Foraging culture is alive and well in rural Japan. When spring rears its beautiful head after the long cold winters of the Japanese mountains, the locals burst into life, picking shoots, buds, leaves and more. The obvious and easy to find foraging spots on the roadside are usually picked before you know it, leaving the spoils of the deeper forest untaken. The Japanese word “sansai” roughly translates to mean mountain vegetables. There are so many varieties to choose from. Most people in Japan can at least identify one or two. The most common thing to cook with “sansai” is probably tempura, but there are several other applications too. In autumn it is mushroom picking season as well as the season for certain fruits and berries. Probably the most sought after foragable in this season is the matsutake mushroom. Consider them the white truffles of Japan. These delicate mushrooms have an aroma of pine forest’s that the Japanese go wild for! And at market, they fetch a hefty price tag.

In this tour, Mr. Hirokawa, a local of Hiraya Village, one of the lowest populated village municipalities in all of Japan (with a population of around 380), will be your guide. He has been working as a professional forager for several years. He sells what he picks directly to his loyal customer base and also runs a small restaurant in the village. He doesn’t speak much English, so I will be there to translate and help to make your day truly enjoyable.

Starting in the morning, you’ll head to the mountains in search of whatever is good that particular season. Mr. Hirokawa will choose a point in the village that he thinks will best on that particular date. Together you will forage, learning about the flora and finding out the intricacies of Japanese foraging, as you go. Once you have collected enough, it is time to get ready for lunch. If the weather permits it, a lunch made in the mountains is on the menu. Mr. Hirokawa will have something prepared too so that lunch is satisfying even if the “sansai” and mushrooms have slim pickings.

After a morning of picking and a lunch in the mountains, the afternoon is open. For those who would enjoy it, a local terrarium shop offer moss garden making experiences (may be difficult to take with you if you live outside Japan), and a local free range cow farmer offers highly detailed nature tours of his farm. There are also beautiful rivers to swim in if you can brace the incredibly cold waters!

While this tour is going to be a whole lot of fun, please be aware that this is tourism at its rawest! These are businesses, places, and people living deep in the mountains of Japan. So please consider if that sort of thing is going to be a match for you or not. If it is, you will love it!