I’m 71, and today I tried to keep up with three guys older than me. Hajiwa-san, Yamashita-san and Yasuda-san are all 75, already beyond Japan’s average ...

The typhoon had passed, but its tail was still blowing through Buren Bay. I’m on typhoon watch for my friend Mitsu, Wahine’s new owner, while he is in Mexico ...

For the past two years I've been travelling across Japan, letting longevity data guide my journey. This time the numbers have brought me to Shizuoka ...

Chiharu has returned to Tokyo after ten unforgettable days together, and Mitsuharu and I have shared our final dinner before our next adventures begin. Wahine ...

Description Ten days ago, I thought I was coming to observe. I left having learned far more than I expected. This final episode begins, as so many mornings ...

Day 9... and our plans changed once again. 😊 Mechanical problems meant Chiharu and Mitsu stayed an extra day on Kikai Island, so our long-awaited karaoke ...

Day 8... and yes, the week has been extended. 😊 Today, after morning Taiso with a friend and Neighbour, Ken Chan, Chiharu and her son Mitsu flew to nearby ...

Day 7... but we're not finished yet/ Today began early when a neighbor brought over a special flower for Chiharu to enjoy. After Taiso and before breakfast, ...

Day 6 The day began, as it has throughout the week, with Radio Taiso. Later we escaped the summer heat with a visit to a nearby waterfall, where we sat ...

A Week with Chiharu is a seven-day glimpse into the life of 91-year-old Chiharu as she spends time with her son Mitsu and me in Buren Bay, Japan. Through ...

A Week with Chiharu is a seven-day glimpse into the life of 91-year-old Chiharu as she spends time with her son Mitsu and me in Buren Bay, Japan. Through ...

This was a special day. It started out with Radio Taiso again early morning then we rowed out to Wahine. It was only the second time I'd sailed with ...

This is Day 2 of spending a week with 91-year-old Chiharu in my little longevity laboratory here in Buren Bay, Japan. It's only the second time we've met. The ...

This week, Mitsu's 91-year-old mother, Chiharu, has joined us in Buren Bay. It's only the second time I've met her. The first was a few months ago when she ...

Sailors have an old saying: "The two happiest days in a sailor's life are the day he buys a boat and the day he sells it." Having recently passed Wahine on ...

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 ...

After a month away, I'm back in my tiny fishing village on Amami Oshima. Twenty-nine people. This has become my longevity laboratory and a base from which I ...

A famous Japanese proverb says: "The nail that sticks out gets hammered down." Yet after years of travelling through Japan's remote communities and ...

Many people think ikigai means discovering a grand purpose.n reality, it is often much simpler. A reason to get up. A place to go. People who know your name. ...

Today I rode in a beautifully restored 1957 MGA with my friend Tony a classic enthusiast @fastbikejp It wasn't lost on me that the car was almost exactly my ...

I do not like retirement homes. That may sound provocative, especially as aging societies rapidly build more of them. But after traveling across Japan’s ...

As I continue traveling through Japan’s longevity hotspots, I keep hearing a surprisingly common response from people who remain active, healthy, and engaged ...

In Japan’s longevity hotspots, healthy aging is not reinforced only through healthcare or individual habits. It is woven into the annual rhythm of community ...

More than a century ago, writer Lafcadio Hearn observed that Japan viewed life, family, and community differently from the modern West. Less linear. More ...