This 212 km route runs from Narusawa to Ren Kagaku, passing through Yamanashi and Nagano. In the past 30 days, 43 bear sightings were reported within 5 km of the route. The past 7 days account for 8 of them. The latest sighting was reported 1 day ago near Shiojiri Daimon-hachibancho, Nagano.
This is an active bear corridor. Drive through with full caution, but rerouting is the safer choice.
10 places within 1 km of your route, passing through Yamanashi, Nagano.
Size: Adult (fully grown)
Shiojiri Daimon-hachibancho, Nagano
Size: Adult
Shiojiri Kyushiojiri, Nagano
Size: Adult
Shiojiri Daimon-hachibancho, Nagano
Size: juvenile
Shiojiri Daimon-hachibancho, Nagano
At around 20:40 on May 17, 2026, a single bear about 50 cm long was sighted in a residential area about 60 meters south of Kimii-chi Nursery in Nakasu, Suwa City, Nagano Prefecture. Police arrived but the bear had already left; police and city officials patrolled the area the next morning and warned residents, and no damage has been confirmed.
Suwa Nakasu, Nagano
Around 18:00 on May 15, 2026, a member of the local hunting association reported to the city hall that they had sighted one adult bear about 1.5 meters long in Soga, Shiojiri City, Nagano Prefecture. Police arrived at the scene but the bear had already left; they are patrolling the area and warning residents.
Shiojiri Daimon, Nagano
Size: Unknown
Ikusaka 大字北陸郷, Nagano
Size: Adult (fully grown)
Shiojiri Daimon-nibancho, Nagano
Around 09:40 on the 12th, a passerby reported seeing one cub on a prefectural road near Nishihara Community Center in Matsukawa Village, Kitaazumi District. Omachi police officers and village staff searched the area but did not confirm the bear.
Matsukawa Kitahosono, Nagano
Size: Adult
Shiojiri Kakizawa, Nagano
Size: juvenile
Matsukawa Kitahosono, Nagano
Size: Adult
Azumino 穂高有明, Nagano
Size: parent and child
Ikeda Hirotsu, Nagano
In Shiojiri City, Nagano Prefecture, one bear ran out in front of a moving passenger car and collided with it, damaging the left front tire area and leaving the vehicle unable to drive, but there were no injuries. In Aomori Prefecture, bear sightings near inhabited areas prompted emergency shooting, and a total of two bears were culled; one of the culled adults is believed to be an Asiatic black bear about 1.5 m long and 80 kg.
Shiojiri Daimon-nanabancho, Nagano
Size: Adult
Azumino 明科光, Nagano
Size: adult (fully grown)
Azumino 穂高有明, Nagano
Just after noon on May 9, a passerby reported sighting one bear on the road north of the municipal Takenoko Nursery in Yasaka, Omachi City. The Omachi police said it appeared to be a cub and ran toward the mountains; there were no injuries. Officers and city staff patrolled the area but could not confirm the bear; authorities warned residents because Yasaka Elementary and Junior High School are nearby.
Ōmachi Yasakashobu, Nagano
At around 01:35 on May 8, 2026, a truck driver traveling on National Route 358 in Nakabata-cho, Nakado district, Kofu City, spotted a bear-like animal about 1 m long on the road. The man reported it to the police, and the city conducted patrols and issued warnings to residents via disaster prevention radio.
Kōfu Nakabatakecho, Yamanashi
In the early morning of the 8th, a suspected bear about 1 m long was spotted on a national road in Kofu City, the city reported. The city is urging people to be cautious.
Kōfu Wakamatsucho, Yamanashi
Size: Adult
Azumino 明科中川手, Nagano
A suspected bear about 1 meter long was sighted on a major bend of a national road near "右左口の里" in Kofu City. The man who saw it reported to the police, and the city conducted patrols and warned residents via disaster radio.
Kōfu Nakabatakecho, Yamanashi
Size: juvenile
Ōmachi, Nagano
Size: cub
Azumino 穂高有明, Nagano
Around 10:30 on May 4, 2026, a single bear about 1.10 m long appeared at a residence with a vegetable stand in the highland known as "Hoshifuru-sato" in Hara Village, Nagano. It was captured with a tranquilizer gun shortly before 14:00.
Hara, Nagano
Around 10:20 on May 4, a bear about 1.0–1.1 m long was sighted near the restaurant grounds in Nakashinden, Haramura (Suwa District), Nagano Prefecture; police and hunters responded. In the afternoon it was immobilized with a dart gun, captured and subsequently euthanized by the village authorities; no injuries or property damage were reported.
Hara, Nagano
At around 10:20 on May 4, 2026, a single adult bear (about 1.1 m long, approximately 45 kg) was sighted on the grounds of a restaurant/residence and nearby house in Shinmida, Hara Village, Suwa District, Nagano Prefecture. Police, hunting association members and village staff responded and the bear was sedated with a tranquilizer gun and captured at about 13:40; it was subsequently euthanized. No injuries or damage to buildings were reported.
Hara, Nagano
On May 4 in Hara Village, Nagano Prefecture, a bear (approximately 1.10 m in length) seen on the premises of a restaurant was sedated with a tranquilizer gun by police and hunting association members, captured, and euthanized. Reports say the bear had moved toward a nearby vegetable direct-sales stall.
Hara, Nagano
On May 3 in Hotaka Ariake, Azumino City, Nagano Prefecture, a roughly 1‑meter bear stayed in the backyard of a residence for about four hours and was captured and euthanized with a tranquilizer gun by hunters around 14:30. The area mixes fields and houses, and no injuries to residents were reported.
Azumino 穂高有明, Nagano
Near the Chuo Expressway Suwa-Minami interchange in Hara village, a bear was seen on a home's premises after 10:00 AM and was captured with a tranquilizer gun about four hours later on another home's grounds. The animal, about 1.1 meters long and believed to be a young individual, had repeatedly raided nearby beehives and was culled by the village after capture. No injuries were reported.
Fujimi, Nagano
On May 3, 2026, an adult bear (about 1 meter long) was sighted around 09:00 in the yard of a private home in Hotaka Ariake, Azumino City, Nagano. City officials, police and local hunters guarded the area, and the bear was captured with a tranquilizer gun around 14:30 and subsequently euthanized. No injuries or property damage were reported.
Azumino 穂高有明, Nagano
Size: adult
Azumino, Nagano
Size: adult (fully grown)
Azumino, Nagano
Size: Adult
Azumino 穂高有明, Nagano
Size: adult
Azumino, Nagano
Size: Adult
Azumino 穂高有明, Nagano
Around 14:30 on April 30, 2026, a single bear about 1 meter long entered the garage of Restaurant Petika in Hara village, Nagano Prefecture, destroyed a beehive box kept years earlier and left droppings. The bear got briefly caught in a garden net, freed itself and fled into the woods; the village set two box traps.
Hara, Nagano
On April 30 at around 14:30, the owner of a restaurant near the Misayama signal intersection in Hara Village reported seeing a roughly 1-meter bear in the garage. Village staff, police and hunting association members arrived but the bear had already left; footprints and droppings were found nearby, and no damage has been confirmed.
Hara, Nagano
Size: adult
Hara, Nagano
A bear sighting was reported in Tsuru City, Yamanashi Prefecture. The article did not provide specific time or detailed location of the sighting.
Tsuru Kawadana, Yamanashi
Size: juvenile
Ikeda Nakau, Nagano
Size: adult (fully grown)
Ikeda Hirotsu, Nagano
Size: Adult
Ōmachi, Nagano
Size: adult (fully grown)
Ōmachi, Nagano
Peak activity at 10:00 with 4 incidents
Ursus thibetanus japonicus
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In the past 30 days, 43 bear sightings were reported within 5 km of the route. The past 7 days account for 8 of them.
The latest sighting was reported 1 day ago near Shiojiri Daimon-hachibancho, Nagano.
Recent sightings on this route peak around 10:00. Bears are generally most active at dawn and dusk.
This 212 km route runs from Narusawa to Ren Kagaku, passing through Yamanashi and Nagano. In the past 30 days, 43 bear sightings were reported within 5 km of the route. The past 7 days account for 8 of them. The latest sighting was reported 1 day ago near Shiojiri Daimon-hachibancho, Nagano. This is an active bear corridor. Drive through with full caution, but rerouting is the safer choice.
