It is never too late to start something. It is never too late to start something.
This photo was taken six years ago, on February 1, 2015.

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Photo with Toshihiro Kawada at 104-year-old active coffee bean artisan Kyuzo Ando’s store! (Thanks for taking me, Mr. Kawada!)
He was born in 1911 (Meiji 44) and had regular tea with Osamu Dazai! It’s too much.

He still delivers beans from Nishiogi to Sangenjaya by bicycle.
And he started his coffee business when he was 85 years old, so he’s deep in it.

Ando-san’s life can be described as that of an adventurer, whaling in the Antarctic until he was 50 years old. He said, “The bigger the fish, the more money I made.” A whale is a fish!

At the age of 52 (1963, Showa 38), he climbed mountains overseas, including Kenya, Colombia, the Andes, and Mount Kilimanjaro. He conquered the mountains with 100 local people in tow. From this local connection, he started importing coffee beans. Because coffee beans had become a speculative commodity, such as futures trading, the labor cost for the local people was less than 1/500th of the selling price. He was so inspired that he started direct trade (what is now called fair trade) with the local people in order to help them. That was in 1996, when he was 85 years old!

Oh no – I can do three more new things in my life.