Squid-rice in Oshamambe

July 29, 1983, Friday

Started running at 9:00am on a cold and foggy day. I did a lot of walking with running on the straight and narrow road towards the town of Oshamambe. It seemed like a totally straight and flight 31km route to this old Ainu town.

I met Mrs. Suzuki of the Hakodate Running Club on the road while I was running. She was driving over to Obihiro to watch a track & field meet with another family.

When I got into Oshamambe, I hung around the train station before going to the Murakami residence for the night. At the station, I bought some ika-meshi, one of the famous dishes of this town. It is seasoned squid filled with rice. Very delicious, although I am still not sure what nutritional value squid has. All I know is that it was very tasty.

The town of Oshamambe seems a bit depressed. It may be due to the weather, but Oshamambe looks like a lonely town. However, the young couple, the Murakamis, made me feel at home. While relaxing earlier in the evening, I watched a video tape of the Tokyo International Marathon that took place earlier this year. Toshihiko Seko had won that race in 2:08:38, a first win for him in Tokyo. I truly enjoyed the evening and felt so relaxed here with Mr. and Mrs. Murakami.

Note: For an interesting account about this area written by a foreigner in 1878, read Unbeaten Tracks in Japan by Isabella L. Bird.