2020.01.22

イッシー&ウキコの
教えて!山のワンダー
相談室「山のワンダー」始めます!and wander journal #05

第1回
相談室「山のワンダー」始めます!

tateishitateishi

Let’s start our new project “Solving the Wonders of Mountains”! Here, we’re going to answer various questions about hiking and other mountain-based activities. Ukiko, you named this project, right? Where does this title come from?

kaikai

Well, it’s a word play. In English, “wander” and “wonder” are pronounced differently but has a similar spelling. Besides, in Japanese, “wander” and “wonder” can be expressed in the same three Katakana characters and they’re pronounced the same! So, I thought “wonder” is a perfect word to use for the title of this project, where we’re going to answer questions, or “wonders”, about activities in the mountains.

tateishitateishi

Interesting! So you have a bunch of “wonders” about the mountains?

kaikai

Exactly. I was in the field of fashion for my previous career, so I have absolutely no idea. Actually, I am reading through magazines and other resources to get some information, but they use too many technical terms and it’s sleep-inducing. So, since you are such an experienced hiker, I thought it would be perfect if you could explain clearly and in detail about hiking and outdoor activities in the mountains.

tateishitateishi

Many of our customers may be having the same kinds of questions indeed. As a matter of fact, basically, most of and wander’s items have enough functionality for mountain-based activities.

kaikai

That’s right. We tend to think about which clothing matches the occasion and prioritize design over functionality. It’s something that we think little about.

tateishitateishi

You have a point there.

kaikai

I think if would be nice if I could dig deeper into functionality of outdoor clothing here and give some useful suggestions and recommendations that would encourage the consumers to take our items to the mountains. Personally, I also intend to take this opportunity to learn enough about mountains to at least be able to do a multi-day hiking on Mt. Yatsugatake.

tateishitateishi

Yeah, but you know, the comfortableness in the mountains does vary considerably from person to person. Here, I will give you the general ideas, so then, you can try out yourself to find your own theory. That’s part of the fun about hiking.

kaikai

Then, I’ll bring some specific questions to ask you next time! I’m looking forward to your class! By the way, minimum technical terms for this class please!

tateishitateishi

Y… Yeah. I’ll try my best…

Isshi イッシー

Plays the teacher role in this program. A 15-year experienced hiker who heads out to the mountains under the pretext of a “field test” every time he buys a new outdoor gear. A mid-career staff at and wander, who realized that he gained much more weight himself than the weight he succeeded to save over the past 10 years by lightening the gears.

Ukiko ウキコ

Plays the student role in this program. Although she is interested in backpacking trips, she is a new recruit at and wander and still has a lot to learn. Fluent speaker of English and well-versed in fashion but tends to get panicked when she hears too many technical outdoor terms.

text Takashi Sakurai
illustration Mizumaru Kawahara
translation Masumi Tokugawa