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This 134 km route runs from Iwaki to Aizuwakamatsu within Fukushima. In the past 30 days, 69 bear sightings were reported within 5 km of the route. The past 7 days account for 12 of them. The latest sighting was reported 1 day ago near Inawashiro 大字壺楊, Fukushima.
This is an active bear corridor. Rerouting or rescheduling your hike is strongly advised.
On Sunday, June 14 at approximately 1:43 p.m., near the 90.9 km post on the downhill lane of the Ban-etsu Expressway by 1684 Saka-ya, Tsuboyō, Inawashiro Town, a passenger car driven by a man in his 80s, while traveling in the first lane of the downhill direction, collided with a bear cub (about 50 cm in body length) that crossed from the right to the left side of the travel direction. The driver and passenger of the vehicle were not injured. The bear left the scene of the traffic accident.
Inawashiro 大字壺楊, Fukushima
On Friday, June 12 at around 5:00 p.m., on a municipal road in Kaminouchi, Iwanosato, Inawashiro Town, an eyewitness (female in her 80s) spotted one bear (approximately 1 m in length) crossing the municipal road from west to east while she was driving.
Inawashiro 字五十軒道南, Fukushima
On Friday, June 12, at around 8:00 a.m., a witness spotted one bear (approximately 1 m in body length) in the trees of a mulberry tree in a grove within a stand of mixed woods in Maehama, Tsuboyō, Inawashiro Town, to the west of the witness's residence.
Inawashiro 大字金田, Fukushima
On Friday, June 12 at approximately 7:50 a.m., in Inawashiro Town, Gorinbara area, on a municipal road, a witness driving south along the road observed one bear (about 1 m in body length) crossing the road from east to west and leaving into the forest.
Inawashiro 字五輪原, Fukushima
One bear was sighted crossing a town road and leaving into the forest in Gorinbara, Inawashiro Town.
Inawashiro 字五輪原, Fukushima
On Thursday, June 11, at approximately 4:30 a.m., in Tegura area, Shimo-yoshima, Yoshima (Kōma) Town, Iwaki City, a man in his 50s, while driving, sighted one animal believed to be a bear (about 1 m in length) on the road. The animal believed to be a bear ran off to the south.
Iwaki 好間町下好間, Fukushima
Around 4:30 AM on 2026-06-11, an animal believed to be a bear was sighted in Yoshima-machi Shimoyoshima Tegura, Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture.
Iwaki 好間町下好間, Fukushima
On Wednesday, June 10 at approximately 7:05 p.m., in the Hayama area of Inawashiro Town on a municipal road, a witness (male in his 50s) driving a vehicle saw one bear (about 1 m in body length) crossing the road from south to north.
Inawashiro 字高塚山, Fukushima
One bear crossed a town road in Hayama, Inawashiro Town.
Inawashiro 字葉山, Fukushima
On Wednesday, June 10 at approximately 6:05 p.m., on a town road in Tsuboyō Aza Minamihama, Inawashiro Town, a witness (male in his teens) driving a vehicle observed one bear (about 1 m in body length) crossing the town road from east to west.
Inawashiro 大字金田, Fukushima
On Wednesday, June 10, at approximately 5:17 p.m., a driver (male in his 30s) traveling on the outbound lanes of the Ban-etsu Expressway near the 87.6 km post in Kuradeyama, Asagojima, Atami-machi, Koriyama City, witnessed a bear (about 1 m in length) emerge from the central median into the south-side overtaking lane while proceeding toward the outbound (Inawashiro Town) direction. The bear then moved back into the northern central median.
Koriyama 熱海町中山, Fukushima
A bear was sighted in Akedashi Gange-toge, Bandai Town.
Bandai 大字赤枝, Fukushima
On Monday, June 8 at around 6:00 p.m., in Nashigodaira area, Takadama, Atami Town, Koriyama City, a witness (a woman in her 40s) driving a vehicle observed one bear (approximately 50 cm in body length) running across a rice paddy. The bear then ran off eastward.
Koriyama 熱海町高玉, Fukushima
On June 8 (Monday) at approximately 6:30 a.m., near the 94.0-kilometer post on the outbound lanes of the Ban-etsu Expressway within Nyorai-do area, Sekito, Inawashiro Town, a vehicle driver (female in her 50s) saw a bear about 1 meter in length crossing the expressway from west to east while traveling on the outbound lanes (toward Koriyama). The bear left into the forested area on the east side of the road.
Inawashiro 大字関都, Fukushima
On Sunday, June 7, at around 7:15 p.m., on the Tohoku Expressway (Ban-etsu Expressway) westbound near 112.6 km in Hatta, Kawahigashi-machi, Aizuwakamatsu City, a passenger car driven by a man in his 40s, while traveling in the westbound passing lane, collided with a bear (approximately 1.2 m in body length) that crossed from the right toward the left across the direction of travel. Neither the driver nor the occupants were injured. The bear died near the accident site.
Aizuwakamatsu Kawahigashimachi-Hatta, Fukushima
On Sunday, June 7, at about 6:40 p.m., a resident of an apartment complex in Kaminomura-nishi, Inawashiro Town, witnessed four bears (body lengths unknown) that had been on the premises leave the area.
Inawashiro 字上村西, Fukushima
One bear was sighted in Takatama Minami Asozawa, Atami-machi, Koriyama City.
Koriyama, Fukushima
On Sunday, June 7 at around 1:40 p.m., on National Route 49 in Takadama Aza Minamiasozawa, Atami-machi, Koriyama City, a witness (female in her 50s) driving a vehicle saw a bear (one individual, approximately 1.5 m in length) standing on the shoulder of the road. The bear then ran off to the west.
Koriyama, Fukushima
On Sunday, June 7 at approximately 11:26 a.m., on the downhill lane of the Tohoku Expressway (Ban-etsu Expressway) near 107.2 km in Shimokawamae, Sarashina, Bandai Town, a passenger car driven by a man in his 60s, traveling in the first lane of the downhill direction, collided with a bear (about 50 cm in body length) that crossed from the right to the left of the travel direction. There were no injuries to the vehicle’s driver or other occupants. The bear was found dead near the accident site.
Bandai, Fukushima
On Saturday, June 6 at about 7:20 p.m., in the mountainous area of Kyodo-yama, Tsuboyou, Inawashiro Town, on the Tsuboyou-Honmachi Prefectural Road, a witness (female in her 30s) saw two bears crossing the road from east to west (one approximately 1.5 m in length, the other about 1 m) while driving north on that road. Both bears subsequently left heading west.
Inawashiro 大字関都, Fukushima
At around 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 6, a witness (male, in his 60s) observed one bear (approximately 1 m in body length) running across a rice field in the Higashikubo area of Katahira Town, Koriyama City. The bear then left toward the mountain to the northwest.
Koriyama 片平町, Fukushima
One bear was beside National Route 49 in Hata, Kawahigashi Town, Aizuwakamatsu City.
Aizuwakamatsu Kawahigashimachi-Hatta, Fukushima
On Saturday, June 6 at around 6:30 p.m., in the Hatta area of Kawahigashi, Aizuwakamatsu City, a witness (male in his 30s) spotted one bear (approximately 1 meter in body length) at the roadside while riding a motorcycle on National Route 49. The bear's subsequent movements are unknown.
Aizuwakamatsu Kawahigashimachi-Hatta, Fukushima
On Saturday, June 6 at about 4:30 p.m., in a forested area of Gokudoyama in Tsuboyō, Inawashiro Town, a witness (female in her 60s) saw two bears in the woods east of Prefectural Route Tsuboyō-Honmachi while riding a bicycle southbound on that road. The two bears (about 1 m and about 50 cm in body length) then left the area, heading east into the forest.
Inawashiro 大字関都, Fukushima
At around 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 6, a witness (female, age unknown) spotted one bear (approximately 50 cm in body length) running across the grounds of a private residence in Higuchi area, Takadama, Atami-machi, Koriyama City.
Koriyama 熱海町高玉, Fukushima
On Saturday, June 6 at 1:45 p.m., a witness (male, in his 50s), while on duty at a private facility on the premises in Kawageta Aza Tennozaka, Inawashiro Town, spotted one bear (about 50 cm in body length) on the facility grounds. The bear then left heading south into the brush.
Inawashiro 大字八幡, Fukushima
On Friday, June 5 at approximately 1:45 PM, an elderly male witness in his 80s saw one bear (about 1 meter in body length) in the brush beside a town road in the Hayama area of Inawashiro Town. The bear then left eastward through the brush.
Inawashiro 字高塚山, Fukushima
A bear was seen in bushes beside a town road in Hayama, Inawashiro Town.
Inawashiro 字大沢, Fukushima
On Friday, June 5 at approximately 11:30 a.m., in the Towno-nishi area of Inawashiro Town, a witness (a man in his 70s) saw one bear (about 1 meter in length) in the bushes beside a municipal road when he went outside his home. The bear subsequently left on foot toward the forested area to the north.
Inawashiro 字中道, Fukushima
Around 10:55 a.m. on Friday, June 5, on the premises of a private facility in Yano-ki-sawa, Inawashiro Town, a facility staff member (female in her 70s) spotted a bear (about 1 m in body length) in a tree on the facility grounds while working indoors. The bear later climbed down from the tree and left toward the forested area to the east.
Inawashiro 字諏訪西, Fukushima
A bear was seen walking out of a facility site in Ichimachi Oaza Tsuruga, Aizuwakamatsu City.
Aizuwakamatsu Ikkimachi-Tsuruga, Fukushima
On Friday, June 5 at approximately 12:10 a.m., in the Tsuruga area of Ikki-machi, Aizuwakamatsu City, a male witness driving a vehicle spotted a bear (about 1 m in body length) walking out toward an area outside the facility grounds. The bear proceeded westward; its subsequent movements are unknown.
Aizuwakamatsu Ikkimachi-Tsuruga, Fukushima
A bear was sighted in Machinishi, Inawashiro Town, Fukushima on 2026-06-05 morning.
Inawashiro 字町西, Fukushima
An animal thought to be a bear was seen in the bushes in Uchigo-uchimachi Sakuramoto, Iwaki City.
Iwaki 内郷内町, Fukushima
In Nagatsuki, Uchigo-Hakusui Town, Iwaki City, a teenage boy saw one bear-like animal while riding a bicycle.
Iwaki 常磐湯本町, Fukushima
A male high school student sighted one bear-like animal in bushes in Uchigo-Shirasu-machi, Iwaki City.
Iwaki 内郷白水町, Fukushima
On Thursday, June 4 at approximately 9:00 p.m., in Sakuramoto, Uchigo-cho, Iwaki City, a male in his teens, while riding a bicycle, sighted one animal believed to be a bear (about 1 meter in body length) in some brush. The animal believed to be a bear ran off toward the mountain to the east.
Iwaki 内郷内町, Fukushima
A child in a car spotted a bear-like animal in farmland in Taira Aratame, Iwaki City.
Iwaki 平荒田目, Fukushima
On Thursday, June 4 at about 7:15 a.m., on the prefectural road in Tsuboshita, Tsuboya, Inawashiro Town, a witness (female, in her 50s) saw two bears (both about 80 cm in body length) while driving. The bears then left the sighting area and went into the brush to the south.
Inawashiro 大字関都, Fukushima
On 2026-06-04, two bears were confirmed together on a prefectural road in Tsuboyanagi, Inawashiro Town.
Inawashiro 大字壺楊, Fukushima
A bear-like animal was sighted in Uchigo-Shiramizu-machi Nagatsuki, Iwaki City.
Iwaki 常磐湯本町, Fukushima
A bear-like animal was sighted in a thicket in Uchigo-uchimachi, Iwaki City.
Iwaki 内郷内町, Fukushima
Around 7:15 AM on June 4, a bear was sighted in Tsuboyohikoshita, Inawashiro Town.
Inawashiro 大字関都, Fukushima
On Tuesday, June 2, at approximately 7:20 p.m., in the area of Nanatsumori, Bandai, Bandai-machi, a female witness driving on a town road sighted one bear (approximately 50 cm in body length). The bear then crossed the town road from the sighting location and left into the grove of scrub trees to the south.
Bandai 大字更科, Fukushima
Around 6:15 p.m. on Saturday, May 30, on the Inawashiro-Shiozawa main prefectural road in the Tsutsumi Higashi area of Inawashiro Town, a witness (male in his 30s) driving toward Fukushima City observed one bear (approximately 1 m in length) crossing the road from north to south. The bear then left into the grove of trees on the south side of the road.
Inawashiro 字上村前, Fukushima
At around 6:20 a.m. on Saturday, May 30, a witness (female) driving on National Route 49 in Tsuboyō, Inawashiro Town, spotted one bear (about 1 m in length) on the road. The bear left and went into the scrub forest on the west side of the highway.
Inawashiro 大字関都, Fukushima
On Wednesday, May 27 at about 10:55 AM, on National Route 49 in Takegafukuro, Okiwasawa, Inawashiro Town, a witness (male in his 40s) traveling eastbound by vehicle on the national route observed a bear (about 1 m in body length) crossing the road from south to north.
Inawashiro 大字翁沢, Fukushima
A bear was sighted in Takadama Futawatashi, Atami-machi, Koriyama City.
Koriyama, Fukushima
On Tuesday, May 26 at approximately 12:43 p.m., on National Route 49 Atami Bypass in Takadama, Futawatari area, Atami Town, Koriyama City, a witness (female, age unknown) observed one bear (about 1 m in body length) crossing the road.
Koriyama, Fukushima
Around 4:18 PM on 2026-05-25, a bear was sighted in Takadama Futate, Atami-machi, Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture.
Koriyama, Fukushima
On Monday, May 25 at approximately 4:18 p.m., a witness sighted one bear (about 1 m in body length) on the Ban'etsu West Line tracks in Futawatari, Takadama, Atami-machi, Kōriyama City.
Koriyama, Fukushima
On Monday, May 25, at approximately 6:40 a.m., a witness driving on a town road in Inawashiro Town, Oaza Iwazato, Aza Kaminochi, spotted one bear (approximately 50 cm in body length) in the forested area on the west side of the road. The bear then left the forest heading west.
Inawashiro 字上村西, Fukushima
Around 6:40 AM on May 25, a bear was sighted in Iwahara, Inawashiro Town, Fukushima Prefecture.
Inawashiro 字城南, Fukushima
On Sunday, May 24 at around 5:00 p.m., a male witness spotted one bear (about 1 meter in length) on the riverbed of the Abukuma River in the Hara area of Hamao, Sukagawa City, while walking. The bear's subsequent whereabouts are unknown.
Sukagawa 下小山田, Fukushima
On Friday, May 22 at approximately 8:28 p.m., on the Otokotaki Bridge over the Abukuma River in the Tanaka Tsuchinai area of Sukagawa City, a witness (male) driving across the bridge observed one bear (about 1.5 m in length) walking near the middle of the bridge. The bear then briefly moved eastward and its subsequent whereabouts are unknown.
Sukagawa 市野関, Fukushima
A bear was sighted in Tanakadonai, Sukagawa City, Fukushima Prefecture, around 20:28 on May 22.
Sukagawa 市野関, Fukushima
Around 6:25 AM on May 22, a bear was sighted in Ouse-machi Kawauchi-Higashinagura, Koriyama City.
Koriyama, Fukushima
On Friday, May 22 at approximately 6:25 a.m., in the area of Higashinagakura, Kawachi, Ouse-machi, Koriyama City, on the south side of Ouse Park, a witness (female, driving a vehicle) observed one bear (about 1 m in body length) crossing the main prefectural road Naganuma-Kikuta Line westward and entering the forest.
Koriyama 逢瀬町河内, Fukushima
On Thursday, May 21 at around 8:00 a.m., a witness at home observed a bear (about 1 m in length) through a window on a village road in Nakamori, Obira, Hirata Village. The bear’s subsequent direction is unknown, but multiple bear footprints were later found about 100 meters southwest of that location.
Hirata Odaira, Fukushima
Around 8:00 on May 21, a bear was sighted in Kodairanakamori, Hirata Village, Fukushima.
Hirata Odaira, Fukushima
On Wednesday, May 20 at around 5:00 PM, on a town road in Enhei area, Sarashina, Bandai Town, a witness driving eastbound on the town road observed one bear (approximately 70 cm in body length) crossing the road from left to right and then entering the forested area on the right side of the road.
Bandai, Fukushima
On May 20 (Wednesday) at approximately 6:38 a.m., in the residential premises in Kusu-gauchi, Kuse-taki, Hirata Village, a witness at home observed one bear (about 1 m in body length) come down from the woods beside the house, cross the yard, and then return into the woods.
Hirata Kuryudaki, Fukushima
On 2026-05-20 a bear sighting was reported in Hirata Village, Fukushima Prefecture. The article does not specify detailed location or time of the sighting.
Hirata Nagata, Fukushima
Around 5:00 PM on May 20, a bear was sighted in Sarashina Tohei, Bandai Town, Fukushima.
Bandai, Fukushima
On Tuesday, May 19 at approximately 7:45 a.m., near the 103.0 km post on the outbound lane of the Ban-etsu Expressway within Iwanone, Inawashiro Town, a driver of a vehicle (female in her 30s) observed a bear (one, about 1.5 m in body length) near the guardrail on the left side of the direction of travel while driving on the outbound lane of the Ban-etsu Expressway. The bear's movements after being sighted are unknown.
Bandai, Fukushima
On Monday, May 18 at approximately 6:10 p.m., on National Route 49 in Yamanoshita, Azuko-shima, Atami-machi, Koriyama City, a female witness traveling on National Route 49 toward Inawashiro Town sighted one bear (about 1.5 m in length) crossing from south to north.
Koriyama 熱海町上伊豆島, Fukushima
On Sunday, May 17 at about 7:30 a.m., near the entrance of Ouse Park at 1-3 Higashinagakura, Kawauchi, Ouse-machi, Koriyama City, a witness (male, seated in the passenger seat of a vehicle) observed one bear (approximately 1 m in body length) crossing the road to the east and entering the woodland.
Koriyama 逢瀬町河内, Fukushima
Around 07:30 on the 17th, a man in a car reported to police that he saw a bear crossing the road near the west entrance of Ouse Park in Ouse-machi, Koriyama. According to the police the bear, about 1 meter long, crossed the prefectural road and entered the forest in the park; the park had been closed after another sighting on the afternoon of the 16th and staff are patrolling and using firecrackers as countermeasures.
Koriyama, Fukushima
At around 07:30 on May 17, 2026, a man in a car spotted one bear crossing the road and entering the forest near the entrance of Ouse Park in Ouse-cho, Koriyama City, and reported it to the police. Ouse Park has been closed since the 16th after staff found a bear inside the park, and the animal seen this time is believed to be the same one based on its size.
Koriyama, Fukushima
Peak activity at 7:00 with 8 incidents
Ursus thibetanus japonicus
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In the past 30 days, 69 bear sightings were reported within 5 km of the route. The past 7 days account for 12 of them.
The latest sighting was reported 1 day ago near Inawashiro 大字壺楊, Fukushima.
Recent sightings on this route peak around 7:00. Bears are generally most active at dawn and dusk.
This 134 km route runs from Iwaki to Aizuwakamatsu within Fukushima. In the past 30 days, 69 bear sightings were reported within 5 km of the route. The past 7 days account for 12 of them. The latest sighting was reported 1 day ago near Inawashiro 大字壺楊, Fukushima. This is an active bear corridor. Rerouting or rescheduling your hike is strongly advised.
