Welcome

While my primary blog, Akashi Jam, focuses on my life in Japan, this blog with be about my adventures in the outdoors: hikes, rural train rides, cycling trips, and my life as a "Yama Girl"(a new Japanese sub-culture where twenty-something girls take to the forests and mountains), as well as healthy recipes you can cook at home and while outdoors.

There are many blogs out there for expats in Japan to visit if they enjoy hiking and outdoor activities. However, about two years ago I began reading a magazine called Randonee (ランドネ), and it made me realize there wasn't anything really directed at girls my own age who liked doing things outdoors. Through this magazine I discovered the Yama Girl subculture that was just beginning to pick up speed. Twenty-something girls were going hiking and camping, wearing cute outfits and fun outdoor accessories that expressed their personalities. For many of these girls, it was the first time they were exposed to hiking and nature outside of the nature camp most elementary or junior high kids go to for a school field trip.

I even got a spot on a Japanese television feature about Yama Girls!　　This is a story in itself - I was the only foreigner out of 150 girls signed up for a hiking event in November 2010. I arrived and got a free bag of goodies (carabiners, maps, sample facial products,etc.). I was hiking alone at first, but soon made a friend with another Japanese girl traveling alone. We had a free curry lunch waiting for us at the top of the trail, and it was there that the film crew came up to me and asked me some very difficult questions. (Like, "What is the difference between the topography of Japan versus where you live in New York?") Of course I got super nervous and could barely speak. Watching the video makes me both laugh and cringe with embarrassment. On the bright side, at least I was able to understand enough Japanese to find out about this event, RSVP, and make a friend. You can see my horrible nervous attempt at Japanese here (I'm at 3:35).

So anyway, now that I am making an attempt to be more healthy with my lifestyle, I decided to share my adventures with the world. Hope you enjoy!!