Hiraoka Shrine เหตุการณ์หมีดำ

Hiraoka Shrine has been dealing with a sharp recent encounter: on April 10, 2026 at Heguri Midorigaoka 6-chome, a black bear came down from the hill beside the pond and got within about 5 meters before the person shouted it off and escaped unharmed. Another sighting was also reported in Ikoma Ogurajicho on January 30, 2026, showing that bear activity is still reaching the edge of settled places around the shrine area.

The most active places in this wider area have been Kizugawa City, Nara Furuichicho, Komorebi Park, and Seika Yamada, with reports also turning up in Kyotanabe Fugenji Chigusahara and Nara Yashimacho. Activity peaked in November 2025 with 17 reports, then stayed active through December 2025 with 5 and January 2026 with 2; across this area, there have been 36 black bear sightings in all.