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Jun 14, 2019

Gun Prohibited Area in Saitama

Gun Prohibited Area in Saitama photo


Spotted on my hike in the Hiki District today. "Certain Hunting Equipment Prohibited Area (Gun) Saitama Prefecture"   It kind of made me chuckle. The elaborate "certain hunting equipment prohibited area" line followed by "(gun)" in the next line. Why couldn't they just write "gun prohibited area"? What am I missing!?


But more than that this sign begs the question - is gun usage allowed in all other areas of Saitama that don't have this sign post? Unfortunately, I don't know the answer. I do know that with a proper license you can own a gun. But I don't know anything about the legalities of using them. A google search in English doesn't bring anything relevant up. A search in Japanese gives you the type of convoluted bureaucratic dissertations that give you a headache and more questions than answers.


Speaking of, the above photographed sign also has we wondering about hunting in Japan. I know you have to have a permit to hunt. I also know that the majority of vocational hunters in Japan are past retirement age and this has led to an increase in boar in Japan. But what I don't know, and would like to know, is can you hunt anywhere once you have a license (so long as it doesn't have one of these signs)? Not that I have any interest in hunting whatsoever, I am not a fan at all, but I am curious about the situation in my adopted country. 


Has anyone ever been hunting in Japan? Know any answer to these questions? Thank you!


BigfamJapan

BigfamJapan

Former nickname was "Saitama". Changed it to save confusion on place review posts! Irish, 20+ years in Japan! I also write on my personal website: insaitama.com


4 Comments

  • TonetoEdo

    on Jun 15

    I’ve never hunted myself, but some friends made wild boar nabe after a successful hunt in Ibaraki Prefecture. I did a wee bit of research, and found hunting groups in Shizuoka Prefecture that share their food, boar and deer, with visitors. https://exploreshizuoka.com/hunting-haruno/ But so far, I’ve seen no indication of the extent of hunting grounds, or specific areas that are open to hunters. Are they hunting on national or private land, I wonder?

  • BigfamJapan

    on Jun 16

    @TonetoEdo I am very curious to know more. If I find myself with a bit of free time I am going to try and research some more. Thanks so much for that link to Hunting Haruno

  • edthethe

    on Jun 21

    Ive eaten bear soup at a random tiny onsen in the mountains. They told me they had hunted it themselves and the impression i got was that the father (late 40s) would go hunting regularly, at least once a year. This was just after the march 11th quake and radiation leakage scare so they were very adamant to let me know that the bear was hunted before that time, so no fear of radiation poisoning. Also, the bear was hunted by bow and arrow soooo that could be why the gun reference?

  • BigfamJapan

    on Jun 21

    @edthethe wow, that is really interesting. So hunting might not be forbidden in the area, but just hunting by gun. I am really intrigued by this whole other side of Japan I never knew anything about.