All Hokkaido Staff Adventures- Jordan goes foraging for wild mountain plants!

The All Hokkaido staff loves to travel all over Hokkaido- and we want you to see where we’re going and what’s going on! Maybe you will find some inspiration for your trip here. This time Jordan goes foraging with an outdoor guide!

I was raised mostly as a “city-person,” and when I moved to rural northern Hokkaido there was a lot I had to learn.

In addition to shoveling snow, watching out for bears, and remembering that gas stations close very early (very early!! Be careful if you’re renting a car and driving in Hokkaido!), something else everyone was eager to teach me about was foraging.

Japan has a long history of foraging, and this is especially true in Hokkaido due to the indigenous Ainu people that live here. There are a lot of wild plants that can be eaten at different times throughout the year, and this is especially true in spring. Takenoko and gyoja ninniku are considered staples of Japanese wild vegetables, and friends would often take me with them to go searching for these plants- but I wanted to know more!

That is why this spring I contacted one of my acquaintances, a guide I had worked with often in the past, to take me on a private foraging adventure.

On two occasions, first in late April and then in early May I put on my long boots and headed out of Sapporo to meet my guide! I will keep where I went a secret for this post- most guides are very secretive about their foraging spots.

When I got there, for our first trip we headed into the mountains first to search for gyoja ninniku. The easy locations near the main paths and roads were sparse, but as my guide took me deeper into the forest there was more gyoja ninniku than we could ever want! As we went my guide was teaching me about a lot of things- other non-edible plants, the best recipes for what were gathering, and about the history and landscape of the area. When we stopped for lunch (we had jingisukan in the mountains, eaten along with our gathered plants!) I had learned a lot, and the food our guide prepared was amazing as we enjoyed the gyoja ninniku we had carefully picked.

Because just once wasn’t enough, we booted back up and went out on a “taste-testing” hike this time. Our first trip was devoted to the delicious and plentiful gyoja ninniku the first time, but our second trip’s goal was to find as many different varieties of edible plants as we could.

It was amazing! So many more plants that I had expected were edible, and more than that- delicious!  To finish the trip, we hid out from a small sudden rain storm and had a tempura-party in the back of my guide’s van. As he fried up each plant we had searched for and gathered, it was incredible to compare these unassuming wild vegetables. I wasn’t ready to part from my guide- there was so much more I wanted him to teach me and to learn about!

I’m not sure if I’m ready to head out on a survival camping trip or fend for myself in the wilds of Hokkaido, but I definitely learned a lot and am excited for next spring, when I will definitely put what I learned to use and go foraging myself!

If you or someone you know are looking for a unique experience in the outdoors of Hokkaido, or just would like an experienced outdoor guide for hiking or otherwise, send us a message!