Photo/Illutration Colleagues celebrate distinguished Kyoto University professor Susumu Kitagawa in Kyoto on Oct. 9, the day after his Nobel Prize in Chemistry was announced. (Yoshiaki Arai)

Behind the scientific brilliance of Susumu Kitagawa, a co-recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, lies a quiet ritual: walking.

Kitagawa, 74, is a distinguished professor at Kyoto University honored for his groundbreaking work on porous materials capable of storing gases.

Years before winning the award, the professor cherished his morning strolls, often disembarking one station early to walk for over an hour to arrive at the campus.

These walks, he says, are not just physical exercise—they’re mental preparation.

“I never want meetings to last an hour,” he told The Asahi Shimbun on Oct. 9. “If I show up unprepared, it burdens everyone. Walking helps me organize my thoughts.”

His routine echoes the legacy of philosopher Kitaro Nishida who famously contemplated existence along Kyoto’s “Path of Philosophy.” For Kitagawa, however, it’s a “Path of Chemistry.”

One morning, a chance encounter with a university executive during his walk led to an unexpected promotion.

“The executive said, ‘Kitagawa must have a lot of free time, walking around in the morning,’ and then I was asked to become a board member,” Kitagawa recalled.

However, the demanding new role initially shortened his walks to just 30 minutes at most.

Kitagawa’s Nobel-winning research centers on materials filled with microscopic pores that can trap gases. These innovations are already being applied to preserve fresh food. 

Despite his love for wine, he does warn against using the material when making the drink.

“Wine has so many aromas,” he explained. “If you use this, it absorbs all the good ones.”

(This article was written by Kazuhiro Fujitani and Mitsuko Nagasawa.)

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