Saves as a new trip plan. The original stays as-is.
This 79 km route runs from Odate to Towada, passing through Akita and Aomori. In the past 30 days, 61 bear sightings were reported within 5 km of the route. The past 7 days account for 20 of them. The latest sighting was reported 1 day ago near Kosaka Kosaka-kozan, Akita.
This is an active bear corridor. Drive through with full caution, but rerouting is the safer choice.
[Post]
Kosaka Kosaka-kozan, Akita
[Post]
Kosaka, Akita
A single bear about 80 centimeters long was in a field at 32 Sunakosawa, Kosaka, Kosaka Town. It appeared to have come out from the wooded hill behind the house on the west side. The bear was by a pile of firewood next to the house; when it made eye contact it returned to the western woodland. The distance when eye contact was made was about 20 meters, and it was small enough to be thought a cub not yet weaned. No adult bear was seen. The neighbor was informed immediately.
Kosaka, Akita
[Post] Baby bear
Kosaka, Akita
Around 3:00 PM on June 13, a bear was sighted in Kosakamatsunaka Kosaka, Kosaka Town, Akita Prefecture.
Kosaka, Akita
I don’t know the exact location or time, but while driving from the town toward Lake Towada I saw a bear cub suddenly run into the brush on the left side of the road. It was just a moment so I didn’t get a photo, but we passed Kosaka Nanadaki Winery within two or three minutes, so I think it was in that general area.
Kosaka, Akita
Rice field / body length 1 m / 60 m from a residence / approximately 100 m from the witness While driving on a municipal road, a bear was spotted in a rice field. The bear entered the forested area to the south.
Kazuno Hanawa, Akita
[Report] Behind an empty house at 45 Sunagosawa, Kosaka, a young bear about 1 meter long ran into the forest on the west side. Just before that, it had been sighted near a water source in front of the house at 42 Sunagosawa. It appears to have come out of the forest on the east side, crossed rice fields and a river, passed between houses, and entered the forest on the west side. Although bears are known to be present in the hill behind the houses on the west side of the settlement, sightings of a moving bear occurred on the north and south sides of the row of houses. It is unusual to see a bear moving between houses during daytime.
Kosaka, Akita
[Report] Jukai Line (near Osarube, Kosaka Mine) While heading toward Kosaka, observed one adult bear and two cubs at the shrine entrance from the car.
Kosaka Kosaka-kozan, Akita
City road / body length 1.2 m / 5 m from a private residence / 10 m from the witness Observed from inside a vehicle: a bear crossing the city road and entering the brush.
Kazuno Towada-Nishikigi, Akita
City road / body length 1.2 m / 300 m to nearest house / 10 m from witness. While driving on the city road, the witness saw a bear enter the brush north of the road.
Kazuno Towada-Nishikigi, Akita
One bear was spotted moving in Towada-Nishikigi Shimono, Kazuno City.
Kazuno Towada-Nishikigi, Akita
National road / body length 1.2 m / 300 m from a residence / 30 m from the witness. While driving a vehicle on the national road from north to south, I witnessed a bear crossing the road from east to west and entering the forest.
Kazuno Towada-Nishikigi, Akita
Vacant lot / body length 70 cm / 10 m from a residence / 20 m from the sighting. While walking on a municipal road, I saw a bear crossing the road from south to north and entering the vacant lot.
Kazuno Towada-Nishikigi, Akita
Around 1:25 PM on 2026-06-10, a bear was sighted in Otarube, Kosakamachi Kosaka Mining Area, Akita Prefecture.
Kosaka Kosaka-kozan, Akita
Around 06:30 on 2026-06-10, one bear was seen moving in Kosaka, Kosaka Town, Akita Prefecture.
Kosaka, Akita
Railway tracks / body length 80 cm / 10 m from residences, etc. / 20 m distance from the witness: The bear was sighted wandering near the tracks from the grounds of a worksite.
Kazuno Towada-Nishikigi, Akita
Rice field / body length 1 m / 300 m from houses, etc. / 40 m from observer While driving on a municipal road, the observer spotted a bear in a rice field.
Kazuno Towada-Nishikigi, Akita
[Report] At National Route 7, at the 398 km point, it came out from the rail side, crossed the road and headed toward the mountain side. Body length about 1 m.
Odate Nagabashiri, Akita
A bear was sighted in Nagahashiri Jinba, Odate City, Akita, and was seen moving.
Odate Nagabashiri, Akita
On private property / 1.2 m / Distance to witness 20 m / Distance from house 20 m. A bear was in a tree. It came down from the tree and went off somewhere. Direction of departure unknown.
Kazuno Towada-Okada, Akita
[Post] Witnessed crossing the road from left to right immediately after getting off the Kosaka-kita IC on the Tohoku Expressway.
Kosaka, Akita
While driving from the Towada Lake area toward Kosaka town, I saw one bear going under the guardrail on the right (west) side of the road just before the sign that says “1 km to Michi-no-Eki Kosaka.”
Kosaka, Akita
Posted: A bear came out onto the road while I was driving.
Kazuno Towada-Kusagi, Akita
Field adjacent to a private residence / body length 1 m / 20 m from the house / 20 m from the witness: A bear about 1 m in length was seen from inside a house walking north through a field.
Kazuno Towada-Nishikigi, Akita
Was watching from the sidewalk bushes as it prepared to cross the road. When a car passed by, it returned into the bushes.
Hirakawa, Aomori
One bear in Ikarigaseki, Hirakawa City was trying to cross the road from bushes on a sidewalk, but returned into the bushes when a car passed by.
Hirakawa Ikarigaseki, Aomori
One bear was sighted crossing the expressway south of Ajara Parking Area on the Tohoku Expressway in Karunushi, Owani Town.
Owani Karouji, Aomori
[Post]
Kosaka Kosaka-kozan, Akita
[Report] Passed through the rice fields from the western settlement, crossed National Route 282, and disappeared into the forest on the east side.
Kosaka Daichi, Akita
Around 4:15 PM on June 3, a bear was sighted in Arataniyagakuda, Kosaka Town, Akita Prefecture.
Kosaka Daichi, Akita
While driving from the north toward the south, I sighted a bear about 1.2 meters long near the worksite on the east side. The bear was wandering around the area of the worksite and then was seen heading into the woods to the east.
Kazuno Towada-Suehiro, Akita
One bear was sighted on a town road in Uwanokida, Oda, Kosaka Town. The bear was about 60 cm long.
Kosaka Daichi, Akita
While driving a car on a municipal road from west to east, I witnessed a bear about 70 centimeters long cross the road from south to north, then run up the embankment and head north. The distance between the car and the bear at the time of sighting was about 2 meters.
Kazuno Towada-Okada, Akita
[Post]
Kosaka, Akita
Municipal road / 50 m from a house / body length 70 cm / 10 m from witness. While passing on the municipal road by vehicle, a bear was spotted on the south side of the road. The bear left to the south.
Kazuno Towada-Okada, Akita
A bear was sighted in Kosaka, Kosaka Town, Akita around 5:30 PM on June 1.
Kosaka, Akita
[Post] Went up the mountain with the shrine from near the direct sales shop. Body length about 1.2 meters.
Kosaka, Akita
Report: A single fairly large bear about 1 meter in length crossed the town road near the south side of the cemetery at 16-1 Kakeshita, Osaki, moving from east to west. It climbed up from the embankment by the drainage channel south of the cemetery onto the town road, dashed into the field to the west, passed alongside the cemetery above the town road, and entered the western mountain forest. This crossing route has seen multiple sightings last year as well, including lone bears and mother-and-cub pairs.
Kosaka, Akita
[Report] While traveling on National Route 7 from Hirosaki City toward Odate City, a bear appeared from the left side of the road shoulder, crossed the highway, and moved to the right side.
Odate Nagabashiri, Akita
Around 6:16 PM on 2026-05-30, a bear was sighted moving in Nagabashiri-Jinba, Odate City, Akita Prefecture.
Odate Nagabashiri, Akita
Prefectural road / body length 70 cm / 200 m from houses, etc. / approximately 50 m from the observer. A small bear emerged from the woodland on the east side of the prefectural road, crossed the road, and ran off to the west.
Kazuno, Akita
City road / body length 70 cm / 20 m from a private residence / 50 m from the witness: A bear was observed from inside a house as it passed through the private property and entered the woodland to the east.
Kazuno, Akita
At around 12:25 on 2026-05-28, one bear was seen moving in Towada-oyu Shimoorito, Kazuno City, Akita Prefecture.
Kazuno, Akita
[Post]
Kosaka, Akita
A bear was sighted in Kosaka Wakagi-dachi, Kosaka Town, Akita on 2026-05-28 morning.
Kosaka, Akita
Ran off into the woods. [Broadcast from Hirakawa City]
Hirakawa, Aomori
On the national road sidewalk / body length 1 m / 20 m from a private house / 20 m from the witness. A bear was sighted on the sidewalk of the national road.
Kazuno, Akita
A bear was sighted in Towadaoyu Gono-dai, Kazuno City.
Kazuno, Akita
While driving a car on Nishiyama Agricultural Road heading toward Hanawa, I witnessed a bear about 40 centimeters in height crossing the road from east to west and then walking off into the woods on the west side. The distance between the car and the bear was about 6 meters.
Kazuno, Akita
[Report] I went to my property to take care of the remains after cutting down chestnut trees. After getting out of the car, I saw a bear wandering about 80 meters away. I made noise, but it didn’t react or even look my way; it crossed my property and climbed up the slope to the south.
Kosaka, Akita
Vacant lot / Body length 1 m / 20 m from a house / 30 m distance from eyewitness
Kazuno, Akita
At around 18:10 on May 21, 2026, a man in his 70s at home spotted a roughly 1‑meter bear in a grove in Hanawa, Kazuno City (Shintomei). According to the Kazuno police, the bear was about 30 meters from nearby houses, and the police have urged residents to be cautious.
Kazuno, Akita
On private residential property / body length 1 m / 20 m from the house / 20 m from the witness. Witness observed a bear walking toward the back of the shrine.
Kazuno, Akita
At around 19:43 on 2026-05-20, one bear was seen moving in Towadaoyuoyu, Kazuno City, Akita Prefecture.
Kazuno, Akita
Prefectural road / Body length 1 m / 5 m from a private house / 30 m distance to the witness — While walking on the road, the witness observed a bear crossing the road from south to north.
Kazuno, Akita
Vegetable garden on private property / Body length 1 m / 15 m from house / 15 m distance from witness I observed a bear lingering in the vegetable garden on my property. I was frightened and went indoors. I have not been able to confirm what the bear did afterward.
Kazuno Towada-Nishikigi, Akita
While driving on the expressway, I encountered a bear cub on the road about 200 meters before Kosaka Parking Area. I slowed down and honked, and it ran into the bushes on the left. The mother bear was not seen. I reported it to the police car that was ahead.
Kosaka, Akita
While a vehicle was in motion, one bear about 80 centimeters in body length was observed walking along the rice-field embankment from east to west, then moving into the woods to the south.
Kazuno Towada-Kusagi, Akita
On May 19 at about 07:40, a cub was sighted at the Shiragin stretch of the Oirase Stream in Towada City and headed toward Yasumiya. At about 08:00, a bear approximately 1 meter long was seen near Dounai Toyora, crossing an agricultural road and heading north, the city reported.
Towada, Aomori
Field / body length 1 m / 150 m from a house / 200 m from a witness While driving on the national highway, (the witness) saw a bear running south through a field 200 m south of the highway.
Kazuno, Akita
Peak activity at 8:00 with 8 incidents
Ursus thibetanus japonicus
Safety picks and trail essentials, top-rated on Amazon and Rakuten.
For mountain rescue, call 110 (police). They will coordinate with local rescue teams.
Draw any route in Japan and get the same bear-safety report, built around the trip you're actually taking.
No comments yet.
In the past 30 days, 61 bear sightings were reported within 5 km of the route. The past 7 days account for 20 of them.
The latest sighting was reported 1 day ago near Kosaka Kosaka-kozan, Akita.
Recent sightings on this route peak around 8:00. Bears are generally most active at dawn and dusk.
This 79 km route runs from Odate to Towada, passing through Akita and Aomori. In the past 30 days, 61 bear sightings were reported within 5 km of the route. The past 7 days account for 20 of them. The latest sighting was reported 1 day ago near Kosaka Kosaka-kozan, Akita. This is an active bear corridor. Drive through with full caution, but rerouting is the safer choice.
