Forget what is said about old dogs and new tricks โ try teaching someone in their eighties how to glide, spin and jump on ice.
In Japan, adults young and old are doing exactly that by packing ice skating rinks for classes and recitals in figure skating, inspired by their favourite elite skaters or by anime and manga.
On a weekend in mid-March, some 30 people gathered for a figure skating class at the Mao Rink, a facility opened in Tachikawa, western Tokyo, last autumn.
The overnight camp was arranged by former figure skating star Aki Sawada, 36, who placed fourth at the 2007 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships and now coaches skaters in the Kansai region of western Japan.
Participants included housewives, workers and a graduate student, among others.
