Kōzan-ji Temple เหตุการณ์หมีดำ

Kōzan-ji Temple has been feeling the pressure from the bears most sharply on April 25, 2026, when three black bears, believed to be a mother and two cubs, were seen near the temple in Ukyo Ward, Kyoto City and fled north after a witness shouted. That was the kind of close call that gets people looking over their shoulders on the path, and it came right in the middle of a run of spring sightings around Kiyotaki River, Ninna-ji, and the surrounding hills.

The most active ground in this area has been Ukyo Ward and the Arashiyama and Kiyotaki River side of Kyoto, where temple grounds, roads, and the back mountain have all seen bears moving through. Activity has climbed and fallen with the seasons, with November 2025 bringing 47 reports, October 2025 bringing 32, and April 2026 bringing 6; across this area, the record now stands at 524 black bear sightings in total.