Kiku-san is 92 years old. She has a small garden next to her house where she tends her vegetables. She grows lettuces, radishes, garlic and carrots.
Kiku-san (age 92)
Kiku-san pulls up a carrot
Vanquished
Pop the carrot in the crate
Pick up the crate of veggies
Kiku-san wanders home to make dinner.
There are a few important things to note from this simple series of images with regards to longevity.
The first is that Kiku-san grows and eats a large range of vegetables. The second is that she is gardening and exercising even though it’s mid February. Third, she is smiling.
So there you are, three keys to a long life. Eat your veggies, exercise, smile.
Enjoy the rest of your lives 🙂
TRAVEL 67 : Chris Willson Photography 
Nice seeing your candid shots. The series has a story, which makes me want to start gardening ASAP. Hooray for longevity!
A great series of photos.
The oldest lady in the world smokes two cheroots and drinks a glass of sherry a day.
Smoking and drinking aren’t necessarily good for you – I’ll stick to eating meat!
You are a very good photographer as well as a good reporter. Longevity of Okinawans is a well known thing and it is believed warm weather and taking less salt is helping their long life. On mainland Japan, centenarians are also increasing but many are not as healthy as Kiku-san. What about senile dementia among old folks in Okinawa? Unfortunately, the disease is increasing among them and is a big social problem.
Hi Yumemakura,
I believe that although the number of centenarians has increased, the number of super healthy old people hasn’t increased very much. This means that a much larger proportion of the very old are living these extra years in care homes. The key is to find a way to extend the amount of happy, productive life rather than just life itself.
Beautiful.