Cherry Blossoms Led Me to Japan's Belonging Secret #japan #sakura #belonging
Walking around a Japanese castle during cherry blossom season.
Moats were designed to protect—keeping outsiders out, and insiders in.
Years ago, a mentor shared that insight with me while explaining life and business in Japan.
But over time, I’ve come to see something deeper.
In Japan, it’s not enough to simply be on the inside.
The real goal… is to belong.
This is another Field Note as I move toward a new chapter—transitioning from Pacific Solo to Japan Solo, exploring longevity, community, and what it means to live well and stay connected.
#Japan #JapaneseCulture #Belonging #Community #JapanSolo #CherryBlossoms #Sakura #LifeLessons #Longevity #NeverTooLate #SlowTravel #FieldNotes
Walking around a Japanese castle during cherry blossom season.
Moats were designed to protect—keeping outsiders out, and insiders in.
Years ago, a mentor shared that insight with me while explaining life and business in Japan.
But over time, I’ve come to see something deeper.
In Japan, it’s not enough to simply be on the inside.
The real goal… is to belong.
This is another Field Note as I move toward a new chapter—transitioning from Pacific Solo to Japan Solo, exploring longevity, community, and what it means to live well and stay connected.
#Japan #JapaneseCulture #Belonging #Community #JapanSolo #CherryBlossoms #Sakura #LifeLessons #Longevity #NeverTooLate #SlowTravel #FieldNotes
Pacific Solo
Hi, I`m Lowell, a 67-year-old rookie sailor, and a never-too-later! I preparing myself for the biggest challenge of my life: a solo journey across the North Pacific. I am a Canadian living in Japan, and in 2019, I purchased Wahine, a 1988 Gib Sea 402. I moved on board while she was moored in Tokyo. In March 2021, I terminated my contract with the Marina and have been cruising Japan full time since gaining valuable experience all the while working remotely from the boat. Wahine is my home, my studio, and my lab. Join me on my learning voyage around Japan, trying to prepare myself for Pacific Solo. If you want to see where I am please go to my website and click on the Where`s Wahine Button at https://www.pacificsolo.com Also, if you are a fellow never-too-later check out www.nevertoolateacademy.com PSThe History Channel asked if they follow me into various remote ports for a new series called Dare to Dream. The pilot airs in Japan July 24th at 8pm.
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Pacific Solo Lastest Videos
Cherry Blossoms Led Me to Japan’s Belonging Secret #japan #sakura #belonging
Walking around a Japanese castle during cherry blossom season. Moats were designed to protect—keeping outsiders out, and insiders in. Years ago, a mentor shared that insight with me while explaining life and business in Japan. But over time, I’ve co...
A Moment That Changed My Focus #fuji #aging #newborn
I was speeding away from Tokyo after a week at an aging conference when something unexpected interrupted the moment: A photo, A first. And then a question I hadn’t been asking: Is there an arc of firsts across a lifetime? Read the results of my deep ...
Life Is Fleeting. Legacy Isn’t #CherryBlossoms #Japan #lifelessons
It`s Cherry blossom season in Japan. Each spring, people gather under the sakura with friends, family, and colleagues—celebrating their beauty while knowing it will soon pass. The blossoms are fleeting. A reminder that life is, too. But not everything f...
Okinawa Boat Tragedy: Captain Explains What Matters #japan #boatsafety #aging
Like many people in Japan and around the world, I was saddened by the recent boating tragedy off Henoko in Okinawa, where a 17-year-old high school student and a 71-year-old captain lost their lives. I’ve been asked by many viewers to comment—particul...
A Global Aging Conference in Tokyo #IAFOR #longevity #japan
Just wrapped up the IAFOR Aging and Gerontology Conference in Tokyo. 865 delegates from 65 countries, bringing together perspectives that are international, intercultural, and interdisciplinary. A few days of plenaries, panels, and parallel sessions— a...
Boat Safety in Japan: A Tragedy and Important Questions
Like many people in Japan and around the world, I was deeply saddened by the recent boating tragedy in Okinawa, where a 17-year-old student and a 71-year-old captain lost their lives. A number of you have reached out asking questions—especially in compa...
From a Village of 29 … to Tokyo #JapanSolo #Longevity #Community
I’ve just left the remote island village of 29 people in southern Japan, where my boat is moored, and arrived in Tokyo for a conference on aging and gerontology with IAFOR ( The International Academic Forum) Before that, I’m walking across the city to...
Back on the Mainland #fieldnotes #sunset #japan
I’m back on the mainland after months on a quiet island in southern Japan. Rush hour. Trains arriving. A different rhythm of life. Yet at sunset, something familiar appears. The same sun that lights a remote island also glows over steel tracks and tan...
She’s 92 and Wants to Sail With Me #longevity #japan #superagers
I’m flying to the mainland for a conference on aging with the International Academic Forum But when I return to Amami, something special is happening. A 92-year-old woman named Chiharu, who still plays golf and tennis, is coming to sail on my boat. She...
Leaving Wahine for a While / A New Chapter Begins #JapanSolo #healthyaging #IAFOR
This morning I leave Wahine, my boat in Buren Bay on Amami Ōshima, for a few weeks. The next month will take me to an international aging and gerontology conference organized by the International Academic Forum @iaformedia, a birthday gathering with fami...
The Sweet Potato Truck #fieldnotes #superfood #japan
A few minutes ago I heard singing drifting through this tiny village of twenty-nine people. Then a small truck appeared selling roasted sweet potatoes — a favorite food of Japan’s super-agers. Neighbours stepped out of their homes one by one to buy s...
The Morning After the Gale #fieldnotes #sailing
Last night a full gale blew across Buren Bay. From Mitsu’s old house near the shore I listened to the wind roll over the roof and wondered how Wahine was handling it out on the mooring. Boats are strange companions. You care for them… and they carry...
Three Days. Same Bay #fieldnotes #JapanSolo #mindset
Three days in the same bay. Wednesday calm. Thursday rain. Friday wind. Life near the sea offers a simple reminder: The weather keeps us humble and shapes our mindset. Field Notes from Japan`s Longevity Hot Spots Lowell Sheppard is a writer and sailo...
Seeing Things Twice #fieldnotes #agingwell #beautiful
A calm morning in Amami. When the Bay goes still, things appear twice. Above and below. Sometimes a familiar place looks different when you pause long enough to notice. #JapanSolo #FieldNotes #SailingLife #Amami #SlowTravelJapan #beautiful
The One Thing Sailing Teaches You #JapanSolo #sailinglife #writerslife
Waiting day in Amami. The wind is too strong to paddle out to my boat, Wahine, anchored in the bay — so I wait. At the same time, far away in London, my agent is showing my new book, Longevity and the Art of Community: Lessons from Japan, to publishers...
Visitors Pass Through. Community Stays #FieldNotes #JapanSolo #travel
Namba, with its lively Dotonbori area, is one of Osaka's busiest areas. It is filled with visitors from around the world. But places like this only work because of the people who belong here, the cooks, shopkeepers, and workers who show up every day. V...
Longevity`s Trait is Often a Quieter Rhythm. #fieldnotes #longevity #japan
Still water. A quiet harbor. A small boat resting in the breeze. Moments like this remind me that longevity isn’t always about doing more. Sometimes it follows a quieter rhythm. Scenes like this appear often while traveling through Japan’s coastal co...
Japan’s 3-Minute Longevity Habit #fieldnotes #RadioTaiso #Longevity
Every morning across Japan, millions of people begin the day with Radio Taiso — a short series of simple exercises broadcast nationally. It only takes a few minutes, but it reflects something deeper: rhythm, routine, and community. Longevity in Japan m...
While I was visiting Longevity Villages … This Happened #fieldnotes #japan #community
While I’ve been away visiting Japan’s longevity hotspots and gathering field notes for my book, Wahine has been quietly waiting at the dock. But apparently not alone. Some local visitors decided to make themselves at home, so on this trip away, I’v...
Why Rural Japan Doesn’t Feel Lonely #Japan #VillageLife #fieldnotes
Rural Japan is often described as aging, shrinking, or falling behind. But spend time in a small village and you see something else. Less speed. More ritual. Less separation. More belonging. In aging societies, community isn’t sentimental — it’s s...
There Isn’t One Japan | Unlearning Number 1 #fieldnotes #japan #longevity
From a distance, Japan looks uniform. On the ground, it fragments. A fishing village in Okinawa doesn’t move like Osaka. A mountain town in Nagano doesn’t age like Nagoya. Longevity in Japan isn’t national. It’s local. This is the first in a sh...
Everything I Thought About Japan Was Wrong #fieldnotes #slowtravel #japansolo
After years of travelling slowly across Japan — by sailboat, train, and on foot — I realised something unexpected: The hardest lessons weren’t about learning more. They were about unlearning assumptions. Not facts. Narratives. Cultural shortcuts. ...
Japan’s Plastic Conference – A View from the Waterline
Next week, Japan hosts an international conference on plastic pollution. I won’t be in the room, but I live at the waterline. From here, plastic pollution isn’t abstract. It’s mechanical. It’s physical. It can be dangerous. A discarded fishing ne...
Longevity Looks Like This #healthspan #movement #fieldnotes
In Japan’s longevity communities, people don’t chase intensity. They keep moving. Not fast. Not forceful. Slow enough to feel the ground beneath them and the elements around them. Sun. Air. Water. Over time, that rhythm compounds. These are field ...
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