Life in a remote village rarely goes exactly as planned. Today brought two unexpected problems. One was solved by the kindness of an 80-year-old neighbor. The ...
Japan Solo
Every few weeks, I pass through Narita. Not just the airport. The town. It has become part of my rhythm. Leaving Tokyo, I slow down before returning to my ...
Why do some people remain healthy, active, and independent well into their eighties and nineties, while others experience years of decline? That question sent ...
More than a century ago, writer Lafcadio Hearn observed that Japan viewed life, family, and community differently from the modern West. Less linear. More ...
The fishing harbor is empty today. A typhoon is approaching, and the village has prepared. The longer I spend in Japan’s remote longevity hotspots, the more ...
As I continue traveling through Japan’s longevity hotspots, I keep noticing recurring patterns. One of them is simple: Many of the people who age well tend ...
In a remote village near where my boat Wahine is moored in Amami, a weathered stone has long been part of a local coming-of-age ritual. At first glance, it ...
Fresh food. Local people. Shared meals. The deeper I travel into Japan’s longevity hotspots, the more I suspect healthy aging is not just about what people ...
Back in my remote island village in Japan. The more time I spend traveling through Japan’s longevity hotspots, the more I notice the same patterns repeating ...
Over the past two years traveling through Japan’s longevity hotspots, I kept noticing something unexpected: Many older people practice haiku. This week in ...
For years, Japan has fascinated the world with its long-lived population. But what if part of that story was never just diet, exercise, or healthcare? What if ...
May 1st marks the beginning of Golden Week in Japan—a time for travel, rest, and celebration. But there’s another side to this season. After the beauty of ...
The first line of John Steinbeck`s book, Travels with Charley, recently shared with me by Professor James McNally, resonates even at 71 In Japan’s longevity ...
Last day in Tokyo. I was invited to an event on Aging in Japan. Tonight, I head back to the island… back to the boat. To prepare for something special. In a ...
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 ...
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 ...
I’ve spent the last two days tucked into Osaka, racing to finish the 4th draft of my new book — and somehow, miraculously, I wrapped it early ahead of a ...
This morning I joined a national ritual in the grounds of a Japanese castle — Morning Taiso. It’s a gentle stretch-and-strength routine familiar to every ...
I left the boat behind in Amami and took the big boat to Okinawa ( read Ferry) and it is day 6 of my second journey this year to Japan`s Longevity Hot Spots. ...