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This 261 km route runs from Sanjo to Karuizawa, passing through Niigata and Nagano. In the past 30 days, 109 bear sightings were reported within 5 km of the route. The past 7 days account for 18 of them. The latest sighting was reported 1 day ago near Joetsu, Niigata.
This is an active bear corridor. Drive through with full caution, but rerouting is the safer choice.
1 places within 1 km of your route, passing through Niigata, Nagano.
A nearby resident sighted one bear. It entered the grassy area to the west.
Joetsu, Niigata
One bear about 1 meter long was sighted in a residential lot in Gochi 6-chome, Joetsu City, Niigata, and left heading west.
Joetsu, Niigata
Around 4:30 a.m. on July 11, a bear about 1 meter long was spotted on the premises of a private residence in Gochi 6, Joetsu City.
Joetsu, Niigata
While driving on Prefectural Road 73 toward Yasuda, the witness spotted one bear in the bushes on the right-hand side. The bear immediately retreated back into the brush and fled.
Kashiwazaki, Niigata
A cub was seen crossing the Igarashi River and entering the scrub on the left bank. A patrol was conducted afterward but the animal was not found; it is believed to have gone toward the mountains.
Sanjo, Niigata
Around 08:50 on 2026-07-08, an animal believed to be a bear was sighted in Komabayashi, Joetsu City, Niigata Prefecture.
Joetsu, Niigata
One animal believed to be a bear, about 100 centimeters in body length, was sighted 400 meters north of the Ken-Do Joetsu-Yasuzuka-Uragawara Line.
Joetsu, Niigata
On around 4:00 PM on 2026-07-08, one bear was seen moving in Fukuoka, Sanjo City, Niigata Prefecture.
Sanjo, Niigata
A passerby spotted one bear, about 1 meter long, on National Route 292 in the Jitto area of Myoko City.
Myoko, Niigata
One bear approximately 80 centimeters in body length was sighted 200 meters east of the former Marine Fishing Center.
Joetsu, Niigata
A bear about 0.8 meters long was sighted in Mushu Iwato, Joetsu City.
Joetsu, Niigata
While driving on the municipal Kitazawa Road, witnessed one bear crossing the road westward.
Myoko, Niigata
On flat land, I heard the sound of a tree trunk breaking behind a house. When I checked a few days later, there were bear claw marks.
Sanjo, Niigata
Spotted one bear near a residence. It was moving from beside the Nakago General Gymnasium toward the railway tracks.
Joetsu, Niigata
One bear was sighted crossing the municipal Sakaizawa-Omine road from south to north.
Myoko, Niigata
One bear was observed crossing National Route 18 from east to west.
Myoko, Niigata
A single bear about 100 centimeters long was sighted at a point approximately 200 meters northeast of the Komabayashi neighborhood hall within the Oaza Komabayashi area.
Joetsu, Niigata
A bear approximately 1.2 meters in length was sighted on the premises of a business along the Igarashi River. A patrol was conducted afterward but the animal was not found; it is believed to have moved off toward the mountains.
Sanjo, Niigata
One bear about 100 centimeters in body length was sighted in the home center parking lot in the area of Ooaza Nishitanaka.
Joetsu, Niigata
A bear was sighted in a home center parking lot in Nishitakanaka, Joetsu City.
Joetsu, Niigata
A bear was sighted on company premises in Ogibori, Sanjo City.
Sanjo, Niigata
While traveling on Prefectural Route Kamimasuda–Yoshikawa, I sighted one bear. It ran off to the south.
Joetsu, Niigata
One bear was sighted crossing the Hanae Line city road in Hanabuchi in the Shimoda area of Sanjo City.
Sanjo, Niigata
A bear was sighted crossing the Hanae municipal road within the Hanabuchi area. A patrol was conducted afterward but the animal was not found; it is believed to have moved off toward the mountains.
Sanjo, Niigata
A bear was seen moving through rice paddies in the Narayama area. It later left for the mountains.
Sanjo, Niigata
One bear moving through rice fields was sighted in Narayama in the Shimoda area of Sanjo City and then left դեպի the mountains.
Sanjo, Niigata
One bear, about 1.3 meters long, was sighted on a city road in Sasaoka, Sanjo City.
Sanjo, Niigata
A bear about 1.2 meters long was sighted on the Shin'ya premises, on the municipal road Morimachi–Nakaura line. It later left for the mountains.
Sanjo, Niigata
One bear was sighted about 100 meters northwest of the campsite in the Oaza Gochi Kokubu area.
Joetsu, Niigata
One bear was sighted in Gochikokubu, Joetsu City.
Joetsu, Niigata
One bear was sighted moving through rice paddies. A patrol was conducted afterward but the animal was not found; it is believed to have left toward the mountains.
Sanjo, Niigata
One bear was sighted on a residential property in Ogibori, Sanjo City, and ran across a rice field toward Route 289.
Sanjo, Niigata
A bear about 1 meter in body length was sighted near the end point of Municipal Road Tanarin-Osawa Line. It then left for the mountains.
Sanjo, Niigata
Discovered bear tracks while doing farm work.
Nagaoka, Niigata
Discovered bear tracks while on the way to cultivate the field
Nagaoka, Niigata
A bear was seen crossing Prefectural Route 409 and entering a bamboo grove. It then left and went up into the mountains.
Sanjo, Niigata
Bear signs (scat) were found near a private residence.
Sanjo, Niigata
A bear about 1 meter long was sighted in Motomachi 1-chome, Mitsuke City, Niigata.
Mitsuke, Niigata
A bear about 1 meter long was sighted in a parking lot in Motomachi 1, Mitsuke City, shortly after 6 a.m.
Mitsuke, Niigata
A bear about 1 meter long was sighted. It then left for the mountain.
Sanjo, Niigata
One bear was sighted in Nakago-ku Fujisawa, Joetsu City, Niigata.
Joetsu, Niigata
Spotted one bear while driving to the fields. It moved northwest.
Joetsu, Niigata
While traveling on National Route 292, witnessed a bear about 1 m in length crossing from east to west.
Myoko, Niigata
A bear was sighted on a farm road. It later left and went back into the mountains.
Sanjo, Niigata
While driving on prefectural Route Ogata–Takayanagi, I sighted one animal believed to be a bear. It was moving west.
Joetsu, Niigata
It was in the mountains. It ran off toward the mountains.
Joetsu, Niigata
A bear was sighted on a prefectural road in Karuigawa, Kashiwazaki City.
Kashiwazaki, Niigata
Spotted one bear on the road about 100 meters east of Kenshin-ko Budokan.
Joetsu, Niigata
While driving on the municipal Ōshika-Okeumi Road, a single bear was sighted heading into the forest.
Myoko, Niigata
One bear was sighted heading into the mountains to the east from the area near the Joshin-etsu Expressway.
Myoko, Niigata
It appeared on the camera of a trap intended for wild boar.
Joetsu, Niigata
A bear of unknown length was sighted on a city road in Niijima, Myoko City.
Myoko, Niigata
One bear seen heading toward the river to the east.
Myoko, Niigata
A bear was sighted in Kuwayama, Saku City.
Saku Kuwayama, Nagano
Around 9 PM on 2026-07-09, a bear was sighted in Sanada-machi Motohara, Ueda City, Nagano Prefecture.
Ueda Sanadamachi-Motohara, Nagano
Size: adult and cub
Karuizawa 大字追分, Nagano
Size: Unknown
Ueda Sanadamachi-Motohara, Nagano
Size: Adult
Karuizawa, Nagano
Size: unknown
Ueda Tonoshiro, Nagano
Around 6:30 PM on July 6, a bear was sighted in Kashiwabara, Shinano Town, Nagano Prefecture.
Shinano, Nagano
While driving on the municipal Kitazawa Road, witnessed one bear crossing the road westward.
Myoko, Niigata
At around 9:00 AM on July 5, a bear was sighted in Oiwake, Karuizawa Town.
Karuizawa 大字追分, Nagano
Size: Adult
Sakaki Minamijo, Nagano
Size: juvenile
Karuizawa 中軽井沢, Nagano
Size: Adult (fully grown)
Karuizawa, Nagano
A bear was sighted in Akakura, Myoko City.
Myoko, Niigata
While traveling on Prefectural Route Myoko Kogen Park Line, a single bear was sighted crossing the road from north to south.
Myoko, Niigata
One bear was sighted crossing the municipal Sakaizawa-Omine road from south to north.
Myoko, Niigata
One bear was observed crossing National Route 18 from east to west.
Myoko, Niigata
A bear was sighted in Nagakura, Karuizawa Town.
Karuizawa 中軽井沢, Nagano
Size: Adult
Karuizawa, Nagano
One bear was sighted in Toyono, Toyono-machi, Nagano City.
Nagano Toyonomachi-Toyono, Nagano
Size: cub
Karuizawa, Nagano
On 2026-07-01 in Karuizawa, Karuizawa Town, a bear was sighted.
Karuizawa 大字軽井沢, Nagano
Size: Adult
Shinano Nojiri, Nagano
Size: adult (fully grown)
Nagano Toyonomachi-Toyono, Nagano
While walking along the municipal road Futamata-Akakura Onsen Line, near the underpass box of the Joshin-etsu Expressway, I witnessed one bear crossing the road from south to north.
Myoko, Niigata
Size: Unknown
Ueda Ueno, Nagano
Size: adult
Nagano Wakatsuki-Nishijo, Nagano
Size: juvenile
Karuizawa 大字長倉, Nagano
Size: Adult (fully grown)
Nagano Shinonoi-Okada, Nagano
Size: adult
Karuizawa 大字追分, Nagano
Size: Unknown
Ueda Tonoshiro, Nagano
Size: Adult
Iiyama Hachisu, Nagano
Around 14:00 on 2026-06-26, a bear was sighted in Hasu, Iiyama City, Nagano Prefecture.
Iiyama Hachisu, Nagano
Size: adult animal
Iiyama Hachisu, Nagano
While driving on Prefectural Route Suginosawa-Futamata, a single bear was observed moving across the road from the west side to the east side.
Myoko, Niigata
Around 10:00 on 2026-06-25, a bear was sighted in Toyono-machi Toyono, Nagano City.
Nagano Toyonomachi-Toyono, Nagano
Size: Unknown
Komoro Kamasu, Nagano
Size: Adult (fully grown)
Nagano Yoshi, Nagano
Size: adult (fully grown)
Ueda, Nagano
Around 17:35 on 2026-06-23, a bear was sighted in Akashio, Iizuna Town, Nagano Prefecture.
Iizuna Akashio, Nagano
Size: Adult
Iizuna Akashio, Nagano
While driving on Prefectural Route Suginosawa-Futamata Line, (a witness) observed one bear crossing the road from east to west.
Myoko, Niigata
Size: juvenile
Ueda, Nagano
Size: Juvenile
Ueda, Nagano
A bear was sighted in Oaza Kehashizaka, Myoko.
Myoko, Niigata
While driving on Prefectural Route Suginosawa-Futamata, I witnessed one bear entering the forest on the east side of the road.
Myoko, Niigata
A bear was sighted on a road in Keishizaka, Myoko City.
Myoko, Niigata
Size: adult and cub
Karuizawa 大字長倉, Nagano
Size: juvenile
Ueda, Nagano
Size: Unknown
Miyota 大字塩野, Nagano
Size: cub (juvenile)
Karuizawa 大字長倉, Nagano
Size: adult
Karuizawa 大字追分, Nagano
Size: Adult
Karuizawa, Nagano
One bear was sighted in Kahara, Shinanomachi, Nagano.
Shinano, Nagano
Size: Adult
Karuizawa 大字追分, Nagano
Size: Unknown
Karuizawa 大字長倉, Nagano
Around 17:45 on 2026-06-14, a bear was sighted in Nagakura, Karuizawa Town, Nagano Prefecture.
Karuizawa 中軽井沢, Nagano
Around 6:00 on June 14, a bear was sighted in Nanase, Nakano City.
Nakano Nanase, Nagano
Size: Adult
Nagano Matsushiromachi-Iwano, Nagano
Size: Adult
Nakano Nanase, Nagano
While driving on the municipal Ōshika-Okeumi Road, a single bear was sighted heading into the forest.
Myoko, Niigata
One bear was sighted heading into the mountains to the east from the area near the Joshin-etsu Expressway.
Myoko, Niigata
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.
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In the past 30 days, 109 bear sightings were reported within 5 km of the route. The past 7 days account for 18 of them.
The latest sighting was reported 1 day ago near Joetsu, Niigata.
Recent sightings on this route peak around 8:00. Bears are generally most active at dawn and dusk.
This 261 km route runs from Sanjo to Karuizawa, passing through Niigata and Nagano. In the past 30 days, 109 bear sightings were reported within 5 km of the route. The past 7 days account for 18 of them. The latest sighting was reported 1 day ago near Joetsu, Niigata. This is an active bear corridor. Drive through with full caution, but rerouting is the safer choice.
