Khaberni - Yoshi Watanabe, a Japanese woman, opens the door of her house at exactly 4 a.m. in Fukushima prefecture, to begin her round of distributing daily newspapers, which she has not missed for more than 30 years.
Yoshi, born in 1934, is now 92 years old and has officially recorded her name in the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest female newspaper distributor in the world—a title she achieved at the age of 91 years and 152 days.
Companion and hardship of winter
Yoshi covers a distance of 1.5 km on foot, which takes about 1.5 hours daily, and utilizes a small handcart she describes as her "friend" as an alternative to a walking stick and for carrying the weight of the newspapers.
On days when the snow is heavy and the cart becomes unusable, Yoshi doesn't stop working; instead, she carries the newspapers on her back and is forced to make two rounds instead of one to deliver all the copies, wearing layers of thick clothes to withstand the harsh winter cold.
The coincidence that made history
Yoshi's story with this profession began by sheer coincidence. After getting married at 30 and moving to live in the "Ryūzen" area, a local distribution office offered her the job of delivering newspapers because she had no job at the time.
In an interview with the Guinness foundation's website, Yoshi says that waking up early was never a problem for her; in fact, this job helped her get to know her neighbors and make friends in the neighborhood.
Despite the international recognition, she addresses the matter with great humility, considering what she does just a "daily walk," and her routine will not change after the title.
