and wander ONLINE STORE

はい、今回から新コーナー、登山のいろんな疑問にお答えする「教えて！山のワンダー」始めます。これウキコが命名したけど、どんな意味なの?

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?

「and wander」のワンダーじゃなく、「wonder」です。不思議というくらいの意味で、会話では「～かしら?」というニュアンスで使うことが多いですね。

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.

なるほど。ウキコにはいま山のワンダーが溢れていると。

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

まさに、そうなんです。ファッション畑から来た人間なので山のことはさっぱり。雑誌などで勉強してるんですけど、なんだか専門用語が多くて眠たくなっちゃうんですよね。そこで、このコーナーでは登山歴の長いイッシーさんに、山のアレコレを分かりやすく解説してもらえたらなと思っています。

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.

うちのブランドだと、お客さんでもけっこうそういう人多いかもしれないね。でも実は、うちのほとんどのアイテムが山でも着られる機能性があるんだよね。

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.

そうなんですよ。どういう時になにを着るべきかとか、街で着るお洋服だとデザイン優先で、機能面ってあまり考えないですよね。

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.

その辺りをこの連載では聞いていって、アンドワンダーの服をもっと山に連れて行こう！という提案ができたらいいなと思うんです。とりあえず八ヶ岳くらいには行けるようになりたい！という個人的な目論見もあります。

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.

まあでも山での快適さって個人差がかなりあるから、このコーナーではあくまでも一般論になるかな。いろいろ試して自分なりのセオリーを見つけられるようになるのも、山登りの楽しみのひとつということで。

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.

では次回からは具体的な質問を用意してきますので、先生よろしくお願いします！ あ、専門用語は基本なしで！

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!