🍱 Shioika no sunomono

Because Nagano Prefecture is far from the sea, marine products were processed in the area where they were landed and transported via the "salt road. There were several salt roads, including "Chikuni Kaido (from Itoigawa to Matsumoto and Shiojiri)," "Kitakuni Kaido (from Naoetsu to Oiwake (now Oiwake, Karuizawa-cho, Kitasaku-gun)," "Kitakuni Kaido (from Okazaki to Shiojiri)" and "Akiba Kaido (from Omaezaki to Shiojiri)," used to carry salt and marine products inland. Salted round squid, made by pickling boiled squid in salt, is a typical example of this food, which has been produced since the mid-Edo period. Originally, it was made as a byproduct of trading in salt itself, but since Nagano Prefecture has no ocean, marine products were very valuable and were prized as preserved food when refrigeration and freezing were not available. Saltmaru squid is commonly eaten as a "vinegared" dish with cucumber and wakame seaweed. Today, it is mainly eaten in the Hokushin and Nan-Shin regions.