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Kawaii Sports Casual Fashion
5/DEC/2009 on air

Jogging is becoming popular especially among young women today. However, what’s important to them is not to run faster, but to run in kawaii jogging apparel. Running skirt, abbreviated as “ransuka” in Japanese, is definitely a must item for “Bi-jogger” (bi=美=beautiful + jogger) in Japan. They like to wear running shoes or cap color-coordinated with the sportswear. Major sports brands that noticed this “Bi-jogger” boom started to release fashionable sportswear collections one after another. adidas for example, offers customized shoes with so many color variations that enable as many as a couple of hundred-billion-combination patterns.

People like to get sports shoes designed by famous athletes. Rie Hasegawa is a Japanese fashion model who is also well-known as an original Bi-jogger. She completed the Honolulu marathon 9 years ago. She says kawaii outfits will be great motivation for the those who do sports.

It’s not only jogging that cute outfits are remarkable. Kawaii sports casual fashion is required for mountain hiking, cycling, golf, and etc.

Popular Chinese models from Beijing visited Tokyo Kawaii TV to explore cutting-edge sports casual fashion that is hot in Japan.

Satomi-san is a charismatic bi-jogger who is well-known as a twin jogger. Her sister and she has been reported on Japanese fashion magazines very often and they are invited to various kind of marathons nowadays. However their goal is not to make a good record or improve it. It’s how beautifully they finish. Satomi-san carries a puff to correct her makeup at 1km behind the goal, because she wants to impress herself as beautiful as possible when she reaches goal where many people should be watching her. She is a mom to a baby girl. She runs with a buggy especially designed for jogging.

Chinese models liked Japanese kawaii jogging clothing, because it’s outstanding, kawaii, and fashionable.

A golf outfits brand that targets women in their 20s and 30s in Kobe is studying young lady’s fashion very seriously. Designers watch young female golfer fashion very carefully at golf practice ranges and golf courses day after day. The leader of the design team says, “It’s important for men to have high score or to win the game, but when it comes to women, they are more interested in being eye-catching among the crowds. Visual effects or physical appearances are very important to them. That’s why we have to pursue function as well as kawaii at the same time!” He visits Shibuya109 every month to check out the young lady’s fashion from which he can hit a good idea for new collections of his golf brand. DURAS is a golf fashion store especially for those who like gyaru fashion.

Fashion magazines also like to feature biker’s fashion. Sabu-san is a stylist specialized in bike fashion. He owns a couple of bikes and 30 pairs of sneakers to coordinate with his bike. One of his bikes is handmade from the U.K, and it costs 600,000 yen! (about USD6000)
The bike store he visited deals with apparel specialized for bikers. He coordinates for a Chinese model and pointed out the fringe is cute whenever she pedals her bike. He says that bike fashion is also OK for clubbing. Chinese models are convinced that it’s kawaii and cool.

Mountain climbing skirts are so kawaii that girls started to try casual trekking with the skirt on. Before Yuri-san introduced this skirt, it was boring pants style only available for mountain climbing in Japan. She likes to have both function and trend at the same time. Her primary business is a teacher of Kimono-wearing classes. She changes to “Yamasuka” (Yama=山=mountain + skirt) style after work picking out from as many as 40 skirts. It was New Zealand that she first met skirt style for mountain climbing. Since then she’s studied Yamasuka style so well that she’s become a Yamasuka designer now who designs for some international outdoor brands. It’s a big chance for Yamasuka fashion brand to increasing customers by attracting people who never experienced mountain climbing or never interested in it before.

Yuri-san, Mr. Ikki, Beni-chan and a Chinese model are choosing the best Yamasuka coordinate at an outdoor store in Shinjuku.
It was too much check and border that is not well coordinated after all, but skirt style was also fresh to the Chinese people there.

Kirin’s opinion:
I personally liked the bike fashion that the Chinese model was wearing! The pink x black dot and sky blue coordination is so cute!! It can be daily outfit not limited to bike fashion. I’d choose black leggings to coordinate with the black dot instead though. Kawaii sportswear outfits are somewhat expensive. I like to browse Oshman (although I am not good at sports at all) but never really decide to purchase something from there unless they are on sale. haha…^ ^;
If I buy sports fashion, I want something that I can also use as daily clothes. What do you think? Do you care for sports fashion when you do sports?

***There are archives of episodes listed under the page titled “Tokyo Kawaii TV” that is just located under the title banner of this blog.

When I live in Tokyo, I don’t feel like visiting Tokyo Tower. That is exactly the same as my Singaporean friend who doesn’t visit Merlion and my Belgium friend who’s never visited Grand Place in Brussels. Many Japanese people especially young people do not pay much attention to traditional Japanese art, music or performance. Of course I don’t say every Japanese, but many of us are more interested in pop culture or subculture that are hot now.

I’ve never ever been interested in Kabuki in my life, and I have to confess here that I’ve never watched it and I don’t know anything about it, except for some Kabuki stars that appear on TV commercials or tabloid show that I hardly watch. I should be ashamed of this as a Japanese, but I will be honest to you, I’ve never been inside Kabuki theater in my life, nevertheless I have passed through it several times. :p

Now this traditional and historical Kabuki theater is to be demolished for renewal. I must have been so indifferent since it was reported a few years ago.
But now I regret I didn’t ever take time thinking of watching Kabuki in this historical theater before demolition, as it’s too late now to get a ticket for Sayonara (goodbye) performance that will be over on 28th April. (That’s tomorrow!) When I passed through the Kabuki theater last weekend, there were so many people taking last pictures while it’s still there. It’s said Wednesday 28th April is the last day for the performance and Friday 30th April is the very last day for closing session.
The renewed Kabuki theater will be open 2013. Shinbashi Enbujo is replacing until then.

Now Tokyo Tower is also replaced by Tokyo Sky Tree.
I don’t know if Tokyo Tower remains, but I should not make another mistake in case it’s razed in the future.

It’s a bit sad we have to lose historical architectures like this, while they are preserved and still used in Europe.

★Hello Kitty Store in Tokyo★
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