General Questions

What’s so special about your shoes?
What the heck is “Onmyodo” exactly and what does it mean?
What’s so Japanese about your shoes?
Will you hire me?!
What company owns you…you must be a spin-off by some major brand, right?
Are your shoes in American sizes?
What width are your shoes?
What does the "M" behind the sizes mean...it's listed on both men's and women's online.
Help, my shoes squeak when I walk! (first generation shoes only)

Buying Questions

What is your return policy?
Will you cancel/change my order for me?
Do you have access to my credit card information?

General Questions

What’s so special about your shoes?

Onmyodo footwear is unique for several reasons. First, we use top quality leather, both inside and out. We have full leather linings in all of our shoes, which is the best thing you can have in a pair of shoes. Synthetic linings are bacterial breeding grounds (you know that smell that tends to linger around lived-in footwear?) and they don’t allow the foot to breathe properly. Leather linings release moisture, allow the foot to breathe, and generally have very little to no smell, even after hard wear. They’re also a lot more comfortable against your foot. Second, all Onmyodo shoes have a specially designed cork insole. This insole has no break-in period, will mold somewhat to your foot shape, and is removable/replaceable in most of our footwear. Third, the outsole features a PU midsole and a rubber skid. This provides a lot more comfort than the average shoe. Fourth, we personally think they’re pretty cool looking!

What the heck is “Onmyodo” exactly and what does it mean?

This is actually a little hard to explain, as it doesn’t have a direct, one-word English translation. Onmyodo was actually a practice in feudal Japan that was part Japanese mysticism, part Eastern astrology, and part Chinese Taoism. At some point we will be posting a page on the website with more detailed information on the history of onmyodo for those who are interested. Why did we choose this as a company name? Well now, that’s a company secret. ;)

What’s so Japanese about your shoes?

All of our designs are based on Japan. It might be an ancient piece of artwork, a package design from 50 years ago, or a piece of modern pop culture. Some of the designs are more obvious, while some of them are very subtle. A shoe like Kanso would probably take some explaining as to where the design lines came from, while something like Chinpin has the easy to identify rising sun and crane motif (although even that design has a story behind it). One thing we are working on is a page explaining the origins of some of the designs, just to give people an idea of what was running through the designer’s head when she came up with the idea.

Will you hire me?!

Heh, we get asked this a lot. Anyone who is interested in a career with Onmyodo, please refer to our Careers page. Any hiring info will be posted there. Even if there are no positions open, please feel free to send over a resume.

What company owns you…you must be a spin-off by some major brand, right?

Nope. Onmyodo is Onmyodo and no one owns us (except us, of course). We’re not some major brand that’s simply out to get you. Our current employee number is two and we’re both hardcore otaku. Both of us love Japan and we love the anime industry. Why, of all things, footwear? Our President and designer grew up in the footwear industry and her training is in footwear. Her life study has been Japanese culture and she spent time living in Japan. You can read more about who we are on the About Us page. Feel free to email us if you have questions!

Are your shoes in American sizes?

Yes. All of our footwear is in standard American sizing. While we print several size runs on the shoe tag and have a conversion chart on our printable size chart, those are provided for anyone who may need them. All Onmyodo footwear sold inside the US are in American sizes.

What width are your shoes?

Unfortunately, our footwear does not currently run in widths. We would be considered a standard medium on a width chart. As with other non-width sneakers on the market, those with wide or narrow feet may be able to find a size that fits comfortably. If you see us at a convention, stop by the booth and try a pair on!

What does the "M" behind the sizes mean...it's listed on both men's and women's online.

We've had several people asking about this lately, so we figured we should probably address it in the FAQ. The "M" you see on the webstore and Amazon.com, listed behind the sizes on both the men's and the women's shoes stands for Medium Width. The sizes themselves are tied into the shoes. All women's shoes are listed with women's sizes and vice versa for the men's styles.

Help, my shoes squeak when I walk! (first generation shoes only)

This is a problem that some people are having and others are not. We've even run into it with some of our own personal shoes. The problem is caused by the cork inserts rubbing against the leather lining. We are currently working on a fix for this issue and you can be guaranteed that it will be fixed by the spring line (both in the new spring shoes as well as a re-order of the current line). There's a quick fix solution to the problem...we've actually done this to our shoes, so we know it works.

Needed items: thin, cotton fabric (found at any fabric store, such as Jo-Anne Fabric...we used a thin, black cotton), contact cement (can be found at any Lowes or Home Depot), scissors

Take some thin, cotton fabric and, using a contact cement, glue it to the visible cork (both the bottom and the sides). Trim off the excess material when you're done. This takes about 2 minutes to do and costs very little (a couple of dollars, including the contact cement). It definitely stops the squeaking and still leaves the insoles as removable pieces.

Sorry about this issue...things you learn in a first production run. ^_^;;

Buying Questions

What is your return policy?

In order to return or exchange any Onmyodo product, we must be contacted within 30 days of receiving the item (via phone or email). Shoes must be returned in new condition, cannot have been worn outside, and must be in their original packaging. Clothing and accessory items must also be returned in new condition with no unnecessary wear.

Will you cancel/change my order for me?

Depending on where you placed your order, the answer is both yes and no. If you place your order through our webstore, then yes, we have the ability to cancel or change your order, should that be necessary. Please contact us via phone or email (shop@onmyodo.com) .

If you made your purchase via Amazon.com, then no, we cannot cancel or change an order unless it is extremely necessary. While we fulfill all purchases made through Amazon, the ordering system is entirely theirs and all changes to orders should be made through your Amazon account.

Do you have access to my credit card information?

The answer to that is NO. Amazon.com and Yahoo Stores handle all of our sales. We do not have access to your orders and we especially do not have access to your payment information. The only payments we process are those done at conventions, and that information is done via a highly encrypted connection. We do not hold any credit card info in that case either. It is all immediately sent to a merchant account and processed; we have no access to that information.