Hello, I recently moved to Japan, and have been to a few parks since.
Now, before moving here, I’ve lived in 2 other countries in Africa and Europe, and in both countries, public parcs are normal to forage in (fruit trees that the neighborhood kids harvest freely, mushrooms /nuts okay to pick up, etc.)
I’m wondering if there’s any special rules (or even just common sense type of unspoken rules) about that in Japan.
I don’t think I’d ever see a Japanese person picking up mushrooms in the local park, so I didn’t wanna be THAT foreigner without making sure first.
Also came across some berries that I know are edible in the same park.
Anyone has any clue wether it’s appropriate or not to forage here ?
4 comments
I see people collecting gingko nuts quite often—just take them home to wash instead of in the park restroom sinks, cause there’s a million signs about clogs
I see people collecting gingko nuts quite often—just take them home to wash instead of in the park restroom sinks, cause there’s a million signs about clogs
You mention foraging in public parks but if you really want to get into foraging, it might be worth taking a trip to the countryside. They love their mountain vegetables(山菜) out there. I live in deep inaka and my neighbor taught me how to pick wild chives from the side of the road! One day she showed me how to identify them then handed me a handful and said “it’s good in nabe” (can confirm very good in nabe). There are also always ojiichans and obaachans going up the mountains on the side of the road to collect various wild vegetables in 山菜 season. A lot of the land around is private, but if you see others out there collecting it’s probably okay. You can also get involved with groups (think they called it “four seasons club”) or ask a friendly ojiichan/obaachan to teach you about foraging. They love to teach you 🙂
It’s more common in the countryside than in Tokyo for sure but it’s definitely fine to do so.