Check the traps, read the signs animals leave behind, butcher, cook and eat. Walk into the satoyama of Nagasaki with a working hunter.
Follow us on Instagram@wild.nagasaki.guideSee the experience ↓Mountains and farmland are connected. When wildlife increases and the boundary with human life shifts, crops and the satoyama are affected too.
In this experience you walk into the mountain with a hunter and look for animal trails and tracks. Then you see for yourself, with your own eyes and hands, how a life that was caught becomes food.
Go to the moment before "itadakimasu."
A small dent in the soil, a broken branch, a muddy mark. The mountain is full of signs left by wild animals.
"Where would you set a trap?" You are asked to think it through yourself. It is not about being told the answer, but about learning to see the mountain with your own eyes.
* Actual trap setting, management and decisions about catches are made by a hunter who holds the required qualifications and permits.
Depending on what has been caught, you will experience butchering and meat processing of wild boar, badger, raccoon and more.
This is not a "butchering show." It is time to understand the anatomy, learn how an animal becomes meat, and think about using that life to the fullest.
After the mountain, we enjoy a wild boar burger at Burger Joe.
About the mountain, the farmers, the hunters, and about eating itself. After the meal, we talk with the hunter about the present relationship between animals and people.
Two programs: a day trip, and a one-night program in which you become a trap owner.
Guiding is done in Japanese and simple English, using a smartphone translation app when needed. The inquiry form is in Japanese and English.
A plan from 8:00 a.m. to about 3:00 p.m.
From checking traps, to finding animal trails, to deciding where a trap will be set (the hunter does the setting), and then enjoying a wild boar burger. A program that lets you experience a whole day of hunting.
¥25,000 per person
Trap round (snare traps and box traps)
If an animal has been caught: observe the dispatching, field dressing, etc.
How the traps work (explanation and demonstration)
Look for animal trails in the mountain → the hunter sets a snare trap
If time allows: visit to a meat processing facility
Lunch at Burger Joe
Workshop
If an animal is caught in the trap you set within one week, we will butcher it and ship it to you for +¥10,000 (domestic shipping only, up to 1 kg).
* On days when nothing is caught, the content of the visit may change.
In addition to the day-trip experience, we check the traps again the next day. Has an animal been caught in the trap whose location you chose?
¥40,000 per person
Day 1 Same activities as the day trip
Dinner: let's cook wild game (wild boar, badger, raccoon, or whatever meat is available that day)
Day 2 Trap round
Butchering work
Disband around noon
If an animal is caught in the trap you set within one week, we will butcher it and ship it to you for +¥10,000 (domestic shipping only, up to 1 kg).
* Accommodation is not included. Please arrange your own lodging. We can also recommend lodging nearby.
Drinks / insect repellent spray / rubber boots (or sturdy, easy-to-move-in shoes) / work gloves / clothes you can work in (work clothes, windbreaker, rain gear, etc.)
Insurance / lunch / tools needed for the work (dinner is also provided on the 1-night program)
Cancellation by the guest (cancellation fee)
| Up to 1 week before | 0% |
|---|---|
| Up to 3 days before | 50% |
| Up to 1 day before | 90% |
| On the day | 100% |
The program is open to high school students and older. Children are welcome at the occasional events we hold for kids.
Please tell us about your allergies before you apply, and we will talk it through with you.
Yes, you can take photos. If you plan to use them for anything other than personal use, please let us know.
Walking in the mountains, looking at how traps work and, if an animal is caught, being near it all carry risk. We take care over safety, give guidance and have insurance, but this is an outdoor activity, so please join with the understanding that you are responsible for your own safety.
Participants become a "Trap Owner" of a trap set for one week. It is a system that keeps your connection with the satoyama going after the experience.
During the experience, discuss with the hunter where you think animals will pass. Setting up and managing the trap are done by the hunter.
If an animal is caught in the trap you set within one week, we will butcher it and ship it to you for +¥10,000 (domestic shipping only, up to 1 kg).
"There is a mountain in Nagasaki that I am part of."
Even after the trip ends, your connection with the mountain continues.
* Setting, checking and managing the trap and decisions about catches are made by the hunter.
Born in Okinawa. An outdoor guide with over 20 years of experience leading nature experiences. In summer he runs "HARMONIZE." as a sea kayak guide on Omura Bay in Nagasaki.
At sea, he paddles kayaks to uninhabited islands, fishes and camps by a fire of his own making.
In the mountains, he reads animal trails, checks traps, and butchers and cooks what is caught.
He maintains bamboo groves and puts the harvested bamboo to use in his experiences. He sees nature not just as a place to enjoy, but as a place people keep engaging with.
The mountain he guides you through is not one built for tourism. It is the satoyama he walks every day, looking for animal signs and checking traps.
Wild animals do not move on a human timetable. Some days nothing is caught. That, too, is real hunting time.
The program may change depending on catches, weather and mountain conditions. Safety comes first, and everything is done under the instructions of the hunter and staff.
We do not accompany gun hunting.
The program centers on trap rounds, field observation, meat processing and butchering, and wild-game cooking.
Guide languages
Guiding is done in Japanese and simple English, using a smartphone translation app when needed. The inquiry form is in Japanese and English.
To the satoyama of Nagasaki.
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