Footland Sports

Randomly strolled in to check out the selection. They had the Premier X New Balance 998’s the day before the global release and had to pick up a pair for myself.
The girl who was working that night was great and provided excellent service. If I lived in the area, I would hit up this shop often!

It is after a long time of Japan Village. We were stopped by here shopping today. It is amazing the number of assortment. Today I came here and I will try to buy the sandals.

Great staff, not snobby and very helpful. Good selection of New Balance and other sneakers. Got a pair of New Balance 996’s would recommend checking the place out.

This is a great little sneaker shop. They sell a nice assortment of sporty Nikes, Converse, New Balance and other brands I’ve never heard of. Men’s and women’s shoes are available, as well as a nice selection of children’s sneakers. They also sell some sporty sandals and cozy Uggs.
Prices are reasonable, at least to my I-​buy-​my-​shoes-​at-​nordstrom expectations. They sell a lot of The «cool» kind of Nikes my son likes, including the lightweight cloth ones, and that’s what I buy here. I’m not much of a sneaker girl myself.
I love that the service is also up to my Nordstrom’s expectations. The sales people are very helpful and friendly.
On the not so good side are the sizes, which don’t go higher than a man’s 11. If you have a large foot you’ll have to shop elsewhere.

I like this spot. they have a diverse selection of shoes from brands, colors and sizes. They moved just across from the way from where they were to a newer and nicer shop and is more of the shoe boutique steez. Their pricing isn’t over as one would expect wich is cool since they cater to a bunch of Japanese tourists looking to drop funds. If they have my size i’ll buy it here

Nice sneakers store at Little Tokyo.
Not the time for me to buy new sneakers :(
I like that they have New Balance and Onitsuka selections.
Sales associate are nice and friendly.
Wish they had more selections of Jordans.

If it’s too good to be true…
Well, you know the rest. First, I didn’t plan on reviewing Footland Sports. Second, I didn’t expect to be giving them a 2 star review. I was at the Japanese Village Plaza minding my own business when I saw a bunch of Oakley flip flops. Oakley’s for $ 24??? I found a pair that looked exactly like the ones that I used to own. Initial difference… the price. I paid $ 50 for a pair of Oakley flip flops a couple of years ago. Here, they have them at half that price. Even better, I was able to use my Jedi mind tricks and convince the employee to drop the price even lower. I left thinking I got a deal. I got a pair of Oakley flip flops for only $ 21??? Yeah Buddy! But the joke was on me, all on me. Initially, these flip flops were comfortable. As the day went, the comfort level did as well. My Oakley’s became Jokely’s really quick. By the end of the day, I had blisters and bruises on my foot. My bad, I got what I paid for.
A quote from the great GI Joe… Now I know and knowing is half the battle.
PS: Service was fantastic. I had at least two employees hustling, I mean taking care of me. 4 stars for Service and 1 star for Quality.

Excellent variety on all kicks and hard to find kicks at a reasonable price at the heart of Little Tokyo.

I hate to give a negative review. Please save yourself time and trouble by reading this review before you decide to visit.
After having lunch in Little Tokyo I was taking a nice afternoon stroll shopping. I’ve been needing a pair of feminine and comfortable walking shoes for a while now. I came across Footland Sports and was excited at first glance to see two walls full of shoes. Literally. I decided to be frugal with myself and splurge on walking shoes for my Dad. I saw two pairs that I were dimes. A black Hugo Boss pair for $ 225 and a Lacoste pair for $ 125. My father is a 8 ½ in mens. They didn’t have an 8 ½ for the Hugo Boss pair. I thought I try my chance and purchase the size 8. She said it runs big. They didn’t have any sizes for the Lacoste pair so I opted for an alternative pair that’s less aesthetically pleasing. No surprise there. No 8 ½, so I bought size 9.
There is a no refund policy. Exchange only within 10 days with an original receipt. No exchange no refund on sale items.
My Dad didn’t like the fit so I went back the following day. There’s no refunds so I had to look for shoes for myself. Even though it looks like there’s a large selection because there’s two walls full of shoes with the middle islands filled too, THERE REALLY ISN’T. Most of the selection isn’t tasteful. Secondly, I had to ask to try on approximately 15 pairs of shoes that day because NONE of the shoes I picked had 7 ½. Each time the sales returned to me, she said «I’m sorry there’s no size 7 ½. I can find the nearest size up and down.» Each time she returned she’d only have either one size up or one size down. Never both at the same time for me to try.
I couldn’t wrap my head around how a Shoe Store didn’t have sizes for ANY of the shoes I asked for… I asked her how often the store gets shipment and unlike a normal shoe store in a mall that gets shipment twice a week she said … Once a month… It’s no wonder there’s no sizes. The owner clearly doesn’t care about having sizes available and doesn’t care to increase sales by having sizes available. This store is just there.

I’m giving Footland 3 stars because their customer service is lacking. The Asian chick with cool hair & bangs, who has worked there for years, is really really great. But she can’t run the whole show alone. The rest of the employees, well let’s just say first you have to figure out who works there — there’s no uniform, name badge, whatever — and then once you figure that out YOU have to approach THEM for help. They won’t volunteer their help even if you’re carrying around a shoe with a «lost deer» look on your face.
I went there Saturday night and it was packed. One person working the register and helping people. I wandered around holding a shoe I wanted to try, and nobody offered any help. I thought, wow, understaffed, one person on a Saturday night? As I was leaving I realized this guy standing around with poofy hair actually ‘works’ there and was doing NOTHING but standing with a grin on his face while people lined up at the register for help from the one other employee. You can’t just look good to sell shoes, people!
I went back Sunday (I live in the area), same poofy haired guy was there, standing around, hovering near the entry to the back area, checking his cell phones, and this time I realized that I had to prompt him to do his job. Main point in writing this review is, if the manager or owner reads this, I hope they take the advice of a fellow business owner, and hire some actually pro-​active sales people. Lucky I wanted these Vans badly enough, Footland came REALLy close to losing this sale. And if you are a shopper, knowing this might help you deal with what could be a frustrating shopping experience if you didn’t know this about the staff there.
Other than that the store is A+ selection, the buyers picks are impeccable. All the brands and styles a foot fashion person would appreciate. I just wish the staff were attentive and as awesome as the rest of the store.

Of course, the thought of a shoe store in Little Tokyo is amazing. RIF has their game, but to have a retailer would be amazing… would be…
I went in to get Oreos on the release date only to find this retailer to mark up prices. I asked the manager what he thought about price gouging in the local community. The manager said, «the owners of this store don’t care about the community… all they care about is business» — my jaw dropped to the ground.
The next time I dropped by and asked if they are going to have the Jordan Bred 1’s… the manager simply replied, «we already sold them to our customers.» — so there was no release, not even a raffle.
Business can do what they want to do. But to have a Nike retailer in Little Tokyo taking up the distribution % from this part of town sickens me. I really hope another retailer opens in the area and drive them out of business.

So I wasn’t very happy about the lack of both the selection and the customer attention at the nearby RIF Los Angeles. To answer those issues, just check out Footland Sports in the Japanese Village Plaza. Boy, do they have quite a selection. When was the last time you saw Batman Converse High Tops? I hope you’re reading this Vyvy D.
I was awfully tempted to buy something at this store. Being an undercover sneaker fanatic, I try hard not to splurge these days, but I was tempted, and had to do a double take before I left Footland Sports. More on that later.
Footland Sports is a true business, worthy of the name. They have a couple of roving salesman on the showroom floor, with a stern looking lady in the back. I’m almost sure she’s the boss. She walks around to make sure that the employees are attentive, while she does cartwheels around the register and throws credit cards at you, like ninja stars. Organized and deliberate. Well played female Japanese owner.
These rad looking bright red Nike’s caught my eye. I’m sad to say that I’ve never actually owned a pair. I know what you’re thinking. A sneaker fanatic without a pair of Air Jordans? Don’t mock me. I’ve been in hibernation mode on the whole — «I gotta spend me 250 bones for some sneakers» disorder. Actually, that’s my only objection when it comes to places like this. The cost. Shoes aren’t cheap my friends. You ladies can back me up anytime now…
SUMMARY
Puma, Nike, Vans, & Lacoste. The double take that I mentioned before — red, gray, and white classic Jordans with black laces. SWEET!

Awesome shoe store for men, women, and children. Got my NIKE solarsoft Moccasin Premium Woven Lifestyle Shoe in Navy here.

Footland is the OG sneaker store in Little Tokyo. I remember going here in HS and seeing all the sample sizes they had and Air Jordans that were no longer in circulation. To be honest, they were ahead of the game. This was the mid-​90s when they were doing this… This was also when their storefront was much smaller & located across they way. Their customer service was so good. I was a regular and was always greeted kindly.
Visited Footland in the recent weeks and their new store is nice. It’s a clean look… with a ton of shoes. All the men’s sneakers are on the left side as you walk in. Some men’s boots are on the right side. I really like their inventory of Clarks wallabee & desert trek. They had some colors you don’t see at Clarks stores. I will definitely be back to get some of these colorways.
One negative for me was when I had seen a pair of Jordan XI black/​red that was released in the weeks prior. It was plainly displayed with the rest of the Jordan brand sneakers. I picked it up. It was quite dirty & scuffed up. More than your usual wear & tear being a display shoe. And being that it only released a few weeks ago, shouldn’t have been on the shelf too long… The white midsole had a long grey/​black mark on it. Like a long smudge… I asked how much it was for it and they guy said $ 275… I was like whaaat?!? I think I even laughed. I buy a lot of Jordans so I know what their worth. Not only was this pair, way above retail, it was damaged goods. And for this guy to say to me with a straight face that it was selling for that much disappointed me… This was not the same Footland as before.

Yea not the craziest selects, but definitely a nice selection. Came in for the Roshe runs, but instead had a change of heart and went with the Nike Flex Experience RN– great call. This shoe is awesome for walking in (for all my hospital people you should hop on em). Have not seen the color wave around too many places (Neon bottoms/​black top). Lol it’s funny reading reviews on here and people are like «I dunno where the price tag is»; strugglers. Slight out the toe insert and the price is written on the toe end.

The girl with the long wavy perm is always so helpful when I need to buy shoes. There were times when I would go before opening because I would rush to buy it and head to work. She would still open the door and sell it for me which was nice of her. Great service.

Shoe Shoe Shoes! This place reminds more of a Sara Jessica Parker’s Closet for men or a sporty women. There are probably over 300+ Shoes in the store in various different neon colors etc.
Women: They have sporty running shoes in various colors in puma, Nike, etc. They also have boots.
Men: This is your go to store for any and every shoe that you need. My bf was pleasantly surprised with the huge selection. We could have spent 30 more minutes in there, but I got hungry. They carry the hard to find shoes as my bf said. He has been looking to try on a specific pair of Clark’s and this place had them!

Cool ass shoe store for sneaker heads. A variety of different brands, including TOMS and cool looking Sorels. The day I visited they had a sale on MEL shoes. SOOO CUTE! I ended up buying 4 pairs!
Sales reps were super helpful and friendly.
Fan! WOOT!

Lots of pretty colors and cool sandals.
Hung out in here for a minute while waiting for friends to come visit for lunch…
nice staff… super cute shoes and some killer sneakers…
didn’t end up buying anything but had lots of eye candy (in terms of foot wear)

Picture this: Nisei week celebrations. Walking around the main plaza in Little Tokyo, seeing certain stores open that: 1) I never knew existed, or 2) Are never open when I’m in the neighborhood. Seeing this strange place called Footland Sports across from Oomasa. WTF? I wander into Footland. I see all kinds of flashy high tops. Then Miss BIG BITCH convinces me to buy this sweet pair of off-​white/​yellow laced Air Jordans. They fit perfectly. I buy them. Now, WHAT THE FUCK do I wear them with!!!
JK JK, Miss BIG BITCH is actually a great friend. And during this quarter life crisis in which I find myself, she gave me some great advice. If you don’t wear it now, you’ll regret it and won’t be able to wear it without looking ridiculous later in life. So true. So true. Looking ridiculous over the age of 30 IS NOT AN OPTION for me.
Now, I’m not one to wear high tops or Jordans AT ALL (partly and/​or mostly because… well, I DON’T play basketball). But I need to have this urban foot phase now. Without it, my feet may rebel later and sleep around, possibly get pregnant. I say, get this out of their system while young… ish.
And you can call me a poser, fine, but I’m wearing my new Air Jordans around town! Just not to play basketball because I don’t want them dirty…
In any case, this Footland Sports place had a pretty good selection of shoes. From the flashy high tops to the subdued moccasins, they had a good range of shoes that I would wear during ALL my quarter, mid, or 3-​quarter life crises. Really unique ones too. I don’t know much about sneaks, but these looked like the cream of the crop for sneaks and Jordans. All kinds of designs and colors. It was like Willy Wonka for shoes. Some of the designs were amazingly eye catching. Shoes were pricey, but I already imagined them to be. I mean, we’re talking about Jordans here. Expect to pay.
My biggest gripe was that they didn’t have any stock in size 9 (men’s) of the first 4 or 5 shoes I really wanted. They seemed to have mostly just floor models. So if you weren’t the size of the floor model, you were out of luck. The pair I bought was a floor model that happened to be size 9. The prices, though, were negotiable with the guy who helped me. I got a good $ 15 off my shoes.
Anyway, if you’re in the mood for some flashy, unique new sneaks, check ‘em out! Good selection. Don’t be afraid to get a little sumtin’ sumtin’ knocked off the price, especially if you think it’s fair.
Now, off to buy my parachute pants. That should go with the new shoes, right? I’m so screwed…