The Asics Japan Pro has quickly become one of the most popular models of choice for the majority of the skaters on their skate team for a lot of reasons that might not be immediately obvious.
Based on the Fabre Japan S basketball shoe released in 1981, this version has been thoroughly upgraded and reinforced for skateboarding.
But how well does its revamped classic style translate to skateboarding, how do they actually skate in the short and long term and is it the right model for you?
Read our review to find out the answers to those questions and discover all the important details and information that you need to know about them so you can decide whether it’s worth getting a pair for yourself.
(1.) – Design: “Classic Rebuilt for Modern Skating”
First off, the most noticeable feature on the Japan Pro’s suede upper is its large but not super-overbearingly-sized suede Asics tiger logo, which punctuates right through the side panel of the shoe, spanning from the back of the collar to the top of the middle of the shoe.
It’s instantly recognisable from a distance and when you’re wearing them on your feet, especially with the black and white model, we realised there’s a few reasons why it’s really dope to have that big contrasting coloured logo running along the side, including the style factor it brings to the shoe.
The Japan Pro is available in over 10 colorways and each model has a complementary bold side logo to keep constant visibility of the placement of your feet when you’re looking down at your board for that split second before you pop a trick or are pushing, so you know exactly where your feet are on the board at all times. On the black and white model especially, the white stripes stand out really prominently against classic black griptape.
Since a lot of skate shoes started life as basketball shoes, it has a traditional skate shoe aesthetic that basically wouldn’t look out of place on any shoe wall in a skate shop in any era. So it’s timeless look guarantees this shoe will complement most styles of clothes that you’re planning on wearing with them on, which is great if you need shoes to skate and also to wear them as chillers with different clothes after that.
The Japan Pro’s premium suede upper and the logo strip on the side, which is also made of a similar but slightly less grippy suede, not only works as a kind of visual cue for your foot position but it also provides a double layer protection that remains grippy and slippy enough to make Ollies and flip tricks of all kinds feel snappy.
The outsole is constructed of a grippy rubber, that’s further reinforced with a line of well-indented stitching that runs along the outside of the shoe and there’s a stylish leather heel tab, with the Asics wordmark logo on it too, which is further strengthened with multiple layers of tight double stitching.
On the whole, the shoe’s outer is tough, and smooth but suitably grippy in all the areas you need it to be.
(2.) – Toecap: “A Wide Ride that Fits all Sizes”
A cool feature that separates the Japan Pro from a lot of potentially ill-fitting cupsole skate shoes out there is its very well-considered wide toe.
Your feet will not get cramped up in these, they give your feet ample space to breath and with triple stitching positioned across the front and the sides, in the zones where you’ll be doing a lot of Ollies and flips, they keep your feet stable while letting them breath and get ventilation.
But importantly the amount of space that’s free is minimal enough so the Japan Pro always feels tight, never loose, giving decent air circulation and making sure your toes get enough wriggle room to get a solid flick on flip tricks and a decently smooth scrape up and down your griptape for Ollies.
The toe is slightly rounded but more than pointy enough and due to that combo of triple layered stitching and durable, hardwearing suede, it will stay in shape over the first 3-6 months of skating. It’s solid overall durability against everyday skate wear and tear will make it last longer over time than a lot of less well-designed models out there that take shortcuts by using cheaper smaller suede panels and less stitching.
Also, the wavy dip patterned design on the side of the toe area creates a grooved notch in the area where your toes bend, allowing your feet to move even more freely and also help you avoid the ripping wear and tear that usually occurs in that flicking zone at the angle where most will be kicking out flip tricks.
(3.) – Upper: “Tight and Padded but Well-Ventilated”
The side of the logo on both sides of the Japan Pro and the area in front of the toe are perforated with a series of holes that majorly increase the shoe’s breathability and their capacity to be worn for a longer amount of time without getting too hot and feeling uncomfortable.
What’s tight about that is that in the area where the holes are, it is constructed with a more mesh style padding on the inside, meaning the front and sides of your foot remain very close to the board, massively increasing board feel and providing enhanced layers of comfort.
But there is still a solid amount of padding on the inside of the shoe mainly around your heel and right at the edges on the outside of the toe area, where it’s really needed.
(4.) – Heel: “Protective, Shock Absorbent, Stylish”
Each colorway of the Japan Pro is accented with a pebbled leather heel collar tab which is well-padded and spans right across the top of your feet, which anyone who has been hit in the top of the ankle with a stray board knows is always a good thing. But what’s important here and that you may not immediately notice is that this is also indented with a slight curve which supports your ankles and makes the shoe an even more snug fit while ultimately again, bringing your feet even closer to the board.
The chunky heeled design gives the shoe a lot of balance in more ways than one. Firstly by adding a lot of shock absorption into the Japan Pro’s overall construction, it means that for most skaters who are jumping off big drops or double sets, your heels are going to be suitably well-protected and it’s going to have as good a flick on the heel side for Heelflips as it does on the toe side for Kickflips.
Adding to this, there is also a reinforced mesh and stitched tab on the back of the Heel, running from the tab to the outsole, giving the shoe greater flexibility for people with larger feet, allowing it to expand slightly to be more comfortable and fit people with different feet sizes.
(5.) – Tongue: – “Puffy with Modern Style Flexibility”
The Japan Pro’s big puffy tongue, looks stylish, is protective and because it’s not too big and bloated it can be tucked neatly under the laces, giving them a more overall uniform look.
The tongue is made of a smooth breathable mesh that offers a lot of padded comfort and breathability and although the shoe is wide it never looks bulky and has an overall slim look and feel.
(6.) – Laces: – “A Load of Tight Options”
The laces that come out of the box are suitably wide and flat but not chunky. Accomodating skaters with all types of foot widths, there are additional lace holes at the top which you can adjust to get varying levels of tightness and looseness to further increase the shoe’s flexibility and fit.
(7.) – Inner Sock Liner: “Inner Elastic Strap’s Fantastic”
Inside the shoe, there is a springy elastic sock liner that holds your feet in place and increases stability when the laces are tightened. This inner sock lining strap gives you an extra layer of fit that stops your feet from rocking side to side and centralises your foot above the sole, helping you to keep balanced when your feet are at any angle, which is really helpful for all types of skating.
(8.) – Outsole: “It Grips and Rips”
The Japan Pro has a grippy outsole that holds it own with the majority of top-tier cupsoles out there. Although it may not be the most long-lasting, it will definitely stay in shape for the first 3-6 months, even with continuous every day skating, no problem.
It has a very well-crafted tread pattern, with a series of deep and shallow inset grooves, too big to pick up and collect dirt and debris but close and tight enough to increase grip and flex for Shuvits and Tre Flips, that allow your feet to grip the board from the center right up to the edge of the sides.
(9.) – Insole: “Solid, Basic Asics Insole”
Although the insole itself, appears to be quite standard, it has been carefully perforated with holes in all of the right places and when you look at the shoe overall, you realise it’s most likely this way because the heel is taking a lot of the impact for foot protection already anyway.
But saying that, in 2025 you would expect some basic gel inserts, which these don’t have but the lack of support in the insole itself has not been an issue that we experienced while skating them. But it’s definitely worth putting in your own padded insoles into these, if you bruise your heels a lot or like to skate seriously massive drops on the regular.
(10.) – Skateability: Fit: “True to Size”
The Japan Pro has one of the most solid fits out there, it’s true to size and even if it’s not immediately wrapped around your feet, you can easily make adjustments with the tongue or laces to get there in seconds. So for those reasons we would recommend that you get these in the normal size you would regularly get any shoe in, and there’s no need to size up or down in them.
(11.) – Skateability: Out the Box: “Straight Out the Gate, With No Break in Time to Wait”
The Japan Pro are great to skate, straight out of the box, there was zero break-in time. As soon as we put these on we were able to skate them as if we had been shredding in them for weeks. It’s rad when skate shoes actually work like that and these are definitely those.
(12.) – Skateability: “Dope on Street and Transition”
Pushing around in the Japan Pro feels solid, the overall lightness of the upper in combination with the weight of the sole adds an extra layer of cushioning to each push and you feel much less vibrations when wearing these as you may do wearing a lot of other cupsoles. Having a shoe that is so well fit gives you more energy to continue to push and roll allowing you to get as much speed as you can in them for longer.
The smooth suede glides when you drag your foot across it while doing Ollies and it is durable enough to remain resistant for a long time, to continue to give you that snappy feeling as you move your feet up and down the board without hesitation, consistently, even after several sessions after they are fully worn in.
One thing that traditionally lets a lot of cupsole skate shoes out there down is skating them on transition and experiencing a lack of board feel which can lead to feeling some concrete on your face as you figure out how to skate them but most likely shredding in the Japan Pro you’re not going to have this issue.
Due to its combination of lightness and thinness in the toe and side area, it packs a serious amount of padding into the shoe, while giving you solid control over your board. Wearing them while carving transition feels as good as wearing any thinner vulc shoe, but with added several extra layers of protection, so you’re getting some of the best of both worlds while wearing these.
(13.) – Colorways
The Japan Pro is available in a series of 12 different colorways, including the classic Black/White colour that we skated, an energetic Black/Pure Gold – that has a leather upper, a piercing Black/Blue, Gino’s favourite Peacot/Black, a summer-inspired White/Directoire Blue, a lowkey Cream/ White and Wood Crepe/Evergreen and Birch/Kale, an understated Arctic Sky/Black, classic autumn tone Wood Thrush/Black/Coffee, and the slightly more flashy looking Orange/Ivory and Cloud Grey/Classic Red versions too.
(14.) – Price
UK: £105
US: $105
(15.) – Rating – 8/10
On top of its classic stylings, the Japan Pro ultimately works well due to its enhanced protection and solid construction that makes the shoe overall very durable and comfortable and it only takes you a few minutes after popping them on and pushing around in them to realise why.
It’s a stylish, decently hardwearing model, that depending on how much you skate, will most likely see a fair bit of minor wear after 4 months of continuous skating but will keep overall shape in that time.
But even if you skated them every day for several hours they most likely would not even tear apart or start to lose their shape completely in the first 6 months.
They are fresh but not too sporty. They’re protective but not too tech, they look minimal but they are available in basically every colour under the rainbow.
The Japan Pro is simply a very good shoe. It does everything a great cupsole should do and a lot more than a lot of other models out there that are similarly priced but don’t look anywhere as good.
We would recommend Japan Pro’s to any skater who wants a dope-looking pair of skate shoes that have solid durability and a lot of versatility and protection to boot, to give them a try as soon as they can.
