Police officers warn climbers about the risk of getting lost or falling, in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaido Prefecture, May 15, 2023. (Mainichi/Jangrae Kim)
HOKKAIDO — Local police are urging caution as the wild vegetable foraging season reaches its peak, with several people already reported dead or missing while gathering edible wild plants this year.
According to Hokkaido Prefectural Police, four people had died or gone missing as of June 23.
“My father has not come home.”
A man, who left home after telling his family he was heading to the Jozankei area in the city of Sapporo, went missing in early May. Police said he had extensive experience gathering wild mountain vegetables. As his family had an idea of where he had gone foraging, he was found soon after the search began, but was confirmed dead at the scene. Police are investigating on the assumption that he likely stumbled and fell down a gully.
Even seasoned “mountain veterans” are not spared by nature.
Police data shows that seven people died or went missing while gathering wild mountain vegetables in 2024, and four in 2025.
Foragers in Hokkaido must also be wary of encounters with brown bears. In 2021, a man in his 60s was killed by a brown bear while foraging. In fiscal 2024, at least one person was injured in a similar case.
Koji Miyatake, the head of the mountain rescue and safety measures office at Hokkaido Prefectural Police’s Community Planning Division, urged caution, saying, “Avoid going alone, and try to go in groups. Make sure to tell your family where you are going. Please also pay attention to whether there have been any reported brown bear sightings in the area where you plan to forage.”
(Japanese original by Junta Takahashi, Hokkaido News Department)
AloJapan.com