I had about six seconds to reconsider dunking my feet into a questionable hot tub filled with fish while a few of my closest friends documented my experience.
“So, we’re going through with this, right?” Program Assistant Jon Zmikly asked.
“Of course,” I said.
“We’re toe-bros now, Jakob,” Zmikly said touching his knuckles to mine in a fist bump as he said it.
Backing up, we were desperate for relief.
All told, at the end of this Faculty-led Study Abroad trip to Japan, I logged 71.3 miles over the course of 12 days of travel and adventure.
To put it short, our dogs were barking, and we needed some sort of relief.
After a day in the ancient city of Kamakura, we capped off our sightseeing at Enoshima, with even more walking.
Rounding a corner of the island’s various shops, I saw an advertisement for what appeared to be the viral spa treatment where Garra rufa, a type of catfish, nibble dead skin cells off your feet, making them silky smooth.
Jon and I walked into the small shop where the owner pointed us to a list of rules on the wall.
We finished off the day with about 6.6 additional miles on our feet and the adventure continued.
I really didn’t think about my feet again until we got back to our hotel, and I got a text from Zmikly.
“My feet are silky smooth,” the text read.
I threw off my socks and touched my own.
“Mine too, toe-bro,” I replied.
