Grab Some Grizzly to Go! Bear Meat Sold in Japan's Vending Machines, Reports Say

Japan has earned a reputation for its out-of-the-ordinary vending machines selling anything ranging from everyday instant food of all kinds to amulets, anime stuff and a variety of other weird things.

Nowadays, fans of ubiquitous vending machines along with locals and tourists in the Akita Prefecture in northern Japan may enjoy dining on some bear meat, for a price of 2,200 yen or about 16.50 US dollars for 250g, reports suggest.

For special connoisseurs, the seller provided different types of bear meat and prime cuts from the mammal, just like in fancy steak restaurants.

The delicacy that fills these vending machines is obtained by the local hunters' club, and then it is processed at a slaughterhouse and delivered to consumers.

The sale of bear meat has been quite successful since there is a steady flow of numerous customers from trains traveling through the Akita Prefecture along with crowds of tourists, who also buy this unusual treat. Some people even sought to have the delicacy delivered to Tokyo, about 400 km away to the south.

As noted by the Japanese Minister of the Environment, the bear population in Japan has surged from 4,800 in 2009 to more than 20,000 in 2020 and continues to grow. The number of encounters with wild bears and the number of Japanese citizens injured in bear attacks has also risen to more than a hundred, which makes the business of selling bear meat kind of symbolic.

A few months ago, the largest Japanese vending machine operator, Kyodo Senpaku, began selling whale meat after the ban on hunting these rare animals was lifted in 2019. Who knows what's on the horizon? Maybe, we will see dinosaur meat in Japanese vending machines soon?