Japanese man becomes oldest person to reach Mount Fuji summit at 102 | Japan

Kokichi Akuzawa became the oldest person to climb to the summit of Mount Fuji at the age of 102 – despite almost abandoning during his trek.

“I was really tempted to abandon halfway,” said Akuzawa. “Reaching the summit was difficult, but my friends encouraged me, and it went well. I managed to pass through because so many people have supported me. ”

Akuzawa climbed with her daughter Motoe, 70, her granddaughter, her husband and four friends from a climbing club. His success was recognized by Guinness World Records.

The group camped for two nights on the way before their ascent on August 5 to the summit of Mont Fuji, which is the highest mountain in Japan at 3,776 meters (12,388 feet).

“I am impressed, I climbed so well,” he said, communicating with the help of his 75-year-old daughter, Yukiko, who repeated questions in his father’s ear because he is deadly. Akuzawa added that he had not taken any mountain for acquired at his age. “It is better to climb while you can still.”

The trip was not the first record ascent of Mount Fuji Akuzawa. He was 96 the first time that he became the oldest person to evolve the mountain. During the six years that followed, he overcome heart problems, areas and suture points of a climbing fall.

Akuzawa spent three months training before the rise of Fuji, wake up at 5 am for an hour’s walks and by attacking about one mountain each week, mainly around the Nagano prefecture in central Japan.

Surrounded by parents and paintings framed by mountains in his house in Maebashi, about 150 miles (241 km) northwest of Tokyo, Akuzawa recalled what first attracted him to the mountains 88 years ago. While the magic to reach the summit was undeniable, it was the people who made him come back.

“I go up because I like it,” he said. “It is easy to make friends on the mountains.”

Akuzawa worked as an engineer in engine design and later as an artificial cattle inseminator, a profession he held up to 85 years, said his family.

“Whether you like to study or not, you could simply enjoy the mountain,” he said. “Intelligence did not matter up there. We were all on an equal footing and moving forward together.”

Akuzawa liked to climb solo, but as his strength decreased, he was based more on the help of others. His record climb in August was another test he has successfully completed with help.

“Mount Fuji is not a difficult mountain, but this time was more difficult than six years ago. Harder than any mountain before,” he said. “I have never felt so weak. I had no pain, but I wondered why I was so slow, why I had no endurance. I have long passed my physical limit, and it was only thanks to the strength of all the others that I did.

“I would love to continue climbing forever, but I guess I can’t anymore. Now, I am at Mount Akagi”, a summit nearby about half of Fuji’s height at 1828 meters (5,997 feet).

Akuzawa spends his mornings by volunteering in a care center for the elderly and teaching painting in his home studio.

Mountaineering and painting take time and dedication, but the two offer peace, he said. “People who climb mountains, people who paint; if they can create something whole on this path, it’s the most fulfilling thing,” said Akuzawa.

The girls of Akuzawa want him to paint Fuji at sunrise for the next addition to the representations of the mountain ranges covering the walls of his living room.

“I have a lot of requests,” he said. “I want to paint certain scenes from the summit of Mount Fuji, places that contain special memories for me, because it was probably my last time reaching the summit.”