Photo/Illutration After causing a stir on social media, skewered bear meat is offered at the Tsugaru Shirakami roadside rest area in Nishimeya, Aomori Prefecture. (Provided by Shirakami Public Corp.)

NISHIMEYA, Aomori Prefecture--While riot police officers are authorized to shoot bears to combat an alarming rise in bear-related injuries and deaths across Japan, the Nishimeya village office here has taken a tastier approach.

It markets game meat from Asian black bears caught at the foot of the World Natural Heritage-designated Shirakami-Sanchi mountains as a local specialty.

"Shirakami Gibier" has attracted attention after it caused a stir on social media not only for its efforts to utilize culled bears but also touting how delicious their meat is.

The village opened an exclusive meat-processing facility in November 2020 to develop and produce wild bear meat products.

"Bear meat is hard to chew when it is unprocessed, but the odor goes away when it is aged for at least three days in an aging room at the facility, and it is transformed into edible meat that is moderately chewy and tasty," said Katsuhiko Kakuta, 49, director-general of Shirakami Public Corp., a semi-public company. "A growing number of people know that Shirakami Gibier is the village's specialty, so it appears it is becoming widely accepted."

The products are also available outside the village.

When the company opened a food stall at the Yokohama roadside rest area in Yokohama, also in the prefecture, in late October to serve bear meat dishes, they created a buzz.

A tourist who ate skewered bear meat posted a comment on X (formerly Twitter), saying, "I ate Asian black bear! I think it was prepared perfectly because it had no smell, had a gentle mouthfeel and tasted good!"

It attracted more than 80,000 likes.

One user responded, "I want to try it," while another wrote, "It is wonderful not to waste life and to make use of it."

UNEXPECTED FEEDBACK

"I was surprised that it created this much buzz and I'm grateful," Kakuta said.

Although the skewered dish had been offered on a limited basis at events, the company started adding the treat to the regular menu on Nov. 15 in response to the huge feedback.

The new dish sells out quickly despite dozens of skewered meats being offered each day, according to Kakuta.

"It is more popular than we had expected," he said. 

"We want to pass on the culture of 'matagi' hunters, who have treated bears as gifts from mountain gods and made good use of them, to future generations," he added.

Two products recently added to the regular lineup are Shirakami Bear Smoked Ham and Shirakami Bear Wiener (chorizo flavor).

They are available frozen and packaged at stores at the Tsugaru Shirakami roadside rest area and the Buna-no-sato Shirakami-kan hot spring inn, which are operated by the public corporation.

The meat used for Shirakami Gibier comes from Asian black bears caught in traps that are set in apple orchards and vegetable fields in the village to prevent damage to crops by animals and birds.

More than 40 bears have been captured between June and late October this year, up sharply from the seven during the same period last year when there was a bountiful harvest of acorns and other nuts in the mountains.

Shirakami Bear Smoked Ham is priced at 650 yen ($4.25) per 100 grams, including tax.

A pack of Shirakami Bear Wiener contains three sausages and is on sale for 1,000 yen. Both products need to be kept frozen.

The skewered dish is available at a restaurant in the Tsugaru Shirakami roadside rest area for 500 yen per skewer.

For inquiries, visit the official website at (https://www.tsugaru-shirakami.com/en/).

The hot spring inn will be closed from Dec. 1 to April 9.

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