Osaka ¨C Yoshio Kinoshita is living proof that you can teach an old dog new tricks.
The 81-year-old rides the ramps at his local skate park in the city of Osaka almost every morning, picking up tips from skateboarders decades younger than him.
¡°They are all my teachers,¡± said Kinoshita, who worked as a technician in the construction industry before retiring and still works part time as an attendant in a bicycle parking lot.
¡°At first I was holding on to the railing¡± he said, before he progressed to mastering a 180 degree turn and other tricks.
Kinoshita picked up skateboarding just two years ago, when he bought a board he saw at a market selling unclaimed goods left on the railway.
The ?800 ($7.15) skateboard was a spur-of-the-moment purchase that changed the Japanese octogenarian¡¯s life.
In a country that has the most aged society in the world, with more than 35% of its population expected to be 65 and over by 2050, Kinoshita recommended skateboarding as a way to prevent dementia.
¡°It¡¯s a sport with a sense of tension,¡± he said. ¡°Rather than zoning out, I think skateboarding improves the ability to think even just by a little bit.¡±
¡°For (older) people like me who try to learn new things, if we don¡¯t practice it little by little every day we will forget how to do it immediately,¡± he said. ¡°That¡¯s why I think I have to (come here) and practice every day.¡±
Kinoshita, who has two children and two grandchildren, said he watched skateboarders at the recent Tokyo Olympics in awe. All three medalists in the women¡¯s street skateboarding competition at the Games were in their teens, including the country¡¯s own gold medalist, 13-year-old Momiji Nishiya.
¡°They are really incredible,¡± said Kinoshita. ¡°To be honest, I can¡¯t beat those 5-year-old, 4-year-old or 3-year-old kids. That¡¯s for sure.¡±
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