Watching a TV show about traveling alone, Maruko suddenly wants to try a solo trip herself. But travel requires money, and when she peers into her piggy bank she finds—thanks to too much wasteful spending—that there’s nothing in it at all. Feeling how far away real travel still is, she decides for now to take a short train trip nearby. And there she meets an old man…
一人旅のテレビ番組を見ていたまる子は、一人旅をしてみたくなる。旅をするにはお金が必要だ。早速貯金箱を覗いてみるのだが、ムダ使いのし過ぎで全く無い。旅への遠さを痛感したまる子は、とりあえず近場に電車で出かけることに。そこで出会ったおじいさんは…。