Recently, all around Tokyo and the rest of Japan, one can see groups of girls wearing outdoorsy outfits of North Face, Columbia and Redwing boots.
These are the “Yama Girls” or Mountain Girls.
For various reasons, the women of Japan have taken to mountaineering in a major way, and dressing the part.
Like Hot Yoga, and Fixed-Gear Biking before it, the Yama Girl trend seemingly came out of nowhere.
Suddenly, girls in Japan were taking weekend jaunts to Mt. Fuji, Takao or any of the other mountains that make up most of the country outside of Tokyo.
With women marrying later and later in Japan, single girls are getting together for group trips, sans boys, to see the sunrise from mountaintops and get some healthy exercise. Of course, they do it in the typically kawaii “cutesy” fashion that the Japanese are known for.
You won’t see gritty, tough looking outfits on these girls. No sir! Yama Girls forego the roughneck fashions of mountaineers from other countries and take to the hills in skirts, colored tights, striped socks and pink, orange, and purple shoes.
Companies are marketing heavily to the young women in hopes of cashing in on the trend. In fact, some girls who have never climbed a mountain have gone all in on the fashion trend, even at low-altitude.
Tokyo is a valley! But that doesn’t stop city girls from wearing boots that belong on an expedition to a Starbucks in the Himalayas.
One of the reasons for the trend is the popularity of so-called “Power-Spots” in the Japanese Media. Power spots are old places with purportedly have healing powers, or psychic energy. Riiiight…
Not to be out done, even men have gotten into the act.
It’s not uncommon to see young dudes, all done up in shorts and colorful tights walking around the streets of Tokyo. While it might’ve been inspired by the mountains, I have a hard time calling guys dressed like this Mountain-Men.
Who knows how long the Yama-trend will continue, but let’s hope the guys leave it to the girls from now on. Would you wear tights to get a date with a yama-girl?
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