Chieko Osako (尾迫千恵子) was a Japanese piano teacher with a dream.

She was a late bloomer when it came to swimming, starting in her late 20’s, but she had a deep attachment to the Tsugaru Channel. She had lived in Hokkaido on the shores of the Tsugaru Channel in Hakodate as an elementary school student, and later moved to Tokyo.

While teaching piano, she picked up swimming in her late 20’s and later heard about relays and soloists swimming across the Tsugaru Channel between Aomori to Hokkaido in northern Japan – and that was the catalyst for her own dream. She wanted to become the first Japanese individual to tackle the 19.5 km channel.

Although Osako was a late bloomer to swimming, she had a deep emotional attachment to the Tsugaru Channel. She had lived in Hokkaido on the shores of the channel in the largest city ini the area – Hakodate – as an elementary school student. Later, she moved to Tokyo, went to school, and began her profession – but her dream continued to burn inside her.

She attempted to swim across the channel several times since 1987, and finally achieved her goal and swam the Kodomari Route from south to north, finishing in 12 hours 27 minutes at the age of 43. She started at 1:13 am in the darkness and walked onshore at 1:40 pm.

She described her journey, “After graduating from Kunitachi College of Music, I worked as a piano teacher in Kunitachi City, Tokyo. My shoulders inevitably get stiff during my daily lessons – and I discovered swimming as a way to prevent stiff shoulders.”

She sought the advice of Yasushi Uda who participated in a 6-person 12 hour 21 minute relay across the Tsugaru Channel in 1987. She continued, “He taught me how to swim long distances. On August 6th 1994, I started from Gongenzaki and swam to Matsuura [in Hokkaido]]. The straight-line distance is approximately 27 km, but due to the currents, the swimming distance is said to have exceeded 40 km.”

Osako’s open water swimming career highlights include:

• August 1991: she participated in a 6-person relay across the 40 km Sado Channel in Japan.
• In August 1997: she completed a two-way crossing of Kagoshima Bay in southern Japan.
• In July 2000: she participated in a 6-women 46 km relay from Sasagawa Nagare to Awashima in Japan in 14 hours.
• In August 2001: she completed a 21 km swim from Sasagawa Nagare to Awashima in Japan in 6 hours 35 minutes.

Photo below is circa July 2022 in Aomori Prefecture. Well into her 60’s, Osako was still teaching swimmers and inspiring the youth of Japan.

Very well done.

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