
News Black Bear Minano (Minano Town), near the Minano-Nagatoro IC entrance intersection, Saitama Feb 12, 2026, 11:30 AM
Location
Description
At about 20:30 on February 12, 2026, a driver reported to police that they had seen a bear about 1.5 meters long standing up in the headlights near the Minano-Nagatoro IC entrance intersection on Route 140 in Minano, Saitama Prefecture. The prefectural police urged people to be cautious when going out and advised on how to act if a bear is nearby.
Note: Official sources provide information in Japanese only. This description has been machine translated for your convenience.
Summary
On the night of the 12th, a driver sighted a roughly 1.5-meter bear standing in car headlights near the Minano-Nagatoro IC entrance in Minano and reported it to police. The Saitama prefectural police warned residents to be cautious when going out and advised on how to react if a bear is nearby.
Bear Type
Black Bear
Number of Bears
1
Provider Type
News
Date & Time
Thursday, February 12, 2026 at 11:30 AM
Address
Minano (Minano Town), near the Minano-Nagatoro IC entrance intersection, Saitama
Coordinates
36.075306, 139.115374
Related Areas
Comments (1)
Route 140 at the interchange entrance in the evening is a busy route, so spotting one there caught on headlights suggests it crossed major infrastructure.
Hiking in bear country
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