After years of persuasion I have been able to get a put together a hunt for hunters hoping to come to Japan, a bow or spear hunt for the biggest free range sika in the world with brown bear also available.

This will be the first opportunity for nonresidents to hunt in Japan in many decades. I have arranged with the local government a permit to cull the abundant sika here and although the use firearms will not be allowed it will be possible to bow hunt or use spears. This is only for a small province on the island Hokkaido, by no means does it mean all of Japan is open to bowhunting. Permits are issued to landowners who then employ us to help with the problem. They call it pest control, although I'm sure you will have a different term for it as the stags are the biggest and most plentiful in the world.

There is only one SCI listing for Hokkaido sika, the deer we shoot will be gold listings. No charge for that.

I've been working hard to get opportunities for non-residents and hoped for firearms to be allowed but stuck out, but am more than happy about the bow-hunting, on private property only. This is a great chance for folks who are looking to experience hunting in Japan and get the biggest sika of their lives. The rut is mid October to early November and there are a couple slots open at the moment. Hunting in the winter is very good and I have many blinds set up. There is no doubt that we will have good opportunities to get stags down as the animals are plenty. I have been hunting here for years and taken many trophy class stags, many in the 200SCI class, all taken with my shotgun. I have guided many Japanese hunters and my success rate is %100.

The hunt will cost $8000US for a seven day hunt, $6000US for a five day hunt. Any bear will have a trophy fee of $5000US. Included are all accommodations, trophy preparation, meals and transportation after arriving at Kushiro airport or train station. The Japan air pass is the cheapest way to fly up here from Tokyo. I would be happy to help with logistics.

The hunt includes two trophy stags, thereafter $1500 each. Does are free. Permits will cost ¥20000. Bows should be sent to me before your hunt, not brought here with you, then taken with you when you leave. Or gear can be borrowed from me, no charge.


The hunting will take place around the city of Kushiro on the island of Hokkaido. Hunting will be 30-40min from town and hunters can stay at a nice hotel in town or stay in a spike camp.

My address is:
Eric Rose
4-38-7 Aikoku Higashi
Kushiro-shi Hokkaido
085-0058 Japan
Ph +81 080 3268 7673-- Japan time







I have many more pictures if you like.
If there is anything I have left out of this listing please let me know and I will fix it immediately.

Cheers

Holy smokes! Nice trophies for sure.

Now this is a good reason to visit Japan!

I will be sending an email. Looks like fun.

Eric,

How incredibly interesting. Tell us about the bears.

Mark

Shoot, I was just there in November of 2010 and didn't even know about it.

These are Massive. I have seen many Sika in Texas but never one that size.

This should be a fun hunt.

The bears here have a bad temperament. Since 1970 more people have been killed here on this island than all combined in the US, including Alaska.

They are hard to stalk as there is too much cover. The only way to go about it is from a stand. The biggest bears are 550KG-ish. They usually avoid humans but once encountered seem to have little fear. There is an estimated 2000 on the island here, which is about a third the size of Oregon. Last year I set up baits and was able to get bears coming in, but didn't have enough time to be in the stands to catch up with one. I got some good trail cam vids which I've put on youtube .

There is also a good video of the hunting I do here, just search "hokkaido sika".

Sir, this is fantastic to see on AR! thank you and welcome!

hi could you use a shotgun not into bow hunting very interested

Gorgeous animals!! Can you tell me if you have any experience in guiding bow hunters or have you bow hunted yourself? What will be the hunting methos baiting, spot and stalk etc. In other words how will you get the hunter within range for a shot?

Thanks, yes these are awesome sika and for sure the best (only) hunting available for them.

This will be the first year these limited bow hunts will be available, so I have not guided bow hunters yet. Back in the US I did plenty of bowhunting and I'm sure things will go well here as they did back home.

The rut (Oct-Nov) will be very fun as stags work into calls well. We will spend the days stalking and calling stags. There will be plenty of action. As the caller I stay behind the hunter once we've honed in on a stag.

As the rut ends things will be a bit different. Although we may be able to stalk stags it will be tougher. I feel the best option will be treestands, of which I have many. I do have feeders as well as two enclosed elevated blinds.
I prefer to stalk and when the opportunity arises we surely will, I have been able to take deer sleeping in the middle of the day. But the best bet will be to set up in stands and catch them when they are moving.

The area I hunt is where great numbers of deer winter. Heavy snow moves deer south to the coast and I have had excellent success Jan-March.

Here is a typical scene in the winter.


Another nice winter stag I guided, taken at 50 yards.
http://i124.photobucket.com/al...goneric/DSC_0023.jpg

A beauty I took at 80 yards.
http://i124.photobucket.com/al...102476_2682649_n.jpg

A rare stag with a nice kicker
http://i124.photobucket.com/al...goneric/DSC_0159.jpg

A freakishly huge stag I took at 30 yards.
http://i124.photobucket.com/al...goneric/DSC_0286.jpg

A good five day hunt with two hunters.
http://i124.photobucket.com/al...JapanSikaTrip120.jpg

There are still spots open in rut and I am looking to seal it up.

Here is a http://yabanjinlifestyle.blogs...-hokkaido-japan.html blog link of a good fellow, who is now my friend, that came up last year.

Very happy to help him with a very nice stag. Rick, by the way, is 47-8!!! A testament to the healthy food and life here in Japan.

This really is an amazing opportunity to hunt these animals. these Sika are a superb trophy and listening to them whistle in the rut is a great experience.

It also looks to be great value. I can't wait to see the reports from some of these hunts.

K

If any body wishes a second opinion on the Monster Stag Hunts Eric has on offer, they can PM me or contact me by email, as I have a fair bit of back ground knowledge on the quality animals he & his Island can provide !

Cheers

Eric,
Myself and a friend are very interested in this hunt. I did not see your email or a way to PM you. You can email me at jlakellyfamily@comcast.net

Thanks Jim

Hello Jim,

Yes I see that I've forgot to attach my email.
Here it is
oregoneric@hotmail.com

A number of folks have replied, some of which I will be hunting with in the coming winter. I am very thankful to have this site as a resource to help get the word out about this extremely rare chance to hunt in Japan.

For the hunters that will be experiencing the culture and the huge stags that Japan has to offer in the winter, there will be nothing else to compare it you once you've left, but there are still two spots open for this rut, late Oct. I'm afraid soon I'll have to book Japanese (local) hunters and a great chance will be lost for you to hear loads of screaming sika going at it.

I know that a lot of folks have already made plans for this fall, but there must be a few of you with the time and resources. I'll make this deal, if you don't have a chance to fire an arrow at a trophy sika stag while on the hunt with me, all money shall be returned. Go ahead and read it again, there are no typos.

Now that doesn't mean if you miss you get your money back, or if you don't get a stag your money is returned..no no no, it just means I am absolutely sure I can put you within 40 yards of nice stags.

A couple rules,

1. No extreme farting. It makes the wind smell funny.
2. No ridiculous burping. Too noisy.
3. No overwhelming stinkiness. Deer here avoid stinky people.
4. No talking too loud. We'll be pretty close to each other most the time anyway.
5. No coming over thinking you're gonna get the money back. I am going to put sika close to you, or perhaps you close to sika, either way the rest will be up to you. I'm totally confident in what I can do and the numerous places I have private access too. And, well, there are tons of deer! The biologists here say this is the highest density of any indigenous deer population in the world. And even if they are wrong, dead stags don't lie. I've been guiding for a few years, %100 success so far.

So come on now fellas, lets make this happen. The local government is quite interested in how much interest I can create..It would be great to help out by whacking a few huge sika, nowhere else will you get this type of chance.

No trophy fees.
Nor any nickel and dime charges.
Last chance.

This is a fantastic-looking hunt! If I had a few grand in discretionary income I would jump on it. Please keep us posted as to how the season works out. If available, I would love to do this in a couple years.

Bowhunting is illegal in the UK and as such I have never picked up a bow in my life.

If this was a shotgun hunt I would be in.

Wow! Looks like a great hunt!

Please let us know how the hunt goes for you and we'll need lots of pictures.

Really...no farting, burping or stinkyness...I'm out.

Max

Those are some truly FANTASTIC Japanese Sika!! The only Sika we have here in Texas with racks that size are the Dybowski and Manchurian varieties...

Thanks for the replies, the sika here really are special and the hunting is something that few have experienced.

A pair of hunters has canceled a hunt in the rut, late October. If anyone is interested it will surely be great fun with all the stags roaring.

Can you explain the permits? One permit for each stag or one for each deer?

Can you do this in future years? Sounds great, just doesn't fit now. Ane tell me about the bears.

What about a crossbow? I have a use permit for home due to an injury.

Has anyone done this hunt this year? If so, can we hear about it and see pictures? This looked like a fantastic opportunity!

quote:

Originally posted by sdirks:
Has anyone done this hunt this year? If so, can we hear about it and see pictures? This looked like a fantastic opportunity!

+1

I sent two Canadians on this hunt last year and they had a blast. I've got two Germans and two Americans going this year. He's the real deal and a very nice guy. Time to get out the bow and start practicing! Check out my website if you want more information. Thanks, Tom

Again.....crossbow?

Nope. Still only available for vertical bows.

Hi Eric. I sent an email last week inquiring about 2014 opportunities. I have elk hunts scheduled in 9/2013 and 10/2013. Thanks Jim