The person sitting casually on the sidewalk in front of the Circles shop staring at something is definitely not a suspicious character. When I peeked over to see what they were doing, it turned out they had pulled out a sketchbook and were sketching the exterior of Circles.
This is Matt from BEDROCK SANDALS, our first guest from the U.S. in quite a while. As it turns out, those wonderful illustrations on the Bedrock sandal packaging are his work!
Matt says, "If you leave me alone, I'll draw for hours, so be sure to stop me when the time is right (laughs)," but in the few minutes I was watching, the sketch was coming together rapidly. He says he cherishes this time to relax and sketch like this whenever he’s on hiking trips or traveling.
The Bedrock crew has wanted to come to Japan for a long time, but with COVID making that difficult over the past two years, they were finally able to make it happen. We planned this trip so he could gain a deeper understanding of the Japanese market and see the pride of Japanese craftsmanship firsthand.
It was a pretty tight schedule for his Japan visit, but we figured we might as well enjoy a camping ride, so he brought his bike and camping gear along.
Matt originally lived in California but moved to Missoula, Montana, when Bedrock relocated. With a background in outdoor activities like hiking and packrafting, he spent this summer hiking with his packraft and camping gear, enjoying about a week of camping and river floating (BIKE + PACKRAFT seems fun, right!). His bike of choice is the now-discontinued SURLY ECR.
He rides his bike daily for commuting and errands, and enjoys light trail riding and an annual bikepacking trip. I personally found his "true SURLY" build quite appealing—it conveys a sense that he doesn't fuss over parts as much as he values using something for a long time.
By the way, at over 2 meters tall, Matt's sandal size is a 12/13, which is a size we don't even stock at Circles (laughs).
The day after arriving in Nagoya, he packed up and headed for the Kansai region to embark on a tour of dealers who carry Bedrock. At the first stop, Eirin Marutamachi/Cycle Hatenna in Kyoto, they welcomed us with a lovely route that included a leisurely night cruise through Kyoto city followed by a night hike up Mt. Daimonji.
Whenever I come to Kyoto, I think about how lucky they are to have such playgrounds nearby, and this was truly the ultimate way to experience that. Huge thanks to the staff!
We also visited Kazemachi Tool Shop (Kyoto/Oyamazaki), TRANSIT (Nara/Tomio), YOSEMITE (Nara/Kashihara), BLACK RIMMED (Osaka/Kita-ku Nakatsu), and BICYCLE STUDIO MOVEMENT (Osaka/Tennoji-ku).
There were even some shops I hadn’t visited before, and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing each one, as they were all wonderful spaces that really reflected the personalities of their staff. It’s also interesting to see how each shop has its own unique approach to using Bedrock sandals in daily life and in the outdoors.
If you are considering Bedrock sandals and live nearby, please be sure to consult with the shops mentioned above!
The latter part of the trip was based in Nara, where we went for a ride around the ancient capital.
With the help of Mune-san, an acquaintance of Kim-nii who runs the sandal brand HEP SANDAL in Nara, we enjoyed a full-course experience that included visiting historic sites like Kashihara Jingu, the old townscape of Imai-cho, Asukadera Temple, and the Ishibutai Kofun, as well as experiencing the unique local food culture.
We had originally planned to pedal further toward Yoshino and camp, but with Typhoon 14 approaching, we decided against pushing it, cancelled the camping, and opted to enjoy a more culturally rich ride instead.
There are many historic sites and buildings of all sizes in this area, and I strongly felt while riding that it is the perfect location to use the mobility of a bicycle to get around. We actually saw people getting around on rental bikes, and it would also be a lovely trip to take your own bike from Nagoya on the train!
At the end of the trip, we visited a production site in this region, which has long been famous for its footwear industry, including sandals and socks.
I was reminded once again of the preciousness of how both sandals and socks are made by many hands, one by one, and it makes me very proud that there are still many such manufacturing sites in Japan. Even though the products are different, seeing a site where sandals are made impressed Matt a great deal. I am truly grateful to Mune-san for taking such good care of us—from our stay in Nara and our ride to the factory tour.
Guiding guests from abroad like this allows us to rediscover the things we can be proud of in our own country and our own neighborhoods, and I hope we can share those with more people. We have our own "drawer" of places to take people when they come to Nagoya, and it would be fun if everyone in different regions could use bicycles as a tool to share and enjoy each other’s "drawers" together!
I am proud to say that on this trip, Matt got to enjoy valuable, authentic experiences that you would absolutely never get on a regular overseas vacation (laughs). Once again, thank you so much to everyone who hosted us!
After a whirlwind trip, Matt returned safely to the U.S. the other day.
And don't worry, we were able to have some solid business discussions as well! We had some fruitful talks regarding future developments, so please keep an eye on what's next for BEDROCK SANDALS!