICS — the brand
• ゲルライト3 / ゲルカヤノ14 / GT-2160 — models
• オニツカタイガー メキシコ66 — the sister brand
• コラボ + partner — collaborations
• 27.0cm 箱付き — size and box
• 日本製 — Japan-made models