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"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 bicyle 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 yen ($7.15) skateboard was a spur of the moment purchase
that changed the Japanese octagenarian'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 (old) 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 medallists in the women's street skateboarding competition
at the Games were in their teens, including the country's own
gold medallist
https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/
sports/skateboarding-nishiya-japan-takes-gold-womens-street-2021-07-26,
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."
(Reporting by Akira Tomoshige; editing by Jane Wardell)
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