Foraging
If you're in need of money at the beginning of the game, head into the wild area to pick up the free items off the ground. The wild area can be accessed from the village exit near Emma's house, or to the north of the open-air plaza where Neil sets up shop. There are three areas of the wilderness: the River, the Mountain, and the Forest. In each of these areas you'll find items on the ground that you can pick up. You can ship the items, store them for future construction materials, cook the edible items, or give them as gifts to the villagers.
If you don't pick up an item it will remain on the ground for 3 days, after which it will disappear. In the morning when you wake up, the wild areas will populate with new items on the ground. When a season changes, the wild items from the previous season will remain on the ground until the 3 days have passed.
The maximum Star Rank of the items you pick up will increase as you move through the game's years. In year 1 the most you'll receive is a 1-Star item. Year 2 unlocks 2-Star items and year 3 are 3-Star. It slows down when you reach year 4 (3.5-Stars), year 5 (4-Star), and year 6 (4.5-Star). At year 7 you'll finally find items that have a 5-Star rank.
Besides the items that you can find on the ground, there are several foraging tree stumps you can dig through. You can find up to five items in a tree stump each day. There is one tree stump in the River area, four in the Mountain area, and one in the Forest area:
River Area Foraging Tree Stumps
- Eastern cliff - You need to finish the Burbling Brook music sheet (#2) to unlock the jump mushroom that will send you up the cliff. There is a chute trunk that will take you back to ground level.
Mountain Area Foraging Tree Stumps
- Between the River exit and the Forest exit - At the beginning of the game there is a large boulder in your way, so you can only access this foraging tree trunk near the exit to the Forest. When you finish the Birdy Banquet music sheet (#4), the boulder will dissolve away.
- By the Forest Exit - North of where you'll find the wild monkeys in the Mountain area.
- On the other side of the river - Take the jump mushroom half-way up the path to the Goddess' Pond to leap across the river.
- Behind the waterfall - Complete the Great Legacy music sheet (#12) to break the waterfall boulders to the right of the Goddess' Pond.
Forest Area Foraging Tree Stumps
- West of the exit to the Mountain - You need to finish the Tranquil Forest music sheet (#10) to unlock the jump mushroom that sends you to the foraging tree stump.
The foraging stumps work in the same way as the mining points. If you are trying to find a specific item in a foraging tree stump, save your game before accessing the stump. If you don't find what you're looking for, reload your save game and try again. The types of items will regenerate when you load your save, but the number of items found in that stump for the day will not change.
You will need to keep some of the seasonal wild items to complete the Town Restoration Plans. You will need 15 Moondrop Flowers, 10 Chamomile, at least 5 Honeycomb (but more in groups of 5), and 10 Mint. The other wild items like Small Rocks, Branches, etc. are available all year long. A lot of players become delayed with their Plan progress because they're no longer in the season that these items can be found in, so plan ahead and pick these up before you need them.
| Flowers and Herbs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Season | River | Mountain | Forest |
| Mint | Spring, Summer, or Fall | On the ground In stump 1 | On the ground In stumps 1, 2, and 3 | On the ground |
| Chamomile | Spring or Summer | On the ground In stump 1 | On the ground In all four stumps | Not Available |
| Lavender | Fall or Winter | On the ground In stump 1 | On the ground In stumps 1, 2, and 4 | Not Available |
| Rosemary | Spring and Fall | On the ground (Year 2+) In stump 1 | On the ground In stumps 3 and 4 (also in stump 4 during Winter) | Not Available |
| Sage | Spring or Winter Year 2 or later | Not Available | On the ground | Not Available |
| Weed | All year | On the ground In stump 1 | On the ground In all four stumps | On the ground In stump 1 (N/A in Winter) |
| Moondrop Flower | Spring or Summer | On the ground In stump 1 | On the ground In stumps 1, 2, and 4 | Not Available |
| Blue Magic Flower | Spring or Summer | On the ground | On the ground In stumps 1 and 3 | Not Available |
| Red Magic Flower | Summer or Fall | On the ground In stump 1 | On the ground In stumps 3 and 4 | Not Available |
| Elli Leaves | Winter | On the ground In stump 1 | On the ground In all four stumps | On the ground |
| Ingredients and Edibles | ||||
| Name | Season | River | Mountain | Forest |
| Shiitake | Spring or Summer | On the ground | In stump 4 | On the ground In stump 1 |
| Shimeji | Summer or Fall | Not Available | On the ground | On the ground In stump 1 |
| Trumpet Mushroom | Fall or Winter | On the ground (Fall only) In stump 1 (Winter only) | In stump 1 (Fall only) | On the ground In stump 1 |
| Coral Mushroom | Summer or Fall | In stump 1 (Fall only) | In stump 4 | On the ground In stump 1 |
| Common Mushroom | Spring or Summer Year 2 or later | Not Available | On the ground In stump 4 | On the ground In stump 1 |
| Poison Mushroom | All year | On the ground | On the ground In all four stumps | On the ground In stump 1 |
| Walnut | Spring, Summer, or Winter | In stump 1 | Not Available | On the ground In stump 1 |
| Chestnut | Fall | Not Available | On the ground In stumps 3 and 4 | On the ground In stump 1 |
| Blueberry | Fall | Not Available | On the ground In stumps 3 and 4 | On the ground In stump 1 |
| Plum | Summer | On the ground | In stumps 2 and 4 | On the ground In stump 1 |
| Apricot | Summer | On the ground | In stumps 1 and 3 | On the ground In stump 1 |
| Bamboo Shoot | Spring | Not Available | In stumps 1 and 2 | On the ground In stump 1 |
| Construction Materials and Miscellaneous | ||||
| Name | Season | River | Mountain | Forest |
| Glittering Stone | Summer or Winter | Not Available | Not Available | On the ground |
| Copper | All year | Not Available | Not Available | On the ground |
| Scrap Metal | All year | Not Available | Not Available | On the ground In stump 1 |
| Brick | All year | In stump 1 | In stump 1, 3, and 4 | Not Available |
| Glass Stone | All year | Not Available | In stump 4 | Not Available |
| Small Rock | All year | On the ground | On the ground In stumps 1, 2, and 3 | On the ground |
| Rock | All year After Summer yr 1 | On the ground | On the ground In stump 3 | On the ground In stump 1 |
| Black Rock | All year After Fall yr 1 | On the ground | On the ground In stump 4 | On the ground In stump 1 |
| Small Branch | All year | On the ground In stump 1 (Winter only) | On the ground In stumps 1, 2, and 3 | On the ground |
| Branch | All year After Summer yr 1 | On the ground In stump 1 | On the ground In stump 2 | On the ground |
| Black Branch | All year After Fall yr 1 | On the ground In stump 1 | On the ground In stump 4 | On the ground |
| Honeycomb | Spring or Fall | On the ground In stump 1 (Fall only) | On the ground In stump 1 or 2 | In stump 1 (Spring only) |
| Snowball | Winter | On the ground In stump 1 | On the ground In all four stumps | On the ground In stump 1 |
The four special places you can visit via the Travel Agency also have their own wild items you can pick up. The wild items at the remote locations are not season-specific, since the locations themselves are not seasonal. If you're looking for a specific wild item at the vacation spots, save your game before paying Charles the cost to travel. If you don't find what you're looking for when you arrive, reload your save game and try again another day.
The unique items available in the vacation locations are:
- Southern Island: Coconut, Pineapple, Mango, Banana, Cocoa, Seaweed, Cactus, Pearl, Coral, Venus Comb, Triton's Trumpet, and Sea Urchin
- Snowland: Ice, Pine Branch, and Thyme
- Land of the East: Bamboo, Cherry Tree Branch, Ginkgo Branch, and Pine Branch
- Ancient Ruins: Ancient Clay Figure, Aloe, Ginkgo Branch, Red Down, Green Down, Yellow Down, Orange Down, Blue Down, and Purple Down
You'll need to use 10 Pearls from the Southern Island to complete the Lavish Fountain for Town Restoration Plan #5. You can also find Pearls when fish trapping.
The Elder Trees
These two large tree trunks are located in the Forest area. On Summer 2 or later, walk into the Forest area from the Village and you'll trigger a cut scene with the Harvest Goddess and her sprites. They will explain that you can hit the bare spot on the base of the elder tree trunks to have items appear. You can hit each of the two trees once per day.
Hitting the elder trees is one way to find colored downs that you can turn into colored cloth for Yuri's Tailor Shop outfits. This may be the easiest way to collect colored down until you can visit the Ancient Ruins or trade items for down at Sandra's Item Exchange.
When you hit an elder tree, the ground will shake and the items the tree drops will appear on the ground. Just like the other wild items, you have 3 days to pick them up before they'll disappear. The items that drop will vary based on the season you're in, which one of the trees you hit (left or right), the type of hammer you use, and the day's weather.
The stronger the hammer, the greater the chance of getting better items. Generally, you will want to use an Ultra Hammer when you're searching for colored down. A normal Hammer will only produce Red Down and Green Down, and using the Iron Hammer can drop Red, Green, and Blue Down. Only the Ultra Hammer can make Yellow Down come from the elder trees as well as the other three colors.
| Name | Hammer | Season | Weather | Tree Left or Right |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Magic Flower | Any | Spring or Summer | Any | Left-only on stormy days Both on other days |
| Red Magic Flower | Iron or Ultra | Summer or Fall | Not Stormy | Left-only in Summer Both in Fall |
| Elli Leaves | Iron or Ultra | Winter | Any | Both |
| Trumpet Mushroom | Iron or Ultra | Fall | Any | Left |
| Coral Mushroom | Any | Summer or Fall | Not Stormy | Left |
| Common Mushroom | Ultra | Spring or Summer | Not Stormy | Left |
| Walnut | Normal or Iron | Spring, Summer, or Winter | Any | Right-only on stormy days Both on other days |
| Chestnut | Any | Fall | Any | Both |
| Blueberry | Any | Fall | Any | Right-only if using Iron or Ultra Both if using normal |
| Plum | Any | Summer | Any | Right-only if using Ultra Both if using normal or Iron |
| Apricot | Any | Summer | Any | Left-only if using normal Both if using Iron Right-only if using Ultra |
| Bamboo Shoot | Iron or Ultra | Spring | Any | Left |
| Glittering Stone | Ultra | All Year | Rainy or Stormy | Both |
| Brick | Any | All Year | Any | Left-only on sunny days Both on other days |
| Glass Stone | Any | All Year | Any | Left-only on sunny days Both on other days |
| Name | Hammer | Season | Weather | Tree Left or Right |
| Small Rock | Any | All Year | Any | Right |
| Rock | Any | All Year | Any | Left-only on sunny non-Spring days Both on other days |
| Black Rock | Iron or Ultra | All Year | Any | Left |
| Small Branch | Any | All Year | Any | Right |
| Branch | Any | All Year | Any | Right-only on stormy days Both on other days |
| Black Branch | Iron or Ultra | All Year | Not Stormy | Left |
| Honeycomb | Any | Spring or Fall | Any | Right-only on non-rainy Spring Both on sunny Fall Left-only on rainy Fall |
| Snowball | Any | Winter | Any | Both |
| Old Coin | Iron | Summer or Winter | Stormy | Left |
| Shiny Coin | Ultra | Summer or Winter | Stormy | Left |
| Red Down | Any | All Year | Any | Left-only on sunny days Both on rainy days Right-only on stormy days |
| Green Down | Any | All Year | Any | Left-only on sunny Spring or Fall Right-only on stormy days Both on other days |
| Blue Down | Iron or Ultra | All Year | Any | Both on rainy or stormy Left-only on sunny Winter |
| Yellow Down | Ultra | All Year | Rainy or Stormy | Left |