Aso Farmland is a health theme park that is built huge in nature. It entertains you with exercises, eateries, meditation, accommodation, experiences and shops, all in the one spot. Just take a glance of the map and discover so many things going on, such as a training facility, a vast grass field, restaurants & cafés, stone bath, dome-shaped accommodation, as well as a shop filled with Aso’s local produce. I want to make all the time in the world to play here for a few days. It seems you would see stars in the night sky from the doom-shaped accommodation surrounded by green, this place is fascinating.
When we were wandering within the park, we stopped and saw the poster of Health Challenge House. It says your body age can be evaluated by the machines that looked like a retro TV set, with larger than life candy coloured buttons, panels and bars.
We entered Health Challenge Hall right away and I got a card issued after we registered our profiles at reception. You have to insert this card to the machines to record the result of each test. You can try the test only once, so please be sure to understand the idea completely before you start. Put on exercise shoes and let’s start the seven tests.
The measuring method is very simple. Press the flashing buttons, step the lighted panel within a limited time, remember the number displayed on a board after seeing it for 10 seconds by stepping on the numbered panels and so on. The machines record your mistakes such as pressing incorrect buttons or stepping on incorrect panels, and also assess your power, leg strength, endurance, memory, accuracy and agility. For other tests, you have to walk through the tunnel without touching obstacle bars sticking out from both side of the wall to measure flexibility and balance. There is no time limit but the time you spent is counted.
It may look easy but you can’t get a good result without concentrating. Some machines set a time limit and you can make errors when your feet get tired of repeating the same or similar movements. It is fun and challenging at the same time with this game, as you need to react within a moment or make mistakes.
Once you have completed all the tests, return to the reception and wait for the result to be handed out. How old is your body age? The paper contains a chart of your physical strength and exercise suggestions for your life and I couldn’t help looking into it.
