Alternate Air Jordan 5 “Tokyo” Appears!

Update // It has now been confirmed by sources that this is just one shoe of a mismatched Shanghai/Tokyo “What The” Air Jordan 5. You can catch the full, updated article here.

OG Post // To celebrate the 2011 opening of the Jordan Tokyo 23 store in Japan, Jordan Brand prepared a special -edition and ultra-limited release; The Air Jordan 5 “Tokyo”. It’s a Holy Grail for Jordanheads across the globe due to both its scarcity and — for its era — rare use of yellow. It was, and still is, a standout pair. But if you’re not in a spot to fork out over $5k on the aftermarket, there is some good news for you; an alternate pair is currently in sample production:

Constructed with a yellow suede upper, the sneaker is accented by Wolf Grey on the tongue, eyelets, and webbing on the quarter panel. Hits of black on the toe, heel, and laces provide contrast, as does the Japanese-inspired #23 character embroidered on the heel. And whilst this shot only teases the motif, Jordan Brand is notorious for making subtle changes and tweaks on reissues, just like they have here on 2020’s Air Jordan 5 “Bel-Air” reissue. Having laid eyes on the sample, we can confirm that it does sport new white, green, and orange camo sock liners (similar to that of 2007’s “Army Olive” Laser Air Jordan 5, and orange tongue lining on its 3M reflective tongue. That is all we’ve seen thus far, so changes to the sole unit and upper are still unknown. It’s very likely that, with these visuals, that the pair is this previously-reported Varsity Maize/Solar Orange Air Jordan 5 release.

A retro would make some kind of sense, too, being both the store’s 10th anniversary and Tokyo’s Olympic Games being held in 2021. The possibility of a reissue has caused some expected saltiness but most people are pretty chuffed with the news — it’s also very possible that the pair is part of a mismatched “What The” release, with the recently-previewed “Shanghai/Bel-Air” being one shoe, this being the other — although that’s yet to be confirmed.

Grab a look at the sample pair above, and 2011’s produced pair below, and keep your eyes locked on our official Twitter account for any and all further updates.

If you want to check out what Jordan Retros are confirmed for this year, you can catch a full list of upcoming Jordan Releases for 2020 here.