- A solo chef in Tachikawa sees the impossible reality of "hunting and cooking" -
A story imagined by the owner
Prologue: Dreaming of the mountains from a corner of the kitchen
Night in Tachikawa.
On the other side of the counter, the last customer finished his wine.
I put the plate down and stood at the sink, steam rising.
My hands are rough and my back hurts.
Still, I feel somehow fulfilled.
It's been a few years since we opened this shop, Morinonaka.
I prepare the food by myself, serve the customers by myself, and wash the dishes by myself.
After closing, people start posting on social media that it's "a place in Tachikawa where you can eat game meat."
But somewhere in my heart, something was bothering me.
"Can I really call this meat my own dish?"
If you get a hunting license,
You can serve the meat you catch yourself in your own restaurant.
That's what I thought.
But how naive that idea was,
You will learn this the hard way later.
Chapter 1: Hunting License - A Piece of Paper to Open the Door
There are three types of hunting licenses.
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Net hunting license
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Trapping license
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gun hunting license
There are two main ways to obtain game meat.
Gun hunting in particular requires a long training course.
The test cost is approximately 6,800 yen in Tokyo.
The beginners' course costs about 12,000 yen .
Even if you pass, you must go through the following steps to obtain a hunting rifle license:
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Background check (police)
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Psychiatric diagnosis certificate (approximately 5,000 yen)
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Gunpowder storage facility installation (approximately 30,000 yen)
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Gun safe (approx. ¥25,000)
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Hunting rifle itself (used, about 100,000 to 200,000 yen)
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Ammunition (50 rounds for about 5,000 yen)
The initial cost alone is 250,000 to 400,000 yen .
The hunting club membership fee is about 10,000 yen, and the annual membership fee is about 10,000 yen.
Hunter registration fee is approximately 16,500 yen .
There are also insurance and ammunition costs for each season.
"Does it really cost this much to shoot a deer?"
The moment you think that, it's no longer a hobby.
But there's no turning back now.
40s.
My physical strength is also declining.
But compared to standing in the kitchen all day,
I thought walking in the mountains was a refreshing experience.
It was sweet.
Chapter 2: The reality of going into the mountains
The mountains of Okutama before dawn.
I parked the car and put on my backpack.
Guns, bullets, binoculars, radio, knife, rope, GPS, plastic containers.
The total weight of the equipment is approximately 15 kg .
As we climbed the snow-covered slope,
I'm out of breath.
My heart is pounding.
Your body in your 40s is more honest than you think.
The mountain roads are not paved.
Rocks, leaves, mud.
One wrong step and you'll fall.
In fact, dozens of hunters are injured each year from falls and slips.
A rescue helicopter may be dispatched.
And the concentration required at the moment of shooting.
Hold your breath and aim.
The moment you pull the trigger, the world stops.
After the sound, there's silence.
Something sinks in my chest.
After the prey stops moving,
That's reality.
Blood. Body temperature. Smell.
I thought, "Is this what it means to eat a life?"
But this is where it really begins.
He descends the mountain carrying a 50kg deer.
Slip and fall.
It hits my lower back and my knees hurt.
When you exceed the limits of your physical strength, you will realize for the first time the fear of going into the mountains.
Chapter 3: The cost of bringing back a life
Cooling must begin within two hours of capture.
If body heat remains, bacteria will grow and the meat will become unedible.
This means it needs to be removed immediately and transported to a processing plant in a refrigerated truck.
However, there are very few treatment facilities in urban areas like Tachikawa.
If we were to bring it to a processing plant in Yamanashi or Nagano,
Gasoline costs, coolant, time.
Transporting one deer takes 100km round trip, 2,000 yen in fuel, 1,000 yen in highway tolls, and 4 hours .
Moreover, the processing cost is about 3,000 to 5,000 yen per animal .
The animal is skinned and carcassed,
It will be a few days before it is returned as licensed meat.
If you include the electricity costs for refrigeration and freezing storage and the cost of maintaining a car,
It actually costs more than 10,000 yen to "legally" sell one animal in your store.
That's more than double the amount of venison you can buy at the market.
Moreover, the number of animals captured is unstable.
Sometimes it's zero in a month.
"There's no way we can make a business out of this," he said.
I finally calmly realize it.
Chapter 4: The barrier called the public health center
Tachikawa City Health Center.
The woman at the counter spoke quietly but firmly.
"We cannot serve meat that has been processed in an unlicensed location."
"But I caught it myself."
"As a hobby."
Even though I said that, he shook his head.
If you are selling it as a business, you will need a "meat processing business" license.
The equipment conditions are like those of a small factory.
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Water-resistant walls and floors
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Lighting, water supply and drainage, hand washing, disinfection tank
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Thermometer, refrigerator, pest intrusion prevention
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Separation of traffic flow between the processing room and the kitchen
There's no such space behind the small restaurant.
Even if you build a prefabricated house, it will cost at least 1.5 to 3 million yen .
Even if you apply for a grant, it won't be approved immediately.
"Dealing with life" costs more money than you might imagine.
Chapter 5: Taxes and Legal Traps
Selling or providing game meat is considered "business income."
When filing tax returns, it will not be treated as "agriculture and forestry" but will be included as part of the food and beverage industry income.
In other words, it is subject to income tax, local tax, and consumption tax.
In addition, gun owners are required to pay an explosives acquisition permit tax based on the Explosives Control Act,
There is a re-inspection fee to the police station every time the storage facility is renewed.
Submit a record book every time you purchase ammunition.
If the vehicle is used for business purposes, it will be subject to automobile tax , and if it is a refrigerated vehicle, it will also be subject to an environmental performance tax .
The steps required to legally sell a deer are:
It's just like starting a small business.
Chapter 6: Equipment, maintenance costs, and physical limitations
The mountains are brutal in winter.
The temperature was minus 5 degrees Celsius and the wind was bitingly cold.
Skimping on equipment can be life-threatening.
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Cold weather wear top and bottom: 40,000 yen
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Hiking boots: 25,000 yen
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Knife: 10,000 yen
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Binoculars: 20,000 yen
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GPS device: 30,000 yen
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Headlamp, walkie-talkie, backpack, gloves, rain gear, spare batteries.
If you buy everything, it will cost at least 200,000 yen .
It also requires annual maintenance and updating.
And then, in my 40s.
I can't run like I did when I was younger.
Muscle soreness comes after 3 days.
My legs tremble as I brace myself on the snowy road.
My heart is pounding.
It's also mentally draining.
Alone in the mountains, feeling the sound of the wind and the presence of animals.
scared.
And it's lonely.
The silence that follows the shot remains in my mind.
Guilt, pride, relief, fear.
They all mix together and I can't eat anything for a while.
Chapter 7: Hygiene: The invisible enemy
The captured animals were found to be infested with ticks, fleas, mites and viruses.
SFTS, Hepatitis E, Toxoplasma, parasites.
A single tick can be deadly.
There is a risk of infection that cannot be removed by washing your hands after work.
The treatment facility disinfects the waste using electrolyzed water, peracetic acid, and hot water.
The carcasses are cooled at 1°C for 24 hours, tested for bacteria, and records are kept.
This is the secret behind "safe game meat."
On the other hand, the meat we process ourselves in the mountains is
A temperature difference of just 1°C can cause bacteria to multiply explosively.
There's a fine line between "fresh" and "dangerous."
As a chef, I can't sacrifice safety.
Maintaining hygiene also means cutting out romance.
Chapter 8: The cold calculation of economic profitability
This is an estimate of the cost of capturing one deer and processing, transporting, and serving it.
Item cost (yen)
Hunting registration and insurance 16,500
Gun possession renewal/gunpowder fee 10,000
Gasoline/transport 3,000
Processing fee 5,000
Refrigerated storage and electricity costs 1,000
Equipment consumption cost 2,000
Miscellaneous expenses (ice, bags, cleaning agent) 500
Total: approx. 38,000 yen per head
Even if you can get 15kg of carcass meat,
The cost price is over 2,500 yen per kg.
Even though it's all this trouble, it's not that different from buying it at the market.
This is exactly what the saying "When you cost your dreams, they become reality."
Chapter 9: Emotional exhaustion and family distance
He closes the shop and cleans his guns in the middle of the night.
The hands that polish a gun and the hands that sharpen a knife are the same.
I feel a sense of guilt somehow.
My wife says.
"Why do you go to such lengths?"
I can't answer.
I just didn't want to "lie" about my cooking.
But there are no days off, even on Sundays.
Fatigue builds up and you can no longer lift your shoulders.
I have dark circles under my eyes.
The age of 40 is
It's somewhere between "having physical strength" and "not being able to push yourself."
If you make a mistake, your recovery from injury or illness will be slower.
Hunting tests your resilience more than your mental strength.
Chapter 10: Why I Still Go to the Mountains
I thought many times, "It's impossible."
But I couldn't stop.
In the mountains, there is a ``flow of time'' that humans have forgotten.
A silent morning, the wind blowing, the presence of an animal.
In that silence,
It reminds me of what it means to be a chef.
Hunting is not violence, it is "dialogue."
Between the mountains, life, and myself.
I think cooking is a response to that.
That's why I'm sharpening my knives again today.
To speak of life with knives, not guns.
Final Chapter: Hope in the midst of impossible odds
Even if you know the reality, the dream will not disappear.
Even in a one-person store,
I want to make food that feels alive with my own hands.
Even if you can't catch it yourself,
Just team up with a hunter you can trust.
Even if you can't handle it yourself,
All we need to do is partner with a treatment facility that has proper hygiene management.
Still, the "feelings" are conveyed.
A chef's job is to cook life.
And connecting lives.
Morinonaka is a small shop located between the forest and the city.
I'm still holding a knife today.
Not with guns, but with fire, salt, and time.