Seiichi Sano began at the age of 80 by climbing Mt. FUJISAWA, Kanagawa AP -- A busy company owner for the early part of his life. He almost immediately took up surfing after being challenged by Japan's highest peak.
Sano turns 90 later this year, and is ready for other tests after being recognized by Guinness World Records as the oldest male to surf.
He said he might try bouldering first, because he said he might do it first in a gym. It might be dangerous from the outside. He ruled out bungee-jumping. He said it was too scary.
Sano said it would be interesting to try to surf until I'm 100. I think I take better care of myself when I have goals like this. I take better care of myself now than I did before. Sano lives about 20 minutes from Yokohama and gets most weekends on the black-sand beach near Enoshima, the small island that hosted sailing for the recent Tokyo Olympics, and was the port for the 1964 Games.
He said that he was inspired by an employee at his local bank who was always tan and didn't look like a typical banker. He said his secret was surfing. Sano followed up and found a teacher.
I don't consider myself an old man, he said, standing alongside me in his wet suit. I have never thought of myself as an old person. I always feel that I can still move forward. I still enjoy it. Enoshima is an area of small waves that suits Sano. He joined hundreds of other surfers on Thursday, waiting for the larger waves to come. Of course, all the surfers were younger. Several were elementary schools or junior high age who also work with Sano's surf instructor, 46-year-old Kazuto Shimizu.
They couldn't wait to brag about their great grandfather. I think age doesn't matter in surfing, 12 year-old Iroha Shimabukuro said.
Fuka, her twin sister, said that he's more like a family member regardless of age. "I think he's amazing," said their younger brother, Shua.
Rokka Saito, the other young surfer in the pack of four, summed it up.
She said that she respects him.
Sano paddles out and waits for a wave to approach. He catches it and stands, tries to do a few tricks on the board, and often falls into the shallow water at the beach's edge.
He said that I can only say that I just enjoy myself and do what I want without stressing out. If you try to be too good at it, or think you have to do it this way or that way, I think you lose the fun.
He added that I enjoy being swept up in the wave. I am not a good surfer. I call myself a'small wave surfer' out of respect for those who surf well. Sano still runs a business that supplies timber to construction companies, and still works 9 to 5 at the job. Surfing is a stress reliever, as he takes a break far from shore and floats on his back with his legs draped over his blue and white board.
I was surprised by his age, said Shimizu, his instructor. I was worried that he would get injured. I didn't know how fit he was physically. When I heard he was 80, I thought it would be a bit hard to think about whether my grandfather could surf. I was surprised that he was able to do it as well as younger people. Sano joked about surfing in the delayed Tokyo Games, which took place just over two years ago.
He said that he was hoping to participate in the Tokyo Olympics, not as a competitor but as an old-age demonstrator.
Sano goes through a serious stretching routine before going out, legs splayed 120 degrees and hands touching his toes. When he stands, he's straight as his board, though 5 feet 4 1.65 meters shorter.
He said that surfing is a life, itself. If I describe it in one word, I think it really applies to me right now.