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A 102-year-old man recently became the oldest person to ever climb Mount Fuji, the highest mountain in Japan
Kokichi Akuzawa of Maebashi, Japan, completed the assent on Aug. 5
Kokichi made the three-day journey with the help of friends and family, including his 70-year-old daughter
A 102-year-old man just became the oldest person to climb Mount Fuji, Japan’s highest mountain.
Kokichi Akuzawa of Maebashi, Japan, achieved the towering accomplishment on Aug. 5 with the help of his 70-year-old daughter, Motoe, his granddaughter, his granddaughter’s husband and four friends from a local mountain climbing club, per the Associated Press.
The group began the climb to the summit — which peaks at 12,388 feet — two days earlier on Aug. 3, and spent two evenings camping en route in order to allow for rest and recovery.
“I was really tempted to give up halfway through,” Akuzawa told the AP while discussing the climb, communicating with the assistance of his 75-year-old daughter, Yukik. “Reaching the summit was tough, but my friends encouraged me, and it turned out well. I managed to get through it because so many people supported me.”
He added, “I’m impressed I climbed so well. […] It’s better to climb while you still can.”
This ascent was Kokichi’s second record-breaking climb on the mountain: He previously climbed the mountain when he was 96, becoming the oldest person to reach the summit at that time.
His most recent accomplishment did not come without its challenges. Akuzawa suffered a number of health setbacks in the years since his previous climb up the mountain, including heart issues and shingles.
He told the AP that he spent three months training before the August climb, waking at 5 a.m. for hour-long walks and climbing at least one mountain a week in preparation. He also reiterated that he could not have reached the summit without the support of others.
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Mount Fuji in Japan
“Mount Fuji isn’t a difficult mountain, but this time was harder than six years ago. Harder than any mountain before,” he said. “I’ve never felt this weak. I didn’t have pain, but I kept wondering why I was so slow, why I had no stamina. I’d long since passed my physical limit, and it was only thanks to everyone else’s strength that I made it.”
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Kokichi, who retired at the age of 85, told the outlet that he had been drawn to mountain climbing ever since he was a young man because it felt like a universal equalizer.
“Whether you liked studying or not, you could enjoy the mountain just the same. Intelligence didn’t matter up there. We were all on equal footing and moved forward together,” he explained.
Kokichi was awarded a certificate from Guinness World Records for his most recent accomplishment, and he now officially holds the title of the oldest person to climb Mount Fuji (male) from the organization.
When asked by Guinness if he would like to climb the mountain another time, Kokichi jokingly replied, “Never again.”
“If you ask me next year, maybe you’ll get a different answer, but for now, I’m happy with that climb,” he added.
Read the original article on People
AloJapan.com