Good for the Heart

 Getting exercise in Japan is not a problem.  This was the first of several escalators in a row at just one subway stop.  Consider this:  I am already half way up this escalator before taking the photo!  And this is just one of several subway station climbs taken each day.   If the escalators are crowded, as they usually are, I much prefer to take the steps and avoid the crush.  I can get a pretty good heart rate going by the time I've briskly climbed 4 or more stories of stairs!   Maybe that is the reason the average life span for women is 86 (world's highest) and 79 for men (a decline from 80 last year).  The smoking rate here seems quite high compared with the U.S. (I need to check on the accuracy of this assumption.)   I wonder how that impacts-or will impact- life expectancy.  I see a lot of young people standing in the cold having a cigarette.