Here is a map of Obama Nishigumi. So far we have only walked through a single street. From here on we’ll head toward the Miketsukuni Wakasa Obama Food Culture Museum. Before that, however, take a look at the view of Wakasa Bay. It will surely change your way of looking at Obama until now.

Mackerel was not the only commodity to travel the Mackerel Road. Salt, water, elephants, kombu, sea bream, live eel from the nearby lakes, and flounder - lauded as a heavenly morsel - were transported to Kyoto. That is how many marine products came to be branded and lined up on Kyoto market fronts as “Wakasa products.” That vista remains to this day.
In other words, what “makes” the Mackerel Road anyway? It isn’t as if it is a single route. The main route is well-maintained, and while it is the shortest, it is also the toughest course. Routes through Lake Biwa were also used to transport large quantities. Many were the roads, but Kyoto was not necessarily the end goal. The Mackerel Road is all of these roads.

And this, the very road we’ve walked so far, is the reason why Obama mackerel is so delicious. If you can grasp that, then all my long years will have been worth it. You may be wondering, who am I? The shore before you is called “Mermaid Beach.” I must say, I’m not sure what it was I ate on that day, but you youngsters sure came up with a hell of a name for it, huh? Ehehehee…