If you visit Japan, you might well see women who are stylishly dressed while enjoying running, mountain climbing, or fishing.

There's currently a boom among Japanese women in actively enjoying sports and the outdoors. These women are popularly called run-garu (running-girl) if they run, yama-garu (mountain-girl) if they climb mountains, and tsuri-garu (fishing-girl) if they like to fish. They all have an active interest in fashion that fits their activity and a hearty enjoyment of sports and the outdoors.

Stylishly Dressed Women Runners

Nowadays running is popular in Japan and races of different lengths are held all around the country. Lucky winners of the general entry lottery for the Tokyo Marathon held every year in February totaled 27,370 runners in 2016, but there were 308,810 applicants for a spot, a ratio of about 11 to 1, which are pretty severe odds.

The driving force behind this running boom is young women. One reason suggested for this increase in women runners is that there is now cute running wear for women that wasn't available before. Running fashions that are carefully crafted and particular about function and design have captured the hearts of women with a strong interest in both health and beauty. Sports aren't just for stoics anymore; now women are enjoying them too while fashionably dressed.

Manufacturers of running wear and gear are making products for women based on input from them. In addition, women-only races are being held, and places like the course around the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, which sees a lot of runners, have showers and changing rooms for women, and facilities that support women runners are increasing.

Cute Clothes for Climbing

It's no exaggeration to say that it was young women that brought fashion to mountain climbing in Japan.

In Japan until recently, mountain climbing was mostly done by men and older people. But, since the advent of colorfully dressed young women enjoying mountains, mountain climbing has also become a recreation for a younger age group. What started this trend was a stylish skirt for trekking. Easy to move in and made from materials with excellent elasticity, it's usually worn with tights.

For mountain climbing, a knickerbocker-like style coordinated with conservative colors have been in the mainstream of outdoor fashion. Now with skirts that combine fashion and function, women can enjoy wearing colorful and cute mix-and-match that suits their individuality.

Nowadays, many women wearing colorful trekking outfits climb Mt. Takao, a popular hiking spot near Tokyo, as well as Mt. Fuji, the highest mountain in Japan.

Japan is surrounded by the ocean, and there are abundant rivers and lakes that are great fishing spots. To enjoy them, women are now avidly doing everything from fly fishing to ocean fishing in a boat, wearing clothes with fashion and function.

Recently, young women who hitherto had no interest in sports or the outdoors are thinking about having fun outside and spending some time in nature. Perhaps, fashion coming to sports has widened the interests of young Japanese women.