Japan's Surprising Success: Bear Meat Vending Machine Sells Fresh Flesh for $17

A vending machine at a train station in Akita prefecture, Japan, sells half a pound of bear meat for about $17. The meat comes from bears captured by a local hunting club and processed at a nearby slaughterhouse. The machine was installed by Soba Goro restaurant, which aims to turn bear meat into a souvenir from Akita prefecture. The operators estimate that 10 to 15 packs of bear meat are sold weekly through the vending machine. Bear encounters in Japan have been on the rise, and killing bears that wander into cities is the only way to get rid of them, according to a bear expert.