This island unlocked the secret to long life?and knows how to get through tough times

Masataka Nozato at Ogimi Village Office says the town, far removed from the tourist trail, had started to see a slight increase in visitors curious about Okinawan longevity.An island located south of mainland Japan, Okinawa is one of five places around the world that author and National Geographic explorer Dan Buettner calls a “blue zone,” where he says people live the longest, happiest lives. “The sweet potatoes, bitter melon, carotenoid-rich marine foods like seaweeds, green leafy vegetables, and fruit in the diet are anti-aging as they reduce inflammation and oxidative stress.”“The traditional Okinawan diet is also nutritionally dense, yet calorie poor, and that’s ideal,” Willcox continues, adding that sweet potato rather than white rice was the staple in Okinawa up until the 1960s.“If you calorie-restrict mammals in a lab, they live longer pretty much across the board,” he says. “I think that participating in moai, having a common hobby and releasing stress, can help promote longevity.”(Related: Read more about Okinawa’s secret to long life.)Willcox notes that belonging to multiple moai is common.