40 Things to Know at the Start

Village in the Shade: which choices you can't undo and what to do first: modes, saving, farming, money and tool upgrades.

What should you know when you're just starting?

Keep these in mind on your first days in the village and you'll save yourself a lot of detours.

01 / Choices you can't undo

Which choices can't be undone?

Choose your mode carefullyOnce you pick Village in the Sunshine mode, you can't switch; if you want the late-night horror events, pick Village in the Shade mode.
Language and nameThe language is tied to your save, and your character's name can't be changed once it's set.
Livestock names can't be changedOnce given, a name is fixed, so think before you name. From version 1.30, brand names can be changed on the encyclopedia screen.
The game saves only when you sleepThe game autosaves only when you sleep (and when you're woken late at night). Quit without sleeping and that day's progress is lost. From version 1.20, "Past Save Data" lets you go back to any of your last 5 saves.
Think before saving at the endingWhen you clear the story, the game asks "Save clear data?". To see the other ending as well, choose no, and you go back to when you woke up that day. Later heart events also differ depending on the ending.

02 / Know from the start

What should you know from the start?

You can change your looks laterYou can change your looks later at a wardrobe or vanity, so don't agonize over them at the start.
Wooden Wardrobe Wooden Vanity
Check the map and chat with villagers every dayUse the map to find villagers you haven't talked to yet, then follow the marks to story events and requests. Chatting sometimes gets you recipes, at 3 hearts you can enter villagers' homes, and requests give you a steady extra income.
Blue star: short eventYellow exclamation mark: main story and requestsRed moon: late-night eventGreen heart: a heart event you can see nowGray heart: outside its hours
Related dataVillagers
Press L or R for detailsWalk up to a villager, crop or scarecrow and press L or R to focus on it (Switch): villagers show their likes and dislikes, crops show how many days until harvest and whether they're watered and fertilized, and scarecrows show how many days they have left. Livestock and trees work too.
※ For the buttons on other consoles, see "… Details" under "?" in the menu.
See the picture
What Chawantei is good forOrder the same dish 3 times to learn its recipe, and each season has one limited dish. Every Sunday 18:00–19:00 the villagers gather at Chawantei, so you can chat with everyone at once.
The notice boards at the coop, barn and stable doorsYou can check your animals' status there, and sell animals there too.
See the picture
The village's 6 catsOf these, 4 run off when you get close, and the other 2 can be petted from the start. Pet these 2 and feed them fish often, and once their affection is high enough you can feed the other 4.
Related dataCats & Dog
No need to rush homeWhen it gets late you head home automatically, so there's no need to wrap up before 23:00.
Stamina isn't the same as healthFarm work and fishing use stamina; health is what drops when a spirit touches you late at night. Dishes restore both, and so does sleep.
Further readingHealth and Stamina: How to Raise the Maximum
Only clear as much field as you needStart by clearing the weeds and small stones around your house; there's no need to open up your whole farm right away.
Always clear weedsWeeds spread to the tiles around them and cover the crops next to them. Lay paths around your crops and the weeds can't grow across.
Clump of Weeds Stone Path
Don't plant fruit trees by your front doorThe small field by your front door isn't a good spot for fruit trees or other pricey crops that take up space for a long time.
See the picture
Remember to water every dayUnwatered crops don't die, but they don't grow that day, so the day is wasted. Rainy and thunderstorm days count as watered; snow doesn't, and rain doesn't reach the greenhouse, so water those yourself. Crops planted in unsuitable soil grow more slowly.
Watering Can
Check what kind of soil you plant inA field takes one hit of the Hoe. Ridges take two hits of the Hoe and paddies one hit of the Spade; for these two, you need to unlock skills at the Hokora first. Each seed has a soil it suits best, and in the wrong one it grows more slowly.
Hoe Spade
Each season has only 28 daysOrdinary crops wither when the season changes, so check how much growing time is left before you sow. Rice Seedlings can only be planted in spring, by Spring 28 at the latest, and are harvested 50 days later (by Autumn 22).
Rice Seedling
Related dataSeeds & Saplings
Focus on one cropAbout 200 harvested in total takes a crop to gold quality; spreading out over many crops slows you down.
Put chests by your workbenchPut chests within 8 tiles of a workbench and crafting can use the materials in them directly. Early on, it's best to keep your workbench in your house, where time doesn't pass; after you clear the story, whistling on your farm can stop time too.
Workbench Wooden Chest
See the picture
Check the color when placingWhen placing buildings, you can place on red tiles; white means you can't.
See the picture
After a rebuild, your furniture is in the collection boxWhen your house is upgraded, your old furniture is put in the collection box at Kiki Construction.
Start collecting sap earlyPut Tappers on Oaks, Chestnut Trees, Cedars, Cypresses, Black Pines and Bamboo; crafting later on uses a lot of sap.
※ Bamboo grows in the pheasant hunting area by the Quarry; you need to buy a Pheasant Hunting Permit before you can go in.
Tapper Sour Tree Sap Sweet Tree Sap Sticky Tree Sap Fragrant Tree Sap Pine Resin Bamboo Sap
In spring, grow Turnips, Carrots and WasabiAt the start, selling crops as they are is easiest. Turnip Seeds are the cheapest at ¥ 20 and ripen in just 4 days, so grow them first to keep cash coming in. Carrots go on sale after your first shipment and pay better than Potatoes and Onions. Wasabi earns the most; it unlocks once you've finished Tobari's Errand Coupon and have the Spade, and it grows in both spring and summer.
Turnip Carrot Wasabi Spade
Further readingMaking Money: What to Do Early and Later On
Early must-buys: the Sickle and bagsBesides farming, early money comes from fishing and requests; fishing pays well too.
※ Sickle ¥ 500, Large Bag ¥ 1,000, Very Large Bag ¥ 7,000: ¥ 8,500 in all. A white fish sells for ¥ 2,500, and a Rhinoceros Beetle or Stag Beetle from the trees in summer for ¥ 600.
Sickle Large Bag Very Large Bag
See the picture
Use Notes a lotOn screens like the general store, the workbench, cooking and Kisuke's construction, press the "Note" button on anything you want to note down. Later, when you're carrying enough money or materials, a message pops up to remind you.
※ Up to 100 notes. Only what you carry counts, not what's in storage or chests.
Dig up dirt mounds for the capsule toysDig the little dirt mounds on the ground with your Hoe to find Buried Tokens, which work the capsule toy machines under the general store's eaves. Save up 10–20 before you go. If you get something you don't want, you can reload and try again, so go right after you wake up.
Buried Token
See the picture
Fishing goes by time of dayFishing is split into morning (7:00–12:00), midday (12:00–18:00) and evening (18:00–24:00); the village bell marks each change. Late at night (0:00–6:00) you only catch junk and cursed fish. A bite with two bars is always junk, so don't bother reeling it in.
See the picture
Get home fast with the Dog WhistleAfter gathering, the Dog Whistle saves you the trip back, but it doesn't work in some areas or during late-night exploring.
See the sheet music
Keep what cutting weeds dropsCutting weeds drops Clumps of Weeds, Wild Grass Seeds and Wild Grass Roots. The seeds and roots make Hyorogan, an essential food; the weeds make Straw Dolls, which take one hit for you.
Clump of Weeds Wild Grass Seeds Wild Grass Root Straw Doll
Hyorogan and Boiled Eggs are the best valueEating out is pricey early on; Hyorogan made from Wild Grass Seeds and Wild Grass Roots, and Boiled Eggs, are the best-value ways to recover.
Hyorogan Boiled Eggs
Bring good dishes for night outingsFrom Spring 14 on, prepare enough restoring dishes before exploring, mining or hunting.
Related dataCookery
Tool upgrade orderUpgrade the Pickaxe first, then the Axe, Watering Can, Hoe and Spade.
Pickaxe Axe Watering Can Hoe Spade
Sell these gems right awayJade, Garnet, Quartz, Beryl and Fluorite are no use to keep, so sell them as you dig them up.
Jade Garnet Quartz Beryl Fluorite
Further readingThe Quarry: Keep or Sell Your Gems?
Spring 14 is a turning pointThat day someone knocks on your door and invites you to "break the rules"; free exploring only truly opens up after dark.
Stay out of the fields at nightThe fields are haunted at night, so try to finish your field work during the day.
Pick up Rain Magatama on rainy nightsWhen it rains on a night out, pick up a few extra Rain Magatama. Furrow Technique at the Hokora costs 1 Magatama and 2 Rain Magatama, and you need it to grow ridge crops like Turnips.
Rain Magatama
Related dataHokora Skill Tree
Push on to Spring 16 firstAfter the Errand Coupon event, the basic early-game systems open up one after another.
Errand Coupon
Keep 10 of each season's forageablesForageables like Butterbur, Honewort and Bracken go to the shrine as offerings and may be needed for requests too, so don't sell them all.
Further readingFox Shrine: What to Offer Each Season