Hokkaido
Japan's northernmost island holds roughly 40% of the national deer harvest, built on vast temperate forest and disciplined population management.
Gifu
Gifu's Hida and Mino regions carry some of Japan's deepest bear-hunting traditions, with matagi practices and strong processing cooperatives that have operated continuously for generations.
Nagano
The Alps prefecture is Japan's foremost mountain game region, where high-altitude terrain produces exceptional inoshishi from acorn-rich oak forests alongside well-managed shika populations.
Kyoto
Kyoto's game supply feeds Japan's most demanding restaurant culture — processors in the Tamba and Kyotango regions have developed precision standards for cleaning, aging, and trim that reflect decades of direct feedback from kaiseki chefs.
Kumamoto
The Aso caldera region produces Japan's most sought-after bear meat — a six-week season, exceptional marbling from pre-hibernation fat deposits, and chef demand that consistently exceeds available supply.
Shimane
Shimane's San'in coast hinterlands produce exceptional inoshishi from acorn-rich satoyama landscape — modest volumes, but flavor-forward boar with well-developed fat marbling that mountain prefectures with poorer mast production can't replicate.
Miyazaki
Japan's most consistent boar supply comes from Miyazaki, where established hunter networks and mild winters enable near-year-round inoshishi availability that most prefectures cannot match.
Iwate
Iwate's vast Kitakami Mountains host some of Japan's cleanest northern venison — large-bodied deer from low-hunting-pressure zones and undisturbed forest range with minimal agricultural interference.
Nara
Nara sits at the intersection of the Yoshino mountain range and the Kinki consumer market, with a growing gibier processing sector responding to Osaka and Kobe restaurant demand.
Gunma
Gunma sits at the northern edge of the Kantō plain where mountains rise sharply — a geographic position that produces strong deer and boar populations within practical logistics reach of Tokyo and the Kantō restaurant market.