Masato is a leading drytooler in Japan, and was inspired to start climbing because of a comic.
🧊 About the episode
How many of you were inspired to start climbing because of a comic? I’m sure Masato Najakima is not alone, but he is the only person I can say with certainty that that's the case. (And if you’re curious, it was Gaku: Minna no Yama (in English, "Peak: Everyone's Mountain")).
Anywho, Masato is a leading drytooler in Japan and was one of a contingent from the country who sent “A Line Above the Sky” last year. Masato is a bit of a late bloomer — at 43, he’s one of the older athletes on the UIAA World Cup scene — and has made great progress since he started competing in 2016.
As one of the elder statesmen in his country, he’s trying to grow the sport locally. And despite 5 drytooling gyms in Tokyo — yes, you heard that right — it’s not easy… which we dive into in this chat.
Along with that, in this episode, we discuss:
- 🧊 Overcoming health issues and getting into climbing
- 🧊 The history of drytooling in Japan
- 🧊 Efforts (and challenges) to grow the sport locally
- 🧊 Where to climb in the country and the strict no-drilling ethos
- 🧊 Unique perspective from a Japanese expat living in Canmore
But it sounds really Japanese, right? Inspired to start my climbing career from a cartoon. It's probably not common in North America or other countries because, you know, cartoon is more, I don't know, superstar or Superman as hero, right? In Japan it's different.
🧊 Resources and links
If you’d like to learn more about drytooling in Japan, are thinking of visiting, or would like to help grow the community, you can reach out to Masato at @masato_drytooling. And here is the manga that inspired Masato.
If you’d like to learn more about Takeshi, here is an article about one of his routes in the Himalayas, and if you’re interested in going out for a day of guided climbing in the Canadian Rockies, you can connect with him at @taniyan_8000.
🧊 Credits
📸 Most photos are by @kazuhiro_kodaira, courtesy of Masato.
Intro music by Hannah Noelle Enomoto (thanks, sis!). This episode was edited by Andrew Salomone of salomonesound.com.
🧊 Sponsors:
A huge thanks to Aniiu Gloves and Furnace Industries for supporting this show!
Aniiu Gloves: What do you get when you combine 30 years of ice climbing and product design chops? Well, if you’re into gloves you get Aniiu — a boutique climbing brand on a mission to produce the best ice climbing and drytooling gloves around. Doug, Jun, and the rest of the team spare no expense in the pursuit of durable, dextrous and waterproof. Best yet, they are made from recycled textiles — which saves waste from the landfill — and they are robustly built so they won’t end up there anytime soon. To learn more about your friend in the cold, head to aniiu.com. That is aniiu.com.
Furnace Industries: We get it, ice season never really ends… it just kinda blends between rock, plastic, and plywood until waterfalls freeze over again. No matter how you train in the off-season Furnace Industries keeps you going ‘til your next bout of screaming barfies. With their gym-safe DRY ICE Evolutions you can keep up your fitness indoors. And if you’re looking to challenge yourself on your homewall, they have the largest stock of drytooling holds in America. Check out their full lineup of ice and drytooling gear at furnace-Industries.com… where It’s Always Ice Season.
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