However, a new addition has recently been added to the menu: wild bear meat. According to the Mainichi Shimbun, a vending machine in Semboku city is selling different cuts of locally hunted Asiatic black bear meat for around 2,200 yen ($17; £13) per 250g. Despite international vulnerability status, Japan has limited the number of bears that can be hunted in the country.
Run by local restaurant Soba Goro, the machine sells 10-15 packs a week of bear meat to visitors who arrive in Tazawako station, where the country’s famed bullet train stops. Although hunters are allowed to kill bears in Japan, bear meat is not commonly served in restaurants in the average Tokyo, making the vending machine an unusual and convenient option for wild game enthusiasts.
