I’d prefer feet only!
Why do you do it all wrong???
And why people talk so much about Hokas? I also heard that they’re the best of the best, but dunno what makes them so special.
I like hokas (but I like lots of different running shoes and can run in almost anything. I tend to rotate through some combo of Nike frees and pegasus, hokas, an
and Altra when buying new running shoes). But there’s no such thing as a single best of the best. One big thing that makes them different is they’re a thick stack, high cushion shoe, but still have low drop from heal->toe.
I do this purely as a result of experience: zero pain when I run up, but moderate to severe pain when I run down (including pain the next day). And more experience. The only marathon I ran was the Sorak Mountain marathon in Korea. After about 25k, I looked at every downhill stretch with dread as the pain in my knees was becoming unbearable. This was in my 20s when my knees were very healthy.
As for Hokas and lots of cushioning, again experience. I can still run on flat ground if it’s on grass. From this experience I concluded that for my knees, more cushioning is good.
I don’t care what any scientific article says. Running uphill, on grass if on a flat surface, and using a shoe with lots of cushioning is the only way I’ll do things with my aging knees.
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As for why they’re popular in Taiwan…I’ll take a random guess here.
I would figure it came about as barefoot running, more minimal running shoes, or at least shoes with smaller heel-toe offsets became more popular. Some people probably figured if you can run barefoot…why not just run in flip-flops and made it work, after all most people here walk around in flip-flops anyways. Especially since running around barefoot in the roads in Taiwan there’s probably just too much junk and dirty stuff no matter how much you look and keep your eyes out for stuff.
So I would figure as a few people started doing half/full marathons in them they became popular/trendy and other people started trying it too. As more people tried it some companies probably made some of their own that are a bit more suited to running or less likely to flop around or rub so hard against the skin. Also a lot cheaper upfront than running shoes.
I somewhat guess it’s similar reason (price and easy availability) that rain boots are so popular for hiking here…never seen that anywhere else from what I can remember.
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Er… What? Where is “here”? Some alley in Sanchung?
I also suspected they became popular because of the minimalistic trend and their lower price compared to running shoes, and they are sold almost anywhere. But then I noticed that serious runners like this guy are wearing them:
On a similar note, I remember I asked one of these strong dudes who pull the rickshaws in Arashiyama why did they run in Tabi shoes instead of “normal sneakers”. He told me Tabi shoes are common in Japan for running and other physically demanding tasks (like construction work), so they are just used to it. Also, they are quite cheap if you buy them in something like Workman, so it’s easy to replace them if they break down. The same could be said about the 母子鱷魚 sandals.
Also, the marathon monks in Mt. Hiei run wearing these sandals:
So I thought there might be some cultural aspect or tradition that led Taiwanese runners to prefer sandals. I guess I will have to ask a flip-flop runner directly to find an answer 
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We were all black then. Evolution took away this from me. I’ll have skin cancer after just two days under the sun in Taiwan.
Regarding shoes, I don’t take any example from Taiwanese. We’re talking about people who combine arctic clothing with flip-flops in winter. Who wear plastic rain boots to hike in the mountains even in hot weather. I’ve seen them in 100,000NT bicycles wearing flip-flops (this is less common now). So, they do their thing, I do mine. Which, by the way, it’s anything but running XD
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The thing is… They’re cheap, they’re better when it rains, and they’re safer when you cross ways with snakes, which are abundant here.
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Funny… I’m almost convinced that running at certain speed is better for downhills than just walking. I paid extra attention to this last time and it seemed very clear to me.
And I’ve fucked up my knees a few times running in Taiwan to the point I had to stop running.
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“He told me Tabi shoes are common in Japan for running and other physically demanding tasks (like construction work)”
I wonder if they have a steel-toed version.
Would not want to drop the edge of a 2x12 on my foot wearing those. 
Some construction workers wear safety boots, but I saw most guys just wearing something light like this (I had 3 construction sites next to my building, so I saw a lot of construction worker attires 
):
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I’ve seen this, but stiil can’t wrap my head around it. In the States, OSHA would lock a site down in a heartbeat for this type of fuckery. Maybe it stems from some old kamakaze tradition. 
That’s so WTF xD
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I attribute it to the attitude of “we’ve always done things this way, why would we change?”
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What I heard is that they were invented in a shoe store in Sanchung/Luzhou somewhere on Sanhe Rd. If you’re talking about what I’m thinking of, they’re called “chi-dian yun-dong tuo-shie”.
I wouldn’t consider them minimalist as they have a thick (but light) sole so your feet aren’t in contact with the ground like minimalist shoes.
My wife hates me wearing them but I wear them all the time! 
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Why does the title inquire about thongs? I just noticed that.
Because:
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That’s what flip-flops were called in my family growing up! (Western Canada, British parents.) This probably led to mirth from my elementary school classmates at some point.
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