On November 26, THQ Nordic will release the PS5 physical edition of the hunting sim *Way of the Hunter 2*, which recently launched in its full version for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.
Speaking of hunting, the damage caused by wild animals living in the mountains to populated areas has recently sparked heated debate in various contexts.
In fact, here at the editorial office, we have a staff member who lives in the mountains of a certain area in northern Kanto and has been plagued by wild boar damage in recent years. “My home vegetable garden—both the potatoes and watermelons—were completely wiped out this year… No matter how many iron fences I put up, they still manage to squeeze through or bend them… I’ll never forgive those wild boars!”
So this time, we spoke with Sadao Onoe, president of the “Great Japan Hunting Association”—an organization representing those who engage in actual hunting—to hear his views on the current state of the mountains, wildlife, and hunting.We also had him actually play *Way of the Hunter 2* and asked him to share his thoughts on the game’s unique appeal and realism from the perspective of “How does this compare to real-life hunting?”
Click here for the official*Way of the Hunter 2* website!
About *Way of the Hunter 2*
“Way of the Hunter 2” is a hunting simulator where players freely explore a vast open world while hunting.It features authentic tracking mechanics—where you interpret animal tracks, feeding traces, and wind direction to close in on your prey—as well as a system that rewards you with high ratings for using the right gear for the hunt. The game also supports multiplayer. This installment introduces new elements, including a dog companion and temporary camps.
Game*Spark has published previous articles on this series. Be sure to check them out as well.
Real-world wildlife and the “here and now” of hunting
What Kind of Organization Is the Greater Japan Hunting Association? The Decline in New Hunters Is the Biggest Challenge
――First, could you tell us what kind of organization the Greater Japan Hunting Association is?
Chairman Onoe: Originally, it was an organization for people who hunt as a hobby. Nowadays, however, we’re also involved in activities such as the culling of harmful wildlife, so we’re taking on public-interest initiatives as well. That aspect of our work has been growing in recent years.
On the other hand, our biggest challenge right now is the declining number of people holding Class 1 firearm hunting licenses (hunting with firearms). While the number of people practicing trap hunting has been steadily increasing, the decline in firearm hunting is outpacing that growth.We used to have about 400,000 members, but now there are only about 100,000, and most of them are trap hunters.
――What are the reasons behind the decline in the number of people engaged in gun hunting?
Chairman Onoe: In Japan, police regulations on firearms are very strict, and the barriers to entry are high, so it’s difficult to get people to say, “Let’s give it a try.”Another factor is that our predecessors—even though it’s such an enjoyable hobby—kept it to themselves and didn’t pass it on to their children or grandchildren. I think we’re now paying the price for that. If even one parent had owned a hunting rifle, the tradition would have been passed down, and the decline wouldn’t have been this extreme.
Right now, we’re focusing on how to spread the word about how fun this hobby is. In Wakayama Prefecture, where I’m primarily active, we partner with the prefectural government to hold “Hunting Appeal Experience Workshops” twice a year. If someone tries it out and becomes interested, and then obtains a Type 1 license, we take responsibility for mentoring them. To that end, we’re also encouraging them to join our Youth and Women’s Divisions.
We’re getting closer to wildlife
――Are you seeing an increase in consultations regarding damage caused by pests?
Chairman Onoe: As you know, there’s the bear issue. At one point, the wild boar population plummeted due to swine fever, but it’s now recovering, and farmers are once again facing difficulties.When the wild boar population declined, the Japanese deer population increased dramatically, and now we’re in a situation where we can’t control the deer population. There’s also the problem of a shortage of processing facilities for the animals after they’re captured.
Wild animals are multiplying in vast numbers right on the outskirts of villages. There’s no doubt that farmers are the ones suffering the most from this damage.Wild animals are highly adaptable; they don’t just come down from the mountains because there’s no food up there—once they learn that “there’s tasty food in the villages,” they’ll definitely go there. The reality is that it’s difficult to drive them back into the mountains. Wild boars, in particular, are very accustomed to humans; they can even tell whether someone they see is a threat or not.
The first tip for dealing with wild boars is “don’t let them see your crops.”
—In one of our editorial staff members’ fields, even after erecting a fence, it gets bent and the boars crawl under it every year. We’ve also tried spraying scents that boars dislike, but the weather has a strong impact, so the effect is minimal. Electric fencing—which would likely be the last resort (other than hunting)—has high initial costs, so we’re hesitant to install it.
Chairman Onoe: Even with electric fences, if there’s tasty food right in front of them, wild boars will act like a shock troop—one will sacrifice itself to charge through, breaking the fence to get inside. They’re that clever. By the way, there should be municipal subsidies available for electric fences.
Also, you mustn’t let the crops be visible from outside the fence. Since wild boars have a low line of sight, wrap corrugated iron all the way around the lower part of the mesh fence. Just that alone makes it harder for them to see inside and discourages them from entering. They dig up the crops precisely because they can see them. In short, simply ensuring the crops aren’t visible makes a huge difference in the damage they cause.
The JA has also issued a notice advising that when installing mesh fencing, you should use corrugated iron sheeting to block the view. Even when using electric fencing, if you simply set it up without proper care, wild boars may charge through it without even flinching at the electric shock, potentially destroying it.
One more thing: make sure to cut down the weeds around the field. If you eliminate their hiding spots, animals—which are naturally wary—will be reluctant to approach when they’re fully exposed.
Submit an application for harmful wildlife control to your municipality. In residential areas, traps and cages are the standard methods.
—What if damage still occurs?
Chairman Onoe: You can carry out pest control if you apply for it. It’s possible even deep in the mountains. In areas close to residential neighborhoods, the use of hunting rifles is restricted, so using cages or traps is the best approach. These days, it’s not just wild boars—there are also raccoons, palm civets, and monkeys.
However, there are increasing issues regarding proper etiquette in trap hunting. Just because you have a trap hunting license doesn’t mean you can set traps anywhere. You need permission from the landowner or mountain owner, and there are designated hunting grounds. The number of disputes arising from people setting traps without permission is currently on the rise.
For this reason, at our introductory trap hunting license workshops, we provide participants with a written guide emphasizing the importance of following proper etiquette and advise them to ask nearby hunters for guidance if they’re unsure.
If You Encounter a Wild Animal
—What should you do if you actually encounter one?
Chairman Onoe: Whether it’s a wild boar or a deer, they won’t attack humans unless they’re agitated. They’ll only come toward you if you panic; if you stay calm, they’ll run away first. The same goes for bears—they only panic because we provoke them.
I once made eye contact with a bear in a tree from a distance of about 5 meters. Thinking, “Oh, this is bad,” I kept my eyes locked on it while backing away steadily, and once I was 20 to 30 meters away, the bear left as well. The key is not to provoke them.
However, I’ve heard that bears with cubs are dangerous. To protect their young, they’ll growl menacingly and immediately adopt a defensive stance. I’ve never encountered one myself, though. Wild boars, even when accompanied by their young, won’t charge at you—they’ll run away immediately.
――If I see a bear, who should I contact?
Chairman Onoe: If you see one, you should definitely report it. The point of contact is your local municipal government. Since responses are handled on a municipal basis, they’ll take action from there. (Though they might not act very quickly.) Requests are typically forwarded to our hunting association from the municipal government.
Emergency Hunting, Subsidies, and Rising Gun Prices
――“Emergency hunting” is a hot topic in bear management.
Chairman Onoe: We constantly hear farmers saying, “Do something about this,” but since bears are protected animals under government law, there was nothing we could do until now. With “emergency hunting” being discussed nationwide, it has become easier to take action.
However, there is a disparity between municipalities that are taking action and those that are not. Even here in Wakayama, responses vary across the Kihoku, Kichu, and Kinan regions, and we are currently in discussions to standardize our approach. In places like Niigata, where this happens frequently, they are taking action, but in areas where it rarely occurs, even the local government struggles to keep track of the situation.
――What about the cost of owning a firearm?
Chairman Onoe: Due to recent conflicts, the prices of ammunition and everything else have gone up. Some municipalities do offer subsidies. Subsidies for gun owners vary widely: the most generous provide nearly 280,000 yen, while others offer 30,000, 50,000, or 100,000 yen—there’s a significant disparity.
However, even that 280,000 yen isn’t enough to cover the initial costs these days. The initial costs are in the range of 500,000 yen. Since new guns are expensive, there’s a scramble for used ones.
That’s why the quickest solution right now is to ask older hunters who are retiring, “Please pass your gun on to me when you’re done.”
Click here for the official“Way of the Hunter 2” website!
We had them play “Way of the Hunter 2”
In the second half, while actually playing the game (with the other participants watching the gameplay screen), Chairman Onoe shared his thoughts on how it compares to real-life hunting.
“It’s realistic as a drive hunt”
—First, could you tell us what aspects felt close to real-life hunting, and what aspects felt unique to the game?
Chairman Onoe: As for driven hunts (Editor’s note: A hunting method where hunters drive along forest roads in vehicles or similar, scanning for signs of game; as soon as they spot it, they get out and hunt. In this game, *Way of the Hunter 2*, you can also use small vehicles.though I didn’t use one during this playthrough), it looks like realistic drive hunting (aside from the fact that it doesn’t use a vehicle). However, it’s strange that the prey would run away like that after taking a direct hit to the lung from a .308 round. If you were hit there, you wouldn’t be able to run like that (laughs). In reality, the impact would cause you to collapse on the spot immediately.
Also, in actual drive hunting, wind direction and scent don’t really matter much. If you’re 100 or 200 meters away, they’re completely irrelevant. It’s more about “presence.”They often sense things like human footsteps or a sense of aggression. That’s why it’s important to blend in with nature. Bears, in particular, are highly alert—the moment they catch a fleeting glimpse of you, they can vanish in an instant. Once, when I shot one of seven or eight deer in a meadow, they all disappeared in the blink of an eye, and no matter how hard I searched, I couldn’t find them. I’m always impressed by wild animals.
――The scope you used in this playthrough went up to 6x, but what magnification do you actually use?
Chairman Onoe: I usually use 20x, but for moving targets, 4x to 6x is easier to handle. Higher magnification makes it harder to track them.
――The game’s protagonist is a professional hunter—do such people actually exist?
Chairman Onoe: Unlike in the game, being a contract hunter is extremely tough, and there are very few of them. To keep hunting going, the “fun” of it as a hobby is crucial—that’s the key to sticking with it long-term. On top of that, there’s the aspect of contributing to society by capturing harmful wildlife.
Majestic wilderness. Actually, even in Japan…?
――What about the locations?
Chairman Onoe: Places like Hokkaido or the mountainous areas of Nara come closest to this. You won’t find anything like this in Saitama. Huge wild boars are running around mixed in with the deer.
It would be fun to try a “circle drive” (a hunting method where multiple people surround the game from all sides). Can this game be played with multiple people?
――Up to four people can play at the same time.
Preparations and tactics vary depending on the prey
――In the game, the preparations seemed to go very smoothly—how is it in reality?
Chairman Onoe: It varies completely depending on the prey. Wild boar hunting requires the most preparation. First, there’s what we call “reconnaissance”—we drive around the mountain to see if there are any wild boars in the area. Since wild boars always escape along animal trails, we decide on a waiting spot during reconnaissance and wait there.
On the other hand, since we generally know where deer live, it’s relatively easy to use dogs to flush them out.
Hunting dogs also vary by breed. Beagles are slow and chase while barking, so they’re suited for deer. For wild boar hunting, you have to decide whether to use a dog that barks to stop the boar or one that goes in to bite.Dogs that go in for the bite are prone to injury, which incurs veterinary costs. That comes down to the hunter’s preference. The choice of firearm—whether a rifle or a shotgun—also reflects individual style. In any case, hunting methods vary completely depending on the game.
It’s rare to carry more than 10 rounds of ammunition. After all, even after the hunt, it takes time to process the game. We all carry the game to the processing area, and for a wild boar weighing about 100 kilograms, it takes roughly two hours just to process a single one.
So, while hunting used to follow a pattern of scouting in the morning, lying in wait in the afternoon, and using dogs, these days we try to get it done in the morning whenever possible.
We scout the area thoroughly the day before, confirm our targets, wrap things up by noon, and then take our time cooking the game.
Hunting is a “step-by-step” process. Start with bird hunting.
—For those who’ve become interested through the game, what should they do next?
Chairman Onoe: We hold observation and trial sessions for our Youth and Women’s Divisions four times a year. Last year, we had 80 applicants and had to narrow it down to about 40. These “observation” sessions are for people who don’t own a hunting rifle; participants try simulated shooting, eat the game we’ve harvested, and if they’re interested, they can move on to a hands-on training program.
If you jump straight into big-game hunting, it takes at least five years—as I mentioned earlier regarding “judging the situation”—to be able to tell whether tracks are from yesterday or older, and more than three years to get to know the mountains. That’s why we recommend starting with bird hunting first. The fact that you can hunt birds in the game seems like a great, accessible entry point.
――Where should someone go for advice before picking up a gun?
Chairman Onoe: The local government. We ask those suffering from wildlife damage to report it to the local government first; requests are then forwarded to our hunting association from there.
The appeal of hunting is that “the game tastes delicious.”
――Finally, please tell us what the greatest appeal of hunting is.
Chairman Onoe: Ultimately, hunting is all about “the delicious taste of the game.” That’s the whole point—it’s for eating. Even people who come for introductory training get hooked once they try it. After all, you’re eating something you can’t buy with money.
Once you realize just how delicious the game you’ve hunted yourself is, it becomes even more fun. There are also plenty of recipes passed down from our senior members. It’s amazing to think that our seniors were keeping such a fun activity all to themselves. (Laughs)
――It sounds like playing a game would be even more fun if you imagined the taste while playing.
Chairman Onoe: Exactly—it’s all about the stomach.
“Way of the Hunter 2” is now available for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. The PS5 physical edition is scheduled for release on November 26.
Click here for the official*Way of the Hunter 2* website!
