Provided both you and they can last that long.

For years now, our reporter Masanuki Sunakoma has been scouring the pages of Amazon Japan in search of items that have been lambasted by customers. Whether it’s menswear or magic wands, nothing is safe from the wrath of unsatisfied reviewers, but a chance for redemption awaits should they find their way to Masanuki’s screen.

This time, the product in question was a pair of foot reflexology sandals called the Tai Chi Rotating Massager for 2,662 yen (US$25). According to the description, wearing them for just 15 to 20 minutes a day can improve blood circulation and alleviate fatigue.

However, according to the one-star review they got, they broke after being worn twice and were impossible to fix. Even the best products occasionally put out a defect from time to time, so it’s certainly possible this one review was a stroke of bad luck for an otherwise solid product.

When they arrived, Masanuki admired the authentic-looking tai chi design with the strategically placed nubs to either massage his feet or fall apart depending on who he believed. Each nub was positioned at a pressure point on the sole of the foot that has a beneficial effect on overall health. By walking in them, the nubs compress into the sandal to provide just the right amount of pressure and also rotate for that extra massage-like sensation.

But when Masanuki inspected them, the nubs didn’t seem to twist at all. He wasn’t sure how important the rotating action was to the whole massage system, but it was mentioned in the name, so it’s hard not to be a little disappointed.

They were also sold in S, M, L, XL, and XXL sizes and had a conversion chart to European shoe sizes, so our reporter had to do a little research before finding his 27-centimeter feet would slip into an XL nicely. The Velcro straps can also be used to fine-tune the fit.

Masanuki decided to ease into them at first by wearing them with socks on. Despite this, an intense pain enveloped his foot and did not relent. It was like stepping on a pile of Lego bricks.

He wondered if this pain was his feet correcting themselves and would eventually turn into pleasure. Next, he tried it with his bare feet to get the full effect. After all, far be it from him to question a holistic art that has been around for millennia.

It was a form of torture our writer had never experienced before. The agony seemed proportional to the amount of weight he put on his feet, so he attempted to walk in slow, gentle steps while taking measured breaths, almost as if performing tai chi.

After about five minutes, he couldn’t take any more and slipped out of them. The bottoms of his feet were beet red, but much to his surprise, they felt amazing!

It turns out that wearing Tai Chi Rotating Massagers is a hell few have ever known, but the after-effects are pure bliss. Perhaps if he got more accustomed to them, the pleasure might actually start to outweigh the pain.

Not only that, but after a week of use, they were still completely intact. The intensity certainly isn’t for everyone, but Masanuki felt these sandals worked incredibly well and were absolutely worth the price. So, it looks like this was yet another case of an unfairly maligned product on Amazon Japan that has been debunked by our investigative reporter.

Related: Amazon Japan
● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
[ Read in Japanese ]