Gibier Cuisine But Different

Back in Switzerland, I used to enjoy eating deer meat.

Here in Japan, I feel lucky to find gibier restaurants—especially in Gifu, where they seem more common than in other parts of the country.

A few days ago, my wife and I hosted four friends from Osaka. The day before yesterday, we drove together to Takayama for sightseeing. We visited the Myagawa morning market, wandered through the old town, tried some sake tasting, and stayed overnight at a local hotel. After a full day, we headed out for dinner and stumbled into a gibier restaurant. For me, this wasn’t a surprise—I’d already noticed quite a few in Gifu Prefecture.

But my friends from Osaka were quick to point out that this isn’t common in Japan at all. Their reaction surprised me and gave me a fresh perspective: what feels ordinary in Gifu is actually quite unique.

The restaurant’s menu offered the usual deer and boar dishes, but one item stood out—bear meat. It caught us off guard, yet intrigued us.

Now, it might sound brutal at first, but bears aren’t hunted for sport in Japan. Recently, however, bear encounters and even attacks in inhabited areas have increased. Food shortages in the mountains drive them closer to villages and towns in search of food. When bears pose a threat to people, local governments authorize hunters to shoot them. Instead of letting the meat go to waste, it sometimes makes its way into gibier restaurants.

So—how did it taste?

Honestly, I was pleasantly surprised. The flavor reminded me of beef. If no one had told me it was bear, I would have assumed I was eating beef.

Not shocking, maybe, but definitely tasty.