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This 263 km route runs from Yushima Tenmangū to Nagano, passing through Tokyo, Nagano, Gunma, and Saitama. In the past 30 days, 49 bear sightings were reported within 5 km of the route. The past 7 days account for 9 of them. The latest sighting was reported 1 day ago near Nagano Nakazone, Nagano.
This is an active bear corridor. Drive through with full caution, but rerouting is the safer choice.
24 places within 1 km of your route, passing through Tokyo, Nagano, Gunma, Saitama.
Size: juvenile
Nagano Nakazone, Nagano
Size: Adult
Nagano Matsushiromachi-Iwano, Nagano
Around 21:50 on 2026-06-13, a bear was sighted in Yokokawa, Matsuidamachi, Annaka, Gunma.
Annaka 松井田町横川, Gunma
Size: adult
Komoro Takibara, Nagano
Annaka 松井田町土塩, Gunma
Tomioka 妙義町菅原, Gunma
Size: Unknown
Chikuma Mori, Nagano
Size: Juvenile
Ueda Tonoshiro, Nagano
Annaka 松井田町土塩, Gunma
Size: adult
Nagano Izumidaira, Nagano
Size: cub/juvenile
Ueda, Nagano
Size: juvenile
Nagano Hirose, Nagano
Size: adult
Sakaki Nakanojo, Nagano
Size: Adult
Nagano Shinonoi-Yokota, Nagano
An animal believed to be a bear was sighted in Yokokawa, Matsuida-machi, Annaka City.
Annaka 松井田町横川, Gunma
Ueda, Nagano
An adult bear was sighted in the forest behind a house in Kamishiojiri, Ueda City.
Ueda Kamishiojiri, Nagano
Size: Unknown
Nagano Mayumida, Nagano
Size: adult (fully grown)
Nagano, Nagano
Size: juvenile
Nagano 富田, Nagano
Size: adult (fully grown)
Sakaki Minamijo, Nagano
Size: Adult
Nagano Aokijimamachi-Aokijima, Nagano
Size: adult (fully grown)
Nagano Togakushi-Soyama, Nagano
Size: Adult (fully grown)
Sakaki, Nagano
Size: adult (fully grown)
Nagano Ageya, Nagano
Ueda Ueno, Nagano
Fujioka Shimohino, Gunma
Around 3:00 PM on 2026-05-25, one bear was sighted in Shimonino, Fujioka City, Gunma Prefecture.
Fujioka Shimohino, Gunma
Size: Adult
Saku Yokone, Nagano
Around 10:00 on 2026-05-25, a bear was sighted in Shiga, Saku City, Nagano Prefecture.
Saku, Nagano
Size: Unknown
Nagano Matsushiromachi-Kiyono, Nagano
Size: Adult
Nagano Sakura, Nagano
Size: juvenile
Nagano, Nagano
Size: juvenile
Nagano Shinkoji, Nagano
Ueda, Nagano
Size: Adult
Nagano Togakushi-Soyama, Nagano
Size: Juvenile
Nagano Tomida, Nagano
In Chikuma City, Nagano Prefecture, bear sightings had been occurring near urban areas and schools; on the morning of the 20th one bear was found in the Yashiro area and was culled. The city reported sightings in Yashiro and Awasa districts since the afternoon of the 19th.
Chikuma Yashiro, Nagano
On May 20 at around 07:30, Chikuma City captured one Asiatic black bear (male adult, 1.3–1.5 m long, 78.5 kg) on a sandbar of the Sano River between Inariyama and Hachiman; local hunters culled the bear at the city's request. It is believed to be the same individual that was sighted multiple times in the city center on the 19th; no injuries were reported.
Chikuma Inariyama, Nagano
In Chikuma City, Nagano Prefecture, on the morning of May 20, 2026, a single bear about 1 meter long was found; at around 07:30 prefectural bear-response personnel captured it with a tranquilizer gun and it was subsequently culled by a hunters' association. A passerby reported seeing a bear just after 05:30 along National Route 18 near Sakurado, and the animal found along the Sano River in the Yahata area is believed to be the same individual repeatedly sighted since the previous day.
Chikuma Ussawa, Nagano
On the morning of May 20, 2026, a single bear about 1 meter long was found in the Sano River flowing between Yawata and Inariyama in Chikuma City; a member of the hunters' association used a tranquilizer gun to capture and euthanize it around 7:30 AM. Sightings had been reported repeatedly in the city since May 19.
Chikuma Yawata, Nagano
Around 07:30 on the 20th, a male bear found on the riverbank of Sanogawa in the Inariyama area of Chikuma City was subdued with a tranquilizer gun, captured and subsequently euthanized. The bear weighed 78.5 kg, and the city believes it is the same individual that had been sighted repeatedly in urban areas since the 19th.
Chikuma Yashiro, Nagano
On the morning of May 20, an adult male bear was tranquilized, captured, and euthanized on a sandbar in the Sano River in Chikuma City, Nagano Prefecture. The bear weighed 78.5 kg and measured about 1.3–1.5 m; its stomach was reported empty, and the city believes it is the same individual linked to multiple sightings in the urban area since May 19.
Chikuma Inariyama, Nagano
Just after 5:30 AM on the 20th, a passerby spotted a bear near Habu Junior High School in Sakurado, Chikuma City. Shortly after 7:30 AM, prefectural bear-response personnel found, captured, and euthanized one bear on the riverbank in Inariyama, Chikuma City; there were no injuries.
Chikuma Imojiya, Nagano
Size: Adult
Chikuma Kuwabara, Nagano
On the afternoon of May 19 in Chikuma City (Awasa area), a bear estimated at about 1 meter long was repeatedly sighted in the urban area; a security camera captured it crossing a road and running away at around 13:20. The city and police searched the area but did not find the animal, and nearby elementary schools implemented precautions such as parent pick-ups and cancelling after-school activities.
Chikuma Awasa, Nagano
On the afternoon of May 19, 2026, a single bear about 1 meter long was sighted in urban areas of Chikuma City, Nagano Prefecture, around Yashiro's Susuki Suijinsha (Susukigi Shrine), along Route 18, and in a supermarket parking lot. Police and the city patrolled and warned residents; nearby elementary and middle schools asked parents to pick up children and suspended after-school club activities and conducted group dismissals. No human injuries were reported.
Chikuma Awasa, Nagano
Size: adult (fully grown)
Nagano Ageya, Nagano
Size: Adult
Nagano Matsushiromachi-Higashijo, Nagano
Peak activity at 7:00 with 5 incidents
Ursus thibetanus japonicus
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In the past 30 days, 49 bear sightings were reported within 5 km of the route. The past 7 days account for 9 of them.
The latest sighting was reported 1 day ago near Nagano Nakazone, Nagano.
Recent sightings on this route peak around 7:00. Bears are generally most active at dawn and dusk.
This 263 km route runs from Yushima Tenmangū to Nagano, passing through Tokyo, Nagano, Gunma, and Saitama. In the past 30 days, 49 bear sightings were reported within 5 km of the route. The past 7 days account for 9 of them. The latest sighting was reported 1 day ago near Nagano Nakazone, Nagano. This is an active bear corridor. Drive through with full caution, but rerouting is the safer choice.
