For some reason bears have been terrorizing Japan this year.
Experts are baffled as to why bears are rampaging across the sub-burbs killing at least 12 people and injuring 196, but some entrepreneurs in Aomori have at least come up with a solution, bear curry, bear sausages and more!
Actually, it's not a surprise. Japanese hunters have been catching and eating bears for ever. In Akita prefecture my wife's uncle & his friends trapped bears and ate them because of the afore mentioned problems. What's new though is packaging up the meat as curry, or sausages or niku-don.
While seemingly repulsive, I admit I'd be willing to try a bear dish, but I'm fairly sure I wouldn't be a fan. Something tells me it would taste very gamey.
My wife chimed in that maybe it just needs to be prepared right. Like having a man dressed in a nice chef's outfit cooking the meat on a skewer with a blow torch.
In all seriousness though, the sudden rise in bear attacks and destruction caused by bears is a real problem. This chart shows bear trappings in just one area of Japan.
I go to the mountains a lot and while I haven't encountered any bears, I have seen their shit on the ground and claw marks on trees. I carry pepper spray and several hammers, including a sledge hammer, so I won't be going down without a fight, but the same can't be said for most hikers that just carry a staff with bells on it. Luckily for Japan the bears are going into hibernation. Hopefully the gourmet bear food makers have enough in their freezers to make it through the winter!
I'm headed deep into the mountains with friends in a few weeks to hunt for minerals so if you never hear from me again it's probably because some bear made it's own curry out of me or some depraved hunter did.....
Until then, thanks for reading!
