Racing Ida is a series of minor side missions in Ōkami, taking place in Shinshu Field. Ida offered to race Amaterasu for fun, to which she obliged.
Walkthrough[]
Ida can only be raced against after completing a specific events in other missions. Each race will reward you with Praise, as well as the Gimmick Gear once you win the third. Racing Ida does not involve a timer or crossing a finish line, instead Ida will run away, following a specific path as he goes, and will not stop unless he loses you or you tackle him. Losing him is nearly impossible without giving up intentionally, as despite his speed he is no faster than Amaterasu at her top speed. The hardest part is generally finding the right spot and time to tackle Ida, as he will follow a fixed path, but you are allowed to cut through corners and rely on shortcuts.
The first race can be started after "Canine Warrior hunt", and will start up the hill past the Nameless Man's house, lead across the large wooden bridge, down the hill past the dōjō, around the Guardian Sapling and past the Nameless Man's house, going up the hill again.
The second race is available after learning Inferno (and beating Orochi) in Kushi's Feelings. It follows mostly the same path, except he will now leave spiked seedpods behind him, which will stagger you if you touch them, and jump down the cliffs on the winding path next to the dōjō.
The third and final race is available after learning Thunderbolt (and defeating Ninetails) in "Lone Wolf vs Evil". He will drop even more seedpods, and after the bridge he will run clockwise around the dōjō, descend the cliffs, then do a counter-clockwise run around the Guardian Sapling, after which he resumes his normal route.