NHK “Super Presentation” - The secret to living longer may be your social life -

NHK Education TV program “Super Presentation” introduces selected presentations from TED Conference. I also sometimes watch it if I am interested in the subject.

In the last week’s program, the presentation “The secret to living longer may be your social life” by a developmental psychologist, Susan Pinker, was introduced. The keyword is “Blue Zones”, which means the five areas where people live statistically longest. By the way, there is a Blue Zone in Japan, too. It is Okinawa. The term “Blue Zones” appeared by National Geographic magazine in 2005. But now, unfortunately, the average longevity of Okinawa residents is decreasing.

         Susan Pinker (Photo from the official website of NHK “Super Presentation”)

A Blue Zone, Sardinia, Italy, where there are 6 times as many centenarians as the Italian mainland. There are 10 times as many centenarians as there are in North America. According to Susan Pinker, it is regardless of their nature optimistic or food and it is because their relationships with other people are close and they often meet people in person.

Also, in the presentation, there was the following data, which was very interesting. [What reduces your chances of dying the most?]
 *Going from the least powerful predictor to the strongest.
10.Clean Air 　　　　　　　　
9.Hypertension Rx　　　　　　
8.Lean vs. Overweight　
7.Exercise　　　　　　　　
6.Cardiac Rehab
5.Flu Vaccine　　
4.Quit Boozing　　　　　　　　　　　
3.Quit Smoking
2.Close Relationships　　
1.Social Integration

I didn’t expect that having a flu vaccine protects you more than doing exercise. And, the strongest predictor is social integration. This means how much you interact with people. But it’s not the same thing as interacting through text or via social media. Face-to-face contact releases a whole cascade of neurotransmitters, and like a vaccine, they protect you now in the present and well into the future. 

That means loneliness may be a great enemy to live a long life. This face-to-face contact provides stunning benefits, yet now almost a quarter of the population says they have no one to talk to. Speaking of loneliness, I heard that Britain's prime minister announced the country will appoint a minister of loneliness the other day.

The power of such face-to-face contact is really why there are the lowest rates of dementia among people who are socially engaged, bolsters the immune system and helps us live longer. Therefore, Japan also should be serious about such issues. (H.S)

Heavy Snow January 27th-February 14th, 2018

In Fukui City, it usually snows a lot in January and February but not as much as it did this year (2018). I am originally from Fukui City and I thought that I was used to seeing so much snow, but it was unbelievable to see that much snow. It was my first and frightening experience to see the heavy snow paralyzed the city.

 

It started snowing heavily on and off since the end of January until around February 13th. Especially, from February 5th until the 8th, As I mentioned in our previous video that 145 centimeters of snow was recorded in Fukui City at 2 o’clock in the afternoon on February 7th, 2018. It was the heaviest snowfall since 1981 in Fukui City!!

 

 

By February 10th, most of the snow on main roads in Fukui City had been cleared, so cars were moving with any major problems.

 

 

However, unlike on major roads, there were still so much snow on smaller roads, and many cars were getting stuck there. People were trying to dig their car tires out of the snow by shovelling the snow around the tires. Because people shovelled snow on roads here and there, they made the roads worse and worse.

 

On February 10th, in Tawara-machi area of Fukui City, the roads were very bad. I saw about 5 cars getting stuck in snow in about 30 minutes.

 

On February 14th, the sun came out and it was a warm and sunny day finally! People in the city seemed to be relieved to see the sun and it was melting the snow.

 

T.F

 

 

Our previous blogs about snow in Fukui.

Heavy Snow in Fukui City on February 6th, 2018

Heavy Snow in Fukui City on February 7th, 2018

 

Winter Scenery in the Center of Fukui City #1

Winter Scenery in Fukui, Japan #2 -Heavy Snowfall in Fukui / Beginning-

Fukui Nature Conservation Center's "Winter Restaurant for wild birds"

Varied tit

Yesterday, I went to Fukui Prefecture Nature Conservation Center's "Winter Bird Restaurant".

Wild birds are guests of the resutaurant, and we can watch and shoot photos of various birds coming to the feed station in front of us staying in a warm room.

Sometimes animals such as squirrels and foxes visit here as well.

Although the staff said that "There are few birds today", I was able to shoot photos not less than seven kinds of birds and it was very enjoyable to watch the wild birds so close. I want to go again within this winter.
TS

Great tit

Thrush, the bird of Fukui Prefecture

Jay

Great spotted woodpecker

Varied tit and Chickadee

Bulbul

At "Music Space Schu House" near Fukui Station

Last Saturday I went to a live "Tango x Tap" held at "Music Space Schu House" near Fukui Station.

Natsumi Sugihara who is a flute player and born in Sabae City, Hitoshi on Bandoneon, and Tassei a tap dancer played various music from around the world, and I was so impressed that only 3 people can make this rich music.

I realized tha Tap dancing is a perfect percussion instrument.

Particularly, I was surprised at Chick Korea's "Spain" which was played in the last. I want them to play in Fukui again.

By the way, I remembered the manager who was there. She was actually Mariko Shinagawa who accompanied as the pianist in several violin conserts of Naomi Okubo I have seen.
TS

Recommendation of izakaya in Fukui City “Shokunin Futari”

On the weekend just before Fukui was hit by record snowfalls,
I went to the “Shokunin Futari”, which I had always wanted to go to.
*”Shokunin Futari” means two artisans.

I’ve heard that it is difficult to make a reservation, so I called more than two weeks before and I could make a reservation. I ordered 4,000 yen course in advance.
(They accept from 3,000 yen course)

At the shop, a married couple offers delicious dishes. They buy fresh seafoods in Fukui and from various fishing ports in Japan. Also, the menus include Japanese food and Mediterranean food so that you can enjoy at the same time.
And, everything was so delicious. I am sure you’ll have a wonderful time.

                                             The sign at the entrance

                                                   Inside the shop

                                  Steamed egg hotchpotch (appetizer)

                                 The dishes were served one after another.

The course finishes with paella which is so good. The owner is a tough-looking person (in fact, friendly) and he greets very loud when he serves appetizer. So I was surprised at that but I pulled myself upright automatically. You can take it as “receiving keisaku” during zazen (sitting meditation) ;) (H.S)

 

Heavy Snow in Fukui City on February 7th, 2018

It started snowing heavily since February 5th, 2018 in Fukui City. 145 centimeters of snow was recorded in Fukui City at 2 o’clock in the afternoon on February 7th, 2018. It was the heaviest snowfall since 1981 in Fukui City!! Almost every school and office were closed as a result of the severe weather. And even many hospitals, stores and restaurants were closed as well. No trains and/or buses were running.

 

As I stepped out of my house, I saw so much snow piled up everywhere even more than a day before. While 1,500 cars and trucks were stuck along a 20-kilometer stretch of National Route No.8, residential areas had only a few cars running. All day long, many snow-plow trucks were running around in the city to clear the snow. However, it continued snowing heavily and piling up quickly, so the snow-plow trucks could not keep up with clearing the snow. The sidewalks were covered with thick layers of snow. Moreover, people piled the snow up from roadways onto the snow on the sidewalks, so pedestrians had to walk on the roadways.

 

I had to go to the hospital and a supermarket. However, as I mentioned earlier that many hospitals and supermarkets in Fukui City were closed, so I had hard time finding them. Somehow, I managed to find the hospital and the supermarket that were opened. At the hospital I went, there were much fewer doctors and nurses working and patients. And at the supermarket, there were enough food and drink for everyone even though I was told that there would be no foods and drinks sold at stores in Fukui City.

 

I felt very lucky and thankful to find the hospital and the supermarket that I could go.

 

T.F

 

Our previous blogs about snow in Fukui.

Heavy Snow in Fukui City on February 6th, 2018

Winter Scenery in the Center of Fukui City #1

Winter Scenery in Fukui, Japan #2 -Heavy Snowfall in Fukui / Beginning-

Yuzuru Hanyu and a book called “Steel mental strength”

When I heard the news that Yuzuru Hanyu won the gold medals in consecutive in the Olympics, I was so glad as if spring has arrived for me, who has been mentally and physically exhausted due to lingering effect of the heavy snow.

                                   From Sports Hochi Twitter Official Account

After Hanyu’s performane, a sports commentator said “What a mental strength!”. When I imagine his mentality, I brought to mind a book I read before. From the book “Steel mental strength” written by Naoki Hyakuta, I will quote a passage which I was impressed.

 [Mind is broken by yourself but you can fix by yourself]
Human mind is delicate and fragile. It is like a precision instrument. But in fact, mind is unexpectedly strong against outside damage. Instead, it is weak against inner damage. In other words, those who break their minds may do it by themselves.

Replacing the passage for Yuzuru Hanyu, he had been protected his mind against outside damage, the injury, and had been believed in himself, so we might say that his effort borne fruit.

Yuzuru, thank you for your great performance and the gold medal! Please take a good rest. (H.S)