{"id":170310,"date":"2025-04-09T14:06:11","date_gmt":"2025-04-09T05:06:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/?post_type=news&#038;p=170310&#038;lang=en"},"modified":"2025-04-09T14:06:47","modified_gmt":"2025-04-09T05:06:47","slug":"oita-company-develops-l-shaped-walking-stick","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/en\/news\/oita-company-develops-l-shaped-walking-stick\/","title":{"rendered":"Oita Company Develops L-Shaped Walking Stick"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Oita-based Forest Seminar has developed and begun selling a new type of walking stick, the &#8220;Issoku-CHO,&#8221; with a distinctive L-shaped design that curves forward about 25 cm from the grip\u2014approximately the length of a foot. The concept was inspired by company president Tatsuo Mori\u2019s hiking experience on Mt. Yufu, where he found that a naturally bent branch offered superior stability and ease of walking. Compared to traditional straight canes, the forward-leaning tip allows for a more natural stride, improved posture, and added propulsion due to the stick\u2019s flexibility. The product won the top prize at the Oita Zero-One business competition in February. It weighs 225 grams, is height-adjustable (suitable for users 135\u2013185 cm tall), and sells for \u00a59,900. The company aims to promote it as a walking aid to help older adults extend their healthy lifespans. <\/span><b>Source: <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/forestseminar111.com\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Issoku-CHO<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-170311\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/fnn_issoku-cho_2025_cl.jpg?resize=1400%2C1207&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Oita Company Develops L-Shaped Walking Stick\" width=\"1400\" height=\"1207\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/fnn_issoku-cho_2025_cl.jpg?w=1400&amp;ssl=1 1400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/fnn_issoku-cho_2025_cl.jpg?resize=300%2C259&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/fnn_issoku-cho_2025_cl.jpg?resize=1024%2C883&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/fnn_issoku-cho_2025_cl.jpg?resize=768%2C662&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/>Photo from Issoku-CHO official Instagram <\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stay informed with the latest Fukuoka &amp; Kyushu news and events in English. Sign up for our <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/en\/mailmagazine\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">free weekly newsletter <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">today and never miss a beat. Opt out anytime, your privacy is our priority. Get the inside scoop with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/en\/mailmagazine\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Now<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Summaries based on public content, errors may occur during translation. Images credited independently. Send feedback using <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/en\/contact\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">this <\/span><b>form<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Oita-based Forest Seminar has developed and begun selling a new type of walking stick&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29305,"featured_media":170314,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","tags":[],"class_list":["post-170310","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","location-oita-prefecture","news-category-business","en-US"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/170310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29305"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=170310"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/170314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=170310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=170310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}