Amid the stimulus-check-fuelled fashion bubble of 2020, young people everywhere got into sneakers. They were sitting at home, doing little, and suddenly had more expendable income, so they put it into showing off to their friends with the most stylish, trendy sneakers. In the years since, though, with the return to office, people have focused on one thing above all in their footwear: comfort. But not all comfort is alike.

On the one hand, is the ultra-cushioning form of comfort. These shoes — like On’s Cloud series, the Adidas Ultraboost line, or New Balance’s 990v6 — create comfort in your foot by putting a massive bed of foam between your sole and the pavement, functioning like suspension for your legs.

These are great shoes, but, burned by rigid leather shoes, other customers wanted shoes that made them more connected to the ground, not less, and so came the rise of “barefoot” shoes from brands like Vivo Barefoot. The soles on these shoes are thin and usually have small folding ridges so that the sole follows the curve of your foot as you move. It protects your foot from glass, mud, and other debris you don’t want to touch your skin, but otherwise, the idea is that they function like thick socks, and the comfort comes from letting your feet move more naturally, strengthening their muscles.

I understand the desire for this feeling, but barefoot shoes are over-engineered and ugly, and I don’t necessarily want as much contact with the ground as they provide. If I want that more connected walking feeling, I turn to a little Japanese sneaker company named Shoes Like Pottery.

At first glance, they’re just classic canvas shoes, but the trick comes in the company’s name. Notably, rather than using an inflexible “waffle” sole, these sneakers use a single piece of natural rubber; and once the shoe is constructed, it is put in a kiln at 248 degrees Fahrenheit for 70 minutes. This hardens the natural rubber and increases its durability but retains its natural elasticity. Converse or Vans often feel hard and stiff underfoot, but these flow smoothly as you move and have much more bounce. Using rubber also means that these shoes have excellent grip despite being flat-soled, with no tread pattern. I’ve used them on a skateboard, on wet paving, and on muddy trails, and never had my feet slip.

They command a premium for such a simple shoe — selling for about $140, depending on the store — but the build quality is exceptional, and they more than warrant the price. The canvas is a dense weave that can survive a real beating, and the kiln firing of the shoes means that the upper is completely fused to the sole. I own the high-top version in cream and the low-tops in black and yellow colorways, and they all look as good as new despite regular wear.

It also feels good to buy a special, hand-made product. Shoes Like Pottery are made in the only factory of its kind in Japan, in the Kurume region, and they’re subtle but also have beautiful details. The most notable are the cyan stamp on the foxing elastic tape and the matching cyan outsole, which reference a potter’s mark when finishing a ceramic.