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So you want to live to be 100? The answers to living a long and happy life may come from Japan which has the longest average life expectancy in the world (83.84 years) and where 2 million people are over the age of 90. Believe it or not, 6 of the top 10 oldest people alive are from Japan including Nabi Tajima of Kagoshima who is 117 years old and the last human alive born in the 19th century!
How did so many Japanese get to live so long?
What are some of the things Japanese do right?
In this episode, John travels to Tottori Prefecture to the area around Mt Daisen where his friend di lei Tomiko-san gives him some advice about how to live a long life and how she's lived to be 106 years old and still working on the farm!
ONLY in JAPAN
So you want to live a long life perhaps past a hundred years old. Japan may have some of the answers
Welcome to Sugamo in central Tokyo.
This place is nicknamed the grandma Harajuku.
It’s a place where
seniors come for high-fashion.
Sugamo may be in Tokyo, but it’s certainly not like neighboring Shibuya or Harajuku.
It retains a lot of the charms of the Showa era
The area may have stayed the same, but most of the residents have gotten older and that reflected in what they sell along the main shopping street. And, this Sugamo neighborhood is a great jumping-off point to ask the question:
Why do Japanese live so long?
Japan is famous for having the longest life expectancy in the world, in fact. right now, there are two million people over the age of 90 living here in Japan. That about 2% of the population - which is crazy!
So, there’s got to be a secret to why people live so long. Some say, it’s because everyone drinks green tea daily. Its served everywhere and the most popular item in drink vending machines...is green tea. Japanese eat smaller portions of food More seafood and lean meats It could be the fermented foods they eat, which are healthy for both the heart and the stomach Japan is also a bath culture.
Showers are nice, but soaking in a bath relieves stress and improves the body's circulation Natural Hot Springs are everywhere, loaded with minerals good for the skin Access to affordable and top-notch health care?
That could be a reason, too Kids learn personal responsibility in school. Most walk or bicycle there.
Could that be the setup for a long life?
Violence and gun-related deaths are almost non-existent in Japan Japan has a holiday called Respect for the Aged Day. And, in Japan, senior citizens are Living Treasure The government sends them silver Sake Cups when they reach 100 years old Six of the top 10 and twelve of the top 20 oldest people alive....live in Japan The oldest, Super centenarian Nabi Tajima of Kagoshima is the last person alive verified to be born in the 19th century She’s 117 and her secret...good sleep and three meals a day
But it’s got to be more than that, right.
DNA could also play a role But, it’s still a lottery. Although, Japanese have slightly better odds for those disease-resistant genes Now one or all of these things might be the secret to living a really long life
But, I’m not really sure.
So, I went to Tottori prefecture to ask the one person who I think knows. She’s a hundred and six years old...and she was born in the Meiji era. Certainly, she has the answers Tottori Prefecture is on the Sea of Japan side and I visited Mount Daises. A place with a great environment for living a long life Mt. Daises protects the area from typhoons, provides people with lots of pure drinking water, and its location by the sea means excellent fish Daises Temple on the mountain is celebrating its 1300th anniversary in summer 2018.
A symbol of longevity, for sure And, a place where one of the area’s oldest residents lives...Tomiko-San. So, what her secret?
Because I’ve been working in agriculture I’ve used my body a lot in the field That trains my body to make it stronger Since I’m working in the field every day It trains my body well So basically if you work hard, you’ll be energetic for a long time I’ve actually never ever been sick You’ve never caught a cold in your life! Am I right?
Never caught a cold, Wow! Oh, great!!
Well, I caught cold when I was young But after becoming old, I haven’t caught anything at all. I wonder why? Do you think it’s because of your diet?
Were careful about what we eat Raised on a farm she’s worked hard and eaten well Way back in the beginning, there was an annual health checkup in town and a lot of people had a high blood pressure The Health Inspection Office told us we need to eat soybeans but for kids and old people, it was difficult, so we made Tofu We started to make Tofu ourselves in 1954 and we’ve been making Tofu ever since
In this episode, John travels to Tottori Prefecture to the area around Mt Daisen where his friend di lei Tomiko-san gives him some advice about how to live a long life and how she's lived to be 106 years old and still working on the farm!
Tofu is an amazingly healthy food best made fresh and the family tradition started 65 years ago Continues with Ryo-San who still makes Tofu in the traditional way Tofu was probably made because of its nutritional value, a long time ago now it’s made to pursue deliciousness In the past, it was just for nutrition He basically continues to preserve this tradition and also because it’s just more delicious to make it yourself a A lot of the family’s success is due to the environment and good habits Tomiko-San still walks herself with the help of a chair on wheels And she’s surprisingly fast I wanted to see what it was about Tofu. How it is made here So Ryo-San invited me to make it with him starting at 4:30 in the morning.
It all starts with the soybeans grown on a farm and the pure waters of Mt. Daises The beans are soaked to absorb the water washed drain And put through a stone grinder that crushes them producing a white milk This is the raw product that will soon become Tofu But before doing that Ryo-San started a wood fire under the cauldron the way Tomiko-San did in the past During the cold months, it keeps the room warm.
Although, a little smoky The buckets of unprocessed soy milk gets poured in with Nigeria sprinkled in to help it coagulate Its stirred in and covered to raise the temperature to 90 degrees Celsius. That takes a while The sides are skimmed to prevent any burn taste to the final product This is when Tomiko-Sans great-grandson Bunk chi wakes up to help Ryosan make the Tofu He’s the heir apparent to take over the tradition and it helps that he’s curious about everything, including making Tofu with Grandpa When it reaches close to 90 degrees Celsius, its strained all the liquids separated from the curd And, the collected curd, it’s used later since it has a nutritional value At this point, we have some very delicious soy milk Its naturally sweet and only slightly creamy a very delicate taste.
It takes about 30 minutes to coagulate at which point Ryo-San transfers it to a cheese cloth in a handmade wooden press It takes time to naturally let the water string through the holes Tofu should be delicate So you don’t want to push it if you push hard the Tofu will become hard and rubbery the weights give balance and even pressure When enough water is out Ryo-San extracts the Tofu inside a tub of water where it floats staying protected and in shape He cuts them in large blocks for the customers and his own family to eat for today Customers come from all around the neighborhood with their own bucket to bring some home Its first-come, first-serve I was here first, so I got a cup of the freshly-made Tofu The same recipe Tomiko-San has been making since the 1950s When Tofu is made right, it’s very tasty, even on its own.
It has a slight sweetness to it And, that diet is one reason for Tomiko-Sans happy and healthy life, as she gets closer to a hundred and ten years old Not far away is a market that sells local farmers produce prices are cheaper than at the supermarket And, the farmers bringing it in are all seniors and very strong, doing everything themselves Your hands look super strong!
Oh, they are! Amazing!!
Also, because I’m a table tennis player at Japan National Competition She’s full of energy, just like Tomiko-San, so the environment certainly plays a role I wanted to get another point of view so a friend recommended I talked with Nakajima-San, who is a Shinto priest near Mt. Daises He lives next to the shrine in the middle of a farm Visitors to the shrine pray for safe pregnancies and deliveries and a happy and healthy life.
What’s Nakajima-sans secret to life?
Maybe, the simple life makes me like this Not eating luxurious stuff but eating such as brown rice, and farm nearby to cultivate eggplant and pumpkin which I eat daily The area around the shrine really is a farm and exercising. Well, I don’t do it anymore because I’m older, but I love mountains so I climbed Mr.Daisen couple of hundred times Also, Japanese Alps, and Mont Blanc in Europe, and some mountains in Nepal So, I believe living with nature being surrounded by it, is what makes a life good Living peacefully and in harmony with nature is a recipe for success in Japan But, that certainly not the only thing. You got to know how to stay young and have fun, no matter how old you get That right.
He drives a Porsche.
He shares the car with others who have a passion for driving like he does On a nice evening like this,
why not go for a short drive?
And, going around town in a Porsche is just a little more fun We could definitely feel the energy of driving a sports car And, couldn’t help, but smile So, I guess the secret to a long life is also about having fun Ask my Japanese neighbors And, what Mr. Seiichis secret?
He just celebrated his 97th birthday, and only recently retired from his job selling peanuts to customers
The secret?
He even has a favorite go-to song Its Enka a traditional kind of Japanese ballad He goes to a community center for the elderly three times a week and sings There’s a lot of energy to being on stage and singing to others Karaoke is a way to release your mind and stay young He sings at home with his family, too Another secret is to be surrounded by loved ones and seniors often live with their families at home With Karaoke, you can remember those good times and make new memories with neighbors from faraway lands The seniors from today come from a different era, they grew up in the 1930s 40s 50s and 60s They didn’t have a lot of stuff, and they lived more humbly It was my generation from the 1970s, 80s, 90s, until today We have so many things like fast food, our diets have changed our lifestyles have changed, and this has made things Well, Let’s just put it this way I’m a little bit skeptical that...
Japan is gonna be able to hold on the crown for having the longest life expectancy in the world But, if we take some of the lessons from our grandparents and incorporate it into our life today Yeah, there’s a pretty good chance that were gonna live a lot longer and a lot happier, too
Next time,
