Saves as a new trip plan. The original stays as-is.
This 330 km route runs from Yonezawa Castle to Tobinodai Shell Mound, passing through Yamagata, Chiba, Fukushima, Gunma, Saitama, Tochigi, and Tokyo. In the past 30 days, 111 bear sightings were reported within 5 km of the route. The past 7 days account for 23 of them. The latest sighting was reported 8 hours ago near Yonezawa Sekine, Yamagata.
This is an active bear corridor. Drive through with full caution, but rerouting is the safer choice.
14 places within 1 km of your route, passing through Yamagata, Chiba, Fukushima, Gunma, Saitama, Tochigi, Tokyo.
Environment: Near dwellings / Size: Adult
Yonezawa Sekine, Yamagata
Around 6:00 a.m. in Nakano-me, Nihonmatsu City, one bear about 1.5 m long was sighted crossing a field.
Nihonmatsu 中ノ目, Fukushima
A bear was sighted in Shinyu, Yuno, Iizakamachi, Fukushima City around 16:40 on July 11.
Fukushima Iizakamachi, Fukushima
Environment: Riverbed / Size: Adult and cub
Yonezawa Hosenmachi, Yamagata
Environment: road / Size: adult (fully grown)
Yonezawa Kiwada, Yamagata
A bear was sighted around 18:00 in Takei, Yonezawa City, Yamagata Prefecture.
Yonezawa Takei, Yamagata
Environment: Riverbanks / Size: Adult
Yonezawa Sekine, Yamagata
One bear about 80 cm long was sighted in Sekine, Yonezawa City.
Yonezawa Sekine, Yamagata
Environment: Forest / Size: Adult
Yonezawa Sekine, Yamagata
One bear about 80 cm long was sighted in Sekine, Yonezawa City.
Yonezawa Sekine, Yamagata
A bear was sighted moving in Shono Nukubun, Fukushima City.
Fukushima Shono, Fukushima
Nasushiobara 塩野崎, Tochigi
Around 1:00 PM, one bear about 80 cm long was sighted in Sekine, Yonezawa City, Yamagata Prefecture.
Yonezawa Sekine, Yamagata
Environment: Forest / Size: Adult
Yonezawa Banseicho-Zusayama, Yamagata
Environment: Agricultural land / Size: Adult
Yonezawa Misawa, Yamagata
Nasushiobara 春日町, Tochigi
A bear about 1 meter long was sighted in Misawa, Yonezawa City, Yamagata Prefecture.
Yonezawa Sekine, Yamagata
Environment: Road / Size: Adult
Yonezawa Misawa, Yamagata
Environment: Forest / Size: Juvenile
Yonezawa Ogoya, Yamagata
Environment: Forest / Size: Juvenile
Yonezawa Ogoya, Yamagata
A bear was sighted in Matsukawamachi Kanazawanagamine, Fukushima City, Fukushima Prefecture, on 2026-07-06.
Fukushima Matsukawamachi-Kanezawa, Fukushima
Around 11:30 on 2026-07-06, one bear about 70 cm long was sighted in a forest in the Misawa area of Yonezawa City.
Yonezawa Sekine, Yamagata
Environment: Forest / Size: Adult
Yonezawa Misawa, Yamagata
Environment: Forest / Size: Adult
Yonezawa Banseicho-Kariyasu, Yamagata
Around 5:00 on 2026-07-05, one bear about 1 meter long was sighted near Yonezawa Ski Resort in the Bakasecho Kariyasu area of Yonezawa City.
Yonezawa Banseicho-Kariyasu, Yamagata
Environment: railway / Size: adult
Yonezawa Misawa, Yamagata
One bear was in a forested area in Babadaira, Nihonmatsu City.
Nihonmatsu 馬場平, Fukushima
Environment: On the railroad tracks / Size: Adult animal
Yonezawa Itaya, Yamagata
Around 16:40 on 2026-07-04, one bear about 1 meter long was sighted in Itaya, Yonezawa City.
Yonezawa Itaya, Yamagata
A bear was sighted in Shimonoji Tohara, Fukushima City.
Fukushima Shimonodera, Fukushima
Environment: Forest / Size: Adult
Yonezawa Misawa, Yamagata
A bear was sighted in Shimotano, Nasushiobara City, around 8:30 a.m. on July 3.
Nasushiobara 下田野, Tochigi
Nasushiobara 下田野, Tochigi
Environment: Around residential houses / Size: Unknown
Yonezawa Sekine, Yamagata
Three bears of unknown size were sighted in Sekine, Yonezawa City.
Yonezawa Sekine, Yamagata
Environment: On the tracks / Size: Adult
Yonezawa Banseicho-Tatsuzawa, Yamagata
One bear about 1 meter long was sighted in Misawa, Yonezawa City.
Yonezawa Sekine, Yamagata
A bear was sighted in Zaitenbakamatsubara, Fukushima City.
Fukushima Zainiwasaka, Fukushima
On Wednesday, July 1 at approximately 4:20 p.m., near the Niwatsuka Ohashi bridge in the Matsubara area of Niwatsuka, Fukushima City, a motorist traveling southbound sighted one bear (about 1 meter in body length) crossing the municipal road on the north side of Niwatsuka Ohashi from west to east.
Fukushima Zainiwasaka, Fukushima
A cub was sighted on the tracks in Tori-machi 1-chome, Yonezawa City.
Yonezawa Banseicho-Tatsuzawa, Yamagata
One bear was sighted in Higashiodori 1-chome, Yonezawa City.
Yonezawa Banseicho-Tatsuzawa, Yamagata
Environment: On the railway tracks / Size: Juvenile
Yonezawa Banseicho-Tatsuzawa, Yamagata
Environment: Near railway tracks / Size: Juvenile
Yonezawa Misawa, Yamagata
Environment: Road / Size: Juvenile
Yonezawa Banseicho-Tatsuzawa, Yamagata
Nasushiobara 下田野, Tochigi
Nasushiobara 下田野, Tochigi
On 2026-07-01 in the morning, one bear cub was sighted in Misawa, Yonezawa City.
Yonezawa Sekine, Yamagata
Around 6 PM on 2026-07-01, a bear was sighted in Shimotano, Nasushiobara City, Tochigi Prefecture.
Nasushiobara 下田野, Tochigi
Environment: Road / Size: Adult
Yonezawa Minamihara-Yokoborimachi, Yamagata
Nasushiobara 下田野, Tochigi
On June 29 at about 6:00 p.m., a report was received that footage from a security camera in the forested area of Utsuyama, Aza Uchisaka, Niteizaka, Fukushima City, showed one bear (body length unknown).
Fukushima Zainiwasaka, Fukushima
Environment: Forest / Size: Adult
Yonezawa Sekine, Yamagata
On Monday, June 29 at approximately 5:30 a.m., in the forested area of Futaishi Nakayama in Shirakawa City, a man in his 40s driving a vehicle sighted one bear (about 1 meter in length).
Shirakawa 南池下, Fukushima
One bear was seen in a forest area in Futaishi Nakayama, Shirakawa City.
Shirakawa 南池下, Fukushima
Around 4:00 PM on 2026-06-29, one bear was sighted in Sekine, Yonezawa City, Yamagata Prefecture. The bear was estimated to be about 1 meter long.
Yonezawa Sekine, Yamagata
A bear was sighted in Hiranoboshita, Iizaka-machi, Fukushima City, around 6:30 PM on June 28.
Fukushima Iizakamachi, Fukushima
On Sunday, June 28 at around 6:30 p.m., on the north-side walkway of Iizaka Cemetery in Hirano, Iizaka-machi, Fukushima City, a witness (male, in his 40s) spotted three bears approaching from the opposite direction while he was walking west. One bear (A) was about 1 m in body length, and the other two (B and C) were about 50 cm each.
Fukushima Iizakamachi, Fukushima
Environment: On the tracks / Size: Juvenile
Yonezawa Misawa, Yamagata
Nasu, Tochigi
Around 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 27, a witness spotted one bear (body length unknown) on the Arakawa riverside near Hinokura Bridge in the Shono, Kita-Hinokura area of Fukushima City.
Fukushima Kaminagura, Fukushima
One bear was sighted on the Arakawa riverbank in Shono Hino-kura, Fukushima City, near Hinokura Bridge.
Fukushima Kaminagura, Fukushima
Kanuma 上石川, Tochigi
Around 16:30, one bear (1 m) was spotted in Matsukawa-machi Mizuhara, Fukushima City.
Fukushima Matsukawamachi-Mizuhara, Fukushima
On Thursday, June 25 at around 4:30 p.m., in the Mizuhara area of Matsukawa-machi, Fukushima City, a witness (male in his 50s) sighted one bear (approximately 1 m in body length) coming out of the brush.
Fukushima Matsukawamachi-Mizuhara, Fukushima
On Thursday, June 25 at about 5:30 a.m., in a forested area of Oyama Osarakubo, Otama Village, a witness (male in his 70s) observed one bear (approximately 1 meter in body length) walking along the woodland near nearby houses. The bear then left into the forest.
Otama, Fukushima
Around noon on Thursday, June 25, in the Ashiike area of Hiraishi, Fukushima City, on Prefectural Route 148, a witness (male in his 70s) observed one bear (about 50 cm in body length) crossing the road from east to west while driving.
Fukushima Matsukawamachi-Sekiya, Fukushima
A man in his 70s driving a car saw one bear crossing Route 148 in Hiraishi, Fukushima City, from east to west.
Fukushima Hiraishi, Fukushima
Around noon on 2026-06-25, a bear was sighted at Hiraishi Ashiike, Fukushima City.
Fukushima Matsukawamachi-Sekiya, Fukushima
On Wednesday, June 24 at approximately 6:40 p.m., in the Koyama area of Iwane, Motomiya City, a nearby resident spotted two bears walking through a field (one about 1 m in length, the other about 50 cm). The bears subsequently left on foot toward the forested area to the north.
Motomiya 岩根, Fukushima
Environment: Near houses / Size: Adult
Yonezawa Minamihara-Yokoborimachi, Yamagata
One bear was seen crossing near the Fukushima-side entrance of the Higashi-Kurikoto Tunnel on National Route 13 in Iizaka-machi Nakano, Fukushima City.
Fukushima, Fukushima
On Wednesday, June 24 at approximately 4:50 PM, near the Fukushima Prefecture-side entrance/exit of the Higashi-Kuriko Tunnel on National Route 13 in Nakano, Iizaka Town, Fukushima City, a witness (female, in her 30s) observed, while driving, one bear (about 50 cm in body length) crossing National Route 13 from north to south.
Fukushima, Fukushima
On Wednesday, June 24 at approximately 10:30 a.m., on the Heiwa Line main farm road in Ōzaka, Ōtama Village (Ōyama, Ōsarakkubo area), a witness (male in his 60s) driving a vehicle observed a single bear (about 50 cm in body length) sitting in the woodland adjacent to the road. The bear then ran off east into the forested area.
Otama, Fukushima
Feces thought to be from a bear were found on a riverbed in Fukutamiya-no-mae, Sukagawa City, and confirmed as bear feces.
Sukagawa 袋田, Fukushima
On Wednesday, June 24 at approximately 8:20 a.m., a man in his 40s, the discoverer, found what appeared to be bear droppings on the riverbed in the Miyamae area of Fukuroda, Sukagawa City. When staff from Sukagawa City Hall inspected the site, they confirmed the droppings were from a bear.
Sukagawa 袋田, Fukushima
A bear was sighted around 7:45 AM in Kaminagura Somekita, Fukushima City.
Fukushima Kaminagura, Fukushima
On Wednesday, June 24, at around 7:45 a.m., a witness spotted one bear (approximately 50 cm in body length) in the Somenkita area of Kaminakura, Fukushima City. The bear headed toward the river to the north and its subsequent whereabouts are unknown.
Fukushima Kaminagura, Fukushima
On Tuesday, June 23 at approximately 6:45 p.m., near the 245-kilometer post on the southbound lanes of the Tohoku Expressway underpass in Akagai-Mori area, Matsukawa-machi, Fukushima City, a driver (male, in his 40s) traveling on the expressway observed a bear (one animal, about 50 cm in body length) attempting to cross the road from the shoulder into the lanes of the southbound Tohoku Expressway (toward Sendai). When the witness sounded his horn, the bear returned to the shoulder. Its subsequent whereabouts are unknown.
Fukushima Matsukawamachi-Sekiya, Fukushima
On 2026-06-23 at about 18:22, a bear was sighted in Yui Kamekubo, Nihonmatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture.
Nihonmatsu 油井, Fukushima
On Tuesday, June 23 at approximately 6:22 PM, in the Kabuko area of Yui, Nihonmatsu City, a witness (male in his 60s) driving a vehicle saw one bear (about 1 meter in body length) moving north through fields. Its subsequent whereabouts are unknown.
Nihonmatsu 矢ノ戸, Fukushima
On Tuesday, June 23 at around 6:20 p.m., on Prefectural Route 5 in the Shono Nukiwari area of Fukushima City, a witness (female in her 30s) saw one bear (approximately 1 m in body length) while driving. The bear then left into the brush on the west side of the road.
Fukushima Kaminagura, Fukushima
Around 18:20 on 2026-06-23, a woman driving in Shono, Fukushima City, spotted one bear about 1 m long crossing Prefectural Route 5.
Fukushima Shono, Fukushima
Environment: Railway / Size: Adult
Yonezawa Banseicho-Tatsuzawa, Yamagata
On Tuesday, June 23 at approximately 7:19 a.m., on the road in Ikenoue, Oshinjo, Daishin, Shirakawa City, a man in his 40s, while driving, saw one bear (about 1 m in length) cross the road and head into the forest.
Shirakawa 大信上新城, Fukushima
Around 4:00 PM on June 19, one bear about 1 meter long was sighted on a road in Oharanishi 1-chome, Nasushiobara City.
Nasushiobara 大原間, Tochigi
On Friday, June 19 at around 12:35 PM, in the Arakawa riverbed area of Shono, Nukkawari (Shono Aza Nukibun) in Fukushima City, a witness (male in his 40s) sighted one bear (approximately 1 meter in body length) on the riverbed.
Fukushima Kaminagura, Fukushima
On Friday, June 19 at around 9:00 a.m., in the Odagawa Ushishimizu area of Shirakawa City, while driving through a mountain forest, a man in his 50s sighted one animal believed to be a bear (approximately 1 m in body length) in the mountain forest.
Shirakawa 豊地, Fukushima
In Shirakawa City Odagawa Ushimizu, around 09:00, one bear-like animal measuring 1 m was in a forest.
Shirakawa 豊地, Fukushima
On Friday, June 19 at around 8:00 a.m., on a farm road in the Waku-higashi area of Yazawa, Sukagawa City, a witness (male in his 50s) discovered feces believed to be from a bear. When staff from Sukagawa City Hall arrived on scene and inspected the site, they confirmed it was bear scat.
Sukagawa 矢沢, Fukushima
Nasushiobara 前弥六南町, Tochigi
One bear was sighted in Zaidengasaka Jingeven, Fukushima City.
Fukushima Zainiwasaka, Fukushima
On Tuesday, June 16 at approximately 1:15 p.m., a witness (male in his 40s) observed one bear (about 1 m in body length) in Jinga-mae area, Atezaka, Fukushima City. The bear headed toward the river to the north and its subsequent whereabouts are unknown.
Fukushima Zainiwasaka, Fukushima
On Tuesday, June 16 at approximately 1:05 p.m., an man in his 80s, while doing farm work in a forested area of Atagoyama in Daishin Masumi, Shirakawa City, sighted two bears in the woods (one about 1 m in body length and the other about 50 cm).
Shirakawa 大信増見, Fukushima
On Tuesday, June 16 at around 7:00 a.m., in the Yayoi area of Kuroiwa, Fukushima City, a witness observed one animal believed to be a bear (body length unknown) leaving through the forest on the east side of a municipal road heading toward the Abukuma River. There were no human injuries or property damage.
Fukushima Kuroiwa, Fukushima
A bear was sighted at Atagoyama in Oshin Masumi, Shirakawa City.
Shirakawa 大信増見, Fukushima
One bear was sighted crossing the road on National Route 115 in Matsukawa-machi Mizuhara, Fukushima City.
Fukushima Matsukawamachi-Mizuhara, Fukushima
While driving a vehicle, the witness observed one bear (approximately 1 m in body length) crossing the road.
Fukushima, Fukushima
While driving a vehicle, the witness observed one bear (about 1 m in body length) crossing the road.
Fukushima, Fukushima
A bear was sighted in Matsukawa-machi Mizuhara Minamisawa, Fukushima City.
Fukushima Matsukawamachi-Mizuhara, Fukushima
While driving a vehicle, the observer spotted one bear (approximately 1.5 m in length) standing in a parking lot.
Fukushima Iizakamachi-Nakano, Fukushima
While driving a vehicle, the observer sighted one bear (approximately 1 m in body length) in the forested area.
Fukushima, Fukushima
Around 8:00 on 2026-06-14, a bear was sighted in Ageta-cho, Kanuma City.
Kanuma 油田町, Tochigi
Around 22:30 on 2026-06-14, an animal believed to be a bear was sighted in Kiwada-machi, Kanuma City.
Kanuma 亀和田町, Tochigi
On Saturday, June 13 at approximately 3:50 p.m., a witness (male in his 30s) spotted one bear (about 1 m in length) inside a park in Uenodera, Kamihiraba area, Fukushima City. The bear then left heading west.
Fukushima Futagozuka, Fukushima
While at home, [the witness] saw one bear (about 1 m in body length) walking in the park.
Fukushima Futagozuka, Fukushima
On Saturday, June 13 at around 3:25 p.m., on a municipal road in Minamimukoudai 3-chome, Fukushima City, an eyewitness (male in his 80s) driving a vehicle spotted two bears (each about 1.5 m in body length). The bears subsequently left heading west.
Fukushima Oguraji, Fukushima
While driving a vehicle, the observer sighted two bears crossing the road (each approximately 1.5 m in body length).
Fukushima Oguraji, Fukushima
At around 12:25 a.m. on Saturday, June 13, in the fields in Fujikubo, Sekiya, Matsukawa-machi, Fukushima City, a witness (male, in his teens) saw one bear (approximately 1 meter in body length) crossing the fields near Kanayagawa Station on the JR Tohoku Main Line while he was walking. The bear then departed south from that location.
Fukushima Kanayagawa, Fukushima
While walking, the observer sighted one bear (about 1 m in body length) crossing the fields.
Otama, Fukushima
Two bears about 1.5 meters long were sighted on a city road in Minamimukai-dai 3-chome, Fukushima City.
Fukushima Oguraji, Fukushima
At around 3:50 PM on 2026-06-13, a bear was sighted in Uwanodera Kamihiraba, Fukushima City.
Fukushima Futagozuka, Fukushima
Peak activity at 18:00 with 16 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, 111 bear sightings were reported within 5 km of the route. The past 7 days account for 23 of them.
The latest sighting was reported 8 hours ago near Yonezawa Sekine, Yamagata.
Recent sightings on this route peak around 18:00. Bears are generally most active at dawn and dusk.
This 330 km route runs from Yonezawa Castle to Tobinodai Shell Mound, passing through Yamagata, Chiba, Fukushima, Gunma, Saitama, Tochigi, and Tokyo. In the past 30 days, 111 bear sightings were reported within 5 km of the route. The past 7 days account for 23 of them. The latest sighting was reported 8 hours ago near Yonezawa Sekine, Yamagata. This is an active bear corridor. Drive through with full caution, but rerouting is the safer choice.
