Japanese Twitter has the answer to all of life’s problems.

Readers, have your girlfriends been telling you how much they want some geta sneakers? Or have any of your friends lamented recently about how they really want the new LED-lit Playstation-themed basketball shoes?

All signs point to one thing: they want those shoes. Is their birthday coming up? An anniversary? They may even be hinting that you should get them for them. But how do you buy someone a pair of shoes when you don’t know their size? Japanese Twitter, as always, has the answer:

“One of my coworkers was talking about how he wants to buy a certain pair of shoes for his girlfriend, saying ‘I don’t know her size, and I don’t want to ask her and ruin the surprise. What should I do?’ Then my super-hot coworker said, ‘Huh? Isn’t that what bowling dates are for?’ and I was completely floored.”

Yes, my friends, according to Twitter user Ayame’s (@aymLisp_04) “ikemen kira kira senpai” (super-hot coworker), if you want to know someone’s shoe size without asking them (presumably to buy them a pair of shoes and not for other weird or nefarious reasons), simply take them bowling! They’ll have to rent bowling shoes from the bowling alley, which means they’ll have to announce what their size is to the clerk.

It seems obvious in hindsight, but this is a pretty convenient method to secretly get the information you need without giving away the surprise. Japanese netizens had pretty strong reactions to this revelation, too:

“Wow!! I’m genuinely surprised!!”
“Oooh I see…Amazing!”
“What? Isn’t it normal to just rip off their shoe and breathe in the stinky shoe smell while you peer inside for the size?”
“I hope this doesn’t go viral and get seen by that girlfriend…”
“Oooh…but I hate bowling so if I suddenly suggested it I would get busted immediately lol”
“What should you do if she brought her own bowling shoes?”

Many netizens, however, commented that it’s hard to buy shoes for someone because you never know if the size will fit right. “Shoe sizes differ by maker,” some said, and “Bowling shoes are generally larger, aren’t they?” But other netizens had solutions to those problems, too:

“First of all, the other person will just be happy that you remembered their size! Plus, if you buy it from big name shoe stores like ABC Mart and tell the clerk it’s a gift, they’ll put an exchange ticket in the package for you just in case they don’t fit exactly right.”

“I have narrow feet that are shaped weird, so it’s hard for me to find shoes that fit, but I think it’s sweet to make a point of going on a bowling date just to learn someone’s shoe size so you could buy them a pair of shoes!”

As always, it’s the thought that counts for most gifts, so as long as you make an effort, the person receiving the gift will be happy!

On the other hand, one netizen says, if your girlfriend/boyfriend/friend doesn’t want to go bowling, take them to an all-you-can-drink izakaya where you have to take your shoes off to go inside. That way you can get them drunk enough that they won’t notice when you sneak off to check out their shoes!

See? Japanese Twitter always has the answer.

Source: Twitter/@aymLisp_04 via Kinisoku
Top Image: Pakutaso