After my children started going to playschool, I realized they needed more heavy duty shoes to accommodate the school's policy of letting them play outside in wet weather. Also, because my kids are only 2.5 years old they never watch where they're walking.  I ended up buying a pair of croc rain boots for truly rainy days and these Tsukihoshi shoes for everyday.  I really like the build of these shoes.  They are well padded, tough, built well, and yet are still somewhat flexible for my kids feet. I never saw them slip in these shoes and I don't worry about them hurting their feet on gravel.  Both munchkins can put the shoes on themselves and mostly get them fastened correctly.  After 3 months of use the shoes came home yesterday caked in mud.  I threw them in the washer (in a lingerie bag to reduce the banging) and let them dry on the counter.  They look almost like new.  These are the most expensive shoes I've bought for my children but I think they are a worthy investment.

Edit 8/12: My kids have graduated to the next size up and the original shoes still look almost brand new.  I ended up washing them almost twice a week for the last few months but they look great.  I bought the kids the same style, new colors, in the next half size up since the full size looked a bit too big to me.  My little tester could walk in the next full size up but there was enough slide room that I thought the half size was justified.  The half size up fits perfectly.

Edit 8/13:  My kids are 4 now and they still use this exact style and brand for their everyday "school" shoes.  They're wearing the size 10's and I went back through my history to check, but it seems that my kids usually outgrow each size between 7 to 3 months.  I step them up through the half sizes too, so if I used the whole sizes only they'd probably get more wear.  The 3 month count was a spurt of crazy growth (all those pants, outgrown and almost like new!), the 6 month mark is more normal.  I stick to the darker shoe colors now so they don't fade with the constant washing.  Tip: take out the sole liners and shake the shoes out, then replace liners before washing.  It cuts down on the sand and rocks in your washer.

Note:  I read that some people think these shoes wear out too fast.  It might depend on the surfaces the child walks on: our playschool has no asphalt in their playground, just grass, dirt, gravel and sand.
Note2: My kids are currently using the purple/pink sneakers and the pink/red sneakers.  They get wet and dirt covered at least twice a week and I wash them about 3x a week.  I noticed the pink one is starting to look a little faded in areas of high wear.  The purple, however, looks bright and new.  The chocolate/pink ones they used prior to these still look bright and new (worn on bottom but tops really nice).