By Masako Ishida
Foreword by Teemu Virtanen
Masako Ishida has always been a great sight to see when she attends any Visma Ski Classics events. She is full of energy, and her face is graced by heartwarming smiles. She talks a lot and has often a lot to say, but sometimes it may be a bit difficult to understand her ultimate message. Nevertheless, she brings along a lot sunshine and happiness, and ultimately that’s what our beloved sport is about – having fun and spreading the gospel around. And that is exactly what she does.
But that’s not everything Masako can offer. She is a very strong Pro Skier, and particularly powerful when it comes to diagonal striding. Since 2015, she has won two Visma Ski Classics events; La Diagonela in 2015 and Reistadløpet in 2018, and she has been on the podium 12 times including those victories.
She is uncertain about her chances to do any Visma Ski Classics races next winter, but she still loves long distance skiing and holds Visma Ski Classics very dear. Therefore, she doesn’t rule out the possibility of doing some of the races, but she hasn’t registered for any at the moment.
Regardless, she is ready to race in 2020 and represent the National Team of Japan, and she is coming to Scandinavia soon. Here’s Masako’s greetings from Japan and her introduction to some of the best cross-country ski resorts in her home country.
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Hello, this is Masako Ishida. I report from Japan, Asia.
This summer I was in Japan most of my days. Only one time in Norway for Blink festival. The rest of the time, I was training at home or joined a training camp in Nagano. We have a good altitude training place Shiga high land, 1600 m a.s.l., and around it there are many mountains.
And there are more places for good altitude training. I have been able to train as many hours as in a normal year, and I am happy with my result at Blink Festival, 6thplace. And I can say I’m still improving my skiing technique. Especially, my double poling has been poor, but I hope I can show a little better technique in the winter season. I’m also happy I can train well even if I’m getting older.
l will go to Scandinavia at the beginning of November. And enjoy skiing and training, I’m excited about starting the race season. But now, I would like to introduce you to some of our long distance ski races in Japan.
Probably, the most famous race in Japan is Sapporo international race. Its location is very close to the center of Sapporo. You can reach it by subway. Also, Asahikawa Vasa Loppet and Miyasama Biei are races you can find on the FIS website.
Actually, we have some more races. My favorite race is the Yubetugenya 80km race. http://www.okxc.jp/ The course goes in the countryside, and you can ski in the middle of Hokkaido’s untouched nature. The route is one way, and the profile is slightly downwards from 700 m to almost 0 m at the finish. The funny thing about the race is you can eat Japanese noodles, soup, sweet beans and sweets at the service stations. You might be full before reaching the finish line. This race is held on February 7.
Most of our races are in Hokkaido. In Japan, you can find a spa at every event. It is a good way to relax after your race.
