How to Romance Arata in Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar by Completing & Solving

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In Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar, you can choose from many eligible bachelors and bachelorettes. If you’re interested in Arata, the martial artist who lives in the mountains, he’s one of the new marriage candidates added in this version.

If you want to learn how to unlock his heart events, find out his favorite gifts, and eventually marry him, here’s everything you need to know.

Basic Info and Schedule

Arata’s birthday is on Winter 17. He likes hearty meals and prefers the color blue, while he dislikes sour flavors.

After completing your second Bazaar, Arata will visit your farm to introduce himself. He explains that he’s opened a trail leading into the mountains, on the western side of Zephyr Town.

Schedule (Before Samir Arrives)

Monday to Thursday, Arata follows a routine in the mountains:

06:00 am – 7:30 am: Walks in a loop past the mountain tents, following the river, crossing a bridge, and looping back.
07:30 am – 9:00 am: Fishes to the east of the tent, near the waterfall.
09:00 am – 10:30 am: Goes to a cliff above the tent to watch the view.
10:30 am – 12:45 pm: Practices martial arts in front of the tent.
12:45 pm – 3:30 pm: Fishes again by the waterfall.
3:30 pm – 4:30 pm: Runs laps around the tent.
4:30 pm – 6:30 pm: Fishes once more by the waterfall.
6:30 pm – 7:45 pm: Goes to the viewing platform at the mountain top.
7:45 pm – 10:00 pm: Fishes in the northwestern water.
10:00 pm – 11:45 pm: Returns to his first fishing spot east of the tent.
11:45 pm – 6:00 am: Sleeps at the tent.

On Friday, his schedule is similar, but he spends time outside Zephyr Town:

In the morning, fishes and then visits Zephyr Town, chatting with other villagers.
He tinkers inside the windmill in the afternoon.
In the evening, he continues fishing and runs laps.
On Saturday, he sets up his bazaar stall and spends the day at the bazaar.

On rainy days, Arata takes shelter under a tree east of the bridge.

Schedule (After Samir Arrives)

When Samir joins, Arata’s routine shifts. He stays in Zephyr Town from about 6:00 am to 1:00 pm, then spends time in the mountains and at the hotel in the afternoons and evenings, including hanging out with Samir.

During town festivals, Arata joins the villagers and returns to the mountains in the evening. On rainy days, he stays in the hotel with Samir.

Best Gifts to Give Arata

Arata loves blue-colored items. Good gifts include hearty meals and items like the Blue Dye, Honey, Silver, Medal, Tree Frog, Milk, Gold, Chestnut, Topaz, Emerald, and Magic Blue Flowers.

He dislikes sour foods. When giving gifts, wrapping them in blue paper increases the usefulness of gifts, especially for raising his heart level.

Preferred gifts are:

Hearty meals
Blue items

Disliked gifts include:

Empty Bottle
Black Necklace
Herbal and Floral Perfumes
Citrus Perfume
Chamomile
Pet Treats

If you want to boost his affection faster, use blue wrapping paper for gifts once his bazaar stall opens.

Heart Events

First Heart Event

When: Between 6:00 am and 6:00 pm on a day your friendship is about halfway full.
Where: In the mountains, after seeing a pink exclamation mark on the ground east of the mountain trail.
Arata will ask you a question. Choosing “Sounds fun!” will significantly increase his heart level, while “I’ll pass” will fill it only slightly.

Once the heart gauge is full and locked, you’ll get a prompt the next day to teach Arata how to fish. Completing this request — catching ten fish — rewards you with 10 Medium Fish Bait and helps increase his affection.

Second Heart Event

When: Between 9:00 am and 6:00 pm, after having at least two hearts with Arata.
Where: In the mountains, once he has a pink exclamation mark again and you track him down.
During this scene, your answers will determine how much your heart gauge fills—both options seem to fill it equally.

After full hearts, Arata will ask you to give him three Poached Egg meals of one-star quality in a request called “Howling Hunger.” Finishing this unlocks his heart gauge again.

Third Heart Event

When: Between noon and 6:00 pm, with three and a half hearts full.
Where: Outside the blue windmill, chatting with villagers, on a Friday.
Approaching Arata triggers this scene. The answer choice does not matter for progression.

After completing this, you can go for his fourth heart event.

Fourth Heart Event

When: Between 9:00 am and 4:00 pm.
Where: Outside the Sunnywood Hotel, once befriended enough with Samir.
The player’s answer doesn’t affect the event; it happens regardless.

Following this event, if friendship levels with Samir are high enough, Arata will have a new request, “The Big One,” which involves giving him a guardian fish to unlock his final heart level.

Fifth Heart Event

When: Between 4:00 pm and 8:00 pm, if Arata is at the hotel.
Occurs only if the player is further along with Samir’s friendship. The scene appears on a rainy day.

Once this event is completed, and his green heart gauge is full, Arata will ask for a new request called “The Big One,” which involves catching a guardian fish. Hooking a guardian fish is rare; you’ll recognize it by a fish shadow in the speech bubble instead of an exclamation mark.

Additional Tips

Increasing Arata’s friendship with Samir might be necessary for later heart events.
Remember, some events are time- and weather-dependent, and progress may require you to advance the story further.

This guide will be updated as more of Arata’s heart events are unlocked.