Everyday life with a Patagonia backpack. vol.1 Model Tomohiro Fujita

Mr. Fujita goes to a climbing gym two to three days a week. On this day, we visited "BETA Climbing Gym" in Akebonobashi, which he frequents. Climbing Gym" in Akebonobashi, which he frequents. While there are many climbing gyms scattered throughout Japan, he has his own reasons for choosing BETA Climbing Gym.

The holds at BETA are not very big, so I can practice as if I were on an outside rock. There are a lot of challenges and it's fun, so I like to come here.

Daily training is the only way to demonstrate your abilities on the actual rock, but honing your skills at the climbing gym does not guarantee that you will be able to climb in the same way on the actual rock.

Comparing the holds at the gym to the outer rock, the feeling of holding them is completely different. Most of the holds at the gym can be gripped firmly, but the ones on the outer rock are shaped so that only the tips of the fingers can be caught on them. Therefore, the movements are more subdued on the outer rock. The first time I went to the outer rock, I was already really scared. In a gym, there are mats all over the place, but on the outer rock, the mats that everyone brings are limited, so you have to be careful about where you fall. Also, on the outer rock, the most difficult part is the mantle flip, where you have to stand on top of the rock. You can't practice that in the gym.

Although he trains for the outer rock, the days he spends working out at the gym with his friends are also invaluable. He has been going on expeditions to Kochi for about four years in a row with climbing friends with whom he shares such time at the gym.

In Kochi, there are many areas for climbing that are accessible from the city, both on the sea and in the mountains, so there are many climbers who come from far away. I even happened to meet a guy I had greeted at BETA.

Mr. Fujita first got into climbing about four years ago. He had always loved mountaineering, and a friend with whom he often went mountain climbing with took up climbing.

I wondered, "Why is it so much fun to just climb rocks? I didn't understand this feeling until I tried it. I have been playing baseball since I was a little kid. Now as an adult, if I wanted to play baseball, I would have to gather nine people, rent a stadium, and do all sorts of other preparations. Climbing, on the other hand, can be done in the spare time I have, and the fact that I can play by myself fits into the rhythm of my life.