The ministry focus for our remaining time in Japan has changed from working predomaninatly with volunteer groups, to working with different age segments within the population; one of those groups being retirees in North Tokyo.

A venue where we have expanded our existing involvement, is park and recreation programs offered to seniors in the community where we live. There are many retirees that play a game called gate ball and Martin and I have joined one of the local teams. Gate ball teams consist of 10 players that are divided into two groups. Each game last 30 minutes, with the two groups competing against each other. After 30 minutes of play, the team that has scored the most points is the winner. They normally play twice a week, on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, for three hours.

Hirota-san (back row,left) has been very kind to us and has included us on his team. He suggested we attend a "gate ball school" to help us understand the fundamentals of the game. This picture was taken on our first day of class and includes both attendees and instructors.

Here, Martin is receiving instruction from Hirota-san.


Martin is lining up the ball and hoping he has understood Hirota-san's instruction; a mixture of English and Japanese.

Japan has one of the highest population groups that is over 65 in the world. It is estimated that 23% of Japan's population are seniors; compared to 13% in the United States.