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Sakuru Woods is part of Teshio Ridge, and Teshio Ridge opens during the main story chapter Main Tale: The Kitsune. Two named tales begin in the woods: The Crimson Kimono, which starts with Storyteller Ugetsu at the Mother Daughter Tree, and No Brother Left Behind, which starts with a settler asking Atsu for help. Both are available once you reach Teshio Ridge, and neither is missable, since post-story free roam lets you return to finish what you skipped. This guide covers how the woods fit into the story, the steps for each tale, and which collectible counts are reliable. If you do not yet own the game, Ghost of Yotei is a PS5 title listed on PlayStation’s official store pages.
Where Sakuru Woods sits and when it unlocks
Sakuru Woods is a sub-area of Teshio Ridge, not a separate region with its own story gate. That means you cannot enter it early in the game. Teshio Ridge becomes available during Main Tale: The Kitsune, and everything in the woods depends on reaching that point first. If you are looking for the woods before that chapter, you will not find the quests described below.
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Exact turn-by-turn directions into the woods are not established by the sources behind this guide, and no landmark list is given here beyond the quest starting points. Use the in-game quest markers once Teshio Ridge is open, and treat the named locations below as waypoints for each tale rather than a map of the whole area.
Starting The Crimson Kimono
The Crimson Kimono is a Mythic Tale in Chapter 1 – The Lone Wolf, set in Teshio Ridge. Its quest giver is Storyteller Ugetsu, who sits below the only yellow tree in the area, the Mother Daughter Tree. The quest description says he was last seen near a large orange tree in Sakuru Woods. The tale can be started once you reach Teshio Ridge during Main Tale: The Kitsune. The walkthrough sequence below comes from PowerPyx’s guide dated October 1, 2025.
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- Speak with Storyteller Ugetsu at the Mother Daughter Tree to begin the tale.
- Examine the snow sculpture, then follow the red yuki mushi clues.
- Follow the clues to an abandoned campsite.
- Continue to the eastern Hakodake Mountains and then to a mountain north of the Teshio River.
- Find the old home that the clues point to.
- Examine the rocks by the mother’s grave to find the Crimson Kimono armor.
The tale is best understood as a chain of clues that spans several locations rather than a single area to clear. Not every named landmark in the sequence is confirmed to sit inside Sakuru Woods, so do not assume each step is a woods-only task.
Starting No Brother Left Behind
No Brother Left Behind is a Teshio Ridge side tale. A settler hires Atsu to find his missing brother in Sakuru Woods. PowerPyx’s walkthrough, also dated October 1, 2025, lists “Finished Prologue” as the requirement, along with access to Teshio Ridge. The reward is the Charm of Fortitude.
The objectives run in this order:
- Defeat Nine Tails, the enemy encounter that the tale builds toward.
- Follow the brother’s trail through the woods.
- Examine a body.
- Rescue the younger brother in an abandoned village.
What the woods contain beyond the two tales
Teshio Ridge has several activity types, and the sources behind this guide report their totals for the whole region rather than for Sakuru Woods alone. The table below shows what is established and what is not.
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| Activity | Teshio Ridge total | Sakuru Woods share | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Altars of Reflection | 16 | Not stated | Ghost of Yotei Guide, map and regions page, last fact-checked September 25, 2026 |
| Bamboo Strikes | 3 | Not stated; which of the three lies in the woods is not established | Ghost of Yotei Guide, 2026 |
| Named side tales | Not stated as a regional total | Both tales above begin in or lead through the woods | PowerPyx walkthroughs, October 1, 2025 |
Do not read the Altar total as a woods checklist. The 16 figure covers the region, and the guide does not break it down by area.
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The Ghost of Yotei Guide’s map page reports 310 collectibles and activities. This is the guide’s own count, not a figure published by PlayStation, so treat it as a secondary-source total. The same guide says collectibles are not missable because you can keep exploring after the credits.
- Each Altar of Reflection grants one skill point.
- Bamboo Strikes increase your Spirit.
- Nine Tails’ Puzzle Boxes and Ainu Items do not appear automatically on the map when you are nearby, so you need to look for them directly.
Those mechanics are as the guide describes them; the sources behind this article do not confirm whether later game updates have changed them.
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For a regional cleanup, the practical approach is to finish both tales once you reach Teshio Ridge, then search the area for Puzzle Boxes and Ainu Items by hand, since the map will not flag them for you.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Official information versus guide figures
The official PlayStation product page for Ghost of Yotei describes the game in general terms and confirms its platform, but it does not give location details, counts, or quest steps for Sakuru Woods. Every number and step in this article therefore comes from the named guides and dates above. Where those guides disagree with later patches, the in-game quest log and map are the final authority.
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A more granular breakdown of the woods’ own collectibles would require a region-specific count, which is not currently available from a source this guide can attribute.
Start with the Mother Daughter Tree once Teshio Ridge is open, and let the clue trail lead you through the rest of the area.
Sakuru Woods is the place to begin both tales, but it is not a self-contained checklist. Treat the quest steps as reliable, the regional totals as the guide’s count, and the woods’ own item share as not yet established.
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The Ghost of Yotei Guide’s figures are the only collectible totals on offer, and they should be read as region-wide.
In short: reach Teshio Ridge, start both named tales, and expect any remaining collectibles to be found by free exploration afterwards.
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