Wow, a lot of recent attacks in Japan! That beekeeper really fought back good! Where I’ve hiked people will leave notes at the trailhead of the last time they saw bear activity and how many bears etc. so I usually check the notes before I hike. Luckily, I’ve never seen a bear. I enjoyed hearing the stories you told. Also, I like Taxi Driver bear, “you talking to me?” Great job on the vlog once again! Have a happy day!!!
Hahaha, glad that you liked that. Also- what a great local tradition! I haven't seen notes at trailheads here, just sometimes at the evacuation huts. That's such a great idea though.
Living in the UK where the small amount of remaining woodlands have long since been empty of the bears (lynx and wolves) that once inhabited them, I think it's wonderful that Japan is still so forested and that bears are still able to make their home there. Thanks for this little guide into bears in Japan. I guess the more people know about these amazing animals the more likely they are to stay safe and the less hostile interactions there will be between humans and bears. And what a stunning outdoor classroom you chose for our lesson on bears, stunning! Really enjoyed the video.
So glad that you enjoyed it! I love that area so much. Always so beautiful regardless of the weather. I'm just sad that they killed all of the wolves that once inhabited Japan.
Where I live in Canada we no longer use bear bells anymore, the bears and more so the cougars started using them as dinner bells. Now we mostly use air horns and bear spray if there is an encounter!
In Poland we make daring sounds like clapping, shouting, stomping the ground to scare off bears. They usually get scared and if they don't we throw stones at them
This was very helpful, I'm coming to Japan soon and planning to paint in the countryside in Niigata. Last time locals told me there have been bear sightings in the area where I was so at least now I've picked up some more knowledge. Thx Mate 👍
Hi and thanks, GoNorth Japan for sharing. Well said. You raise awareness of a bear encounter and safety101 through a very informative video. Not only つきのわぐま, but generally any bears search for food exceeding their habitat nowadays. As you mentioned in the video, they go after easy food to take instead of hunting in the woods. Bear-proof trash cans are available in the US. Even my security camera captured two cubs in my backyard, then I had to wonder where their mama bear could have been. Appreciate that your audience including myself learned a good lesson from this video. 🤗
This is so interesting and valuable! I think it's very important to educate people on how to behave when they encounter wild animals. In Poland we also have bears and they do occasionally attack people, but it's mostly because they are considered to be "cute" and people approach them to take photos or even feed them. This is extremely dangerous and plain stupid, and is the main reason of their attacks. We should not forget that WE are the guests in their homes, not the other way round.
I just went to Japan and did an Omote Ginza hike in late September. Had to DNF at Oyari and couldn't reach Yarigatake due to a forecast of very bad storms 3 days in a row. My trip coincided with the report of a bear attacking a tourist at Kamikochi on 27 Sep (I went down to Kamikochi on 28 Sep to stay at Myojinkan). Although I can only fly to Japan for hiking once a year since I live and work in Thailand, that fuss about bear sightings really got me thinking that I'd better be prepared in case I chance upon a bear minding their own business while I solo hike. Your video has very useful information and I'm thankful you made this content. It seems there were several reports on bear aggression in Japan during 2022-2023.
Great information and what an impressive story about that beekeeper! Also, it was really neat to watch the weather change during your video! 😂 Stay safe!
Thank you for a very timely reminder about safety in bear country! Where I live (eastern US), black bear populations have been steadily increasing - to the point they are now returning to a few states where they hadn’t been seen in over a century. Stay safe in your hiking!
October 2023 I went on a bus tour to Ainokura in Toyama prefecture. Came across a warning sign on a foot track to be aware due to recent bear sightings. I had no idea that bears in Japan were a risk. I found news reports that a woman was killed by a bear in that area less than two weeks before. 😬
We have bigger black bears here in California, but they really aren't thought of as being that dangerous. Over many high country backpacking trips in the Sierras the main concern is keeping the bears away from your precious food supply. Bear proof containers are mandatory. National and State parks have been good about educating people for decades to not feed bears and store your food properly. I think we can live in peace with our bear friends. Humans need to modify their behavior.
I'm glad for this info. Where I live in Canada, there are bears that live right in our city, basically in my backyard. They look scary and you don't deliberately mess with them but they are generally timid and will run away rather than attack anyone. I haven't heard of anyone getting seriously injured in our area. So it's good to know that if we ever get to Japan, the bears are different and we need to be more careful!
Yeah, I thought the same thing before, and wondered why people were so freaked out about them. Then I started reading all the new articles about bear attacks. Even a friend of a friend from Australia was attacked and seriously injured here.
I was told that you only have to run faster than the other person. I always thought that bells on the trail were announcing to that bears that a meal was coming.
Quinlan, last month the US Forestry Service had to issue an Advisory to the public that Bear Spray and Bug Spray do not work the same way! That cracked me up again just thinking about it.
Great video Quinlan! I had my first encounter within my first week of moving up here. It was amazing to see and it was very chill so I was able to snag a few shots. First time camping a couple of days ago, it was fine but I kept my bear horn and some knives close by just in case. Today sansai foraging in hachimantai so will have to stay alert for sure.
@@GoNorthJapan yeah it was great fun. Except for a bout of heavy rain. We got lots of takenoko and saku. Up on the Jukai line, I think it’s called. When finished we boiled them in the near by boiling spring. Just about to go through the shots now and will post some on IG/FB.
Black bears are not the only bears in Japan, there is also the Ussuri brown bear in Hokkaido, the largest Island in the north of Japan. Thanks for the informative video. I just wanted to correct this.
Glad you mentioned this. I am from texas and know people who punk black bears. If ai would of saw one in japan I think I would thought they were the same as here in the states and would of treated them the same.
Saw a mama bear with a cub backpacking with the Boy Scouts in Central Oregon (years ago). We ran away and the bears ran the other direction, thank goodness.
Well covered! Especially with limited resources.. IF all you have is bear spray, that's all ya got. I personally never go into the Alaskan interior or in certain areas of the North West (US) without my Glock 10mm and bear spray... Think I would feel pretty nekkid without my sidearm there, but knowing the things you've talked about is a huge plus for visitors to the Island. Thanks!
glad i found this informative video! Im considering to hike to the exact location (Amida Pond) where you filmed this, and has some serious concerns about bear attacks. Think i will give it a go after hearing your tips and evaluation.
Thank you for always being so informative!! My bf and I are hopefully finally going to Japan next year if we can financially, and your videos really make me want to visit north Japan so much! Definitely watching your videos again before we go so we can make a list of good places to hike! Are most of these places beginner friendly? Because we live in the Netherlands with 0 mountains haha!
Thanks for watching! So happy to hear that! Most of the hikes are beginner-friendly if you're fairly physically fit. I would say to hold off Mt. Iwate - but Akita Komagatake is AMAZING and not too hard.
Always interesting hearing about wildlife in other parts of the world. For camping, I'm used to hanging food in a sealed bag from a tree so the local wildlife doesn't find a snack bar.
Was in Sapporo, Hokkaido and they have a healthy respect for the large brown bears there. There have been deaths the past few years due to brown bear attacks in their city/island but they do not blame those deaths on their bears nor put a bear down. Japan is different. Their respect for mother nature is on another level.
4:32 - ...and your expectations would be wrong, because bears primarily look for bee larvae, the honey is just a bonus. BTW, the other name for the Asian Black Bears is awesome: Moon Bears =)
Bear spray works so buy it and look for expire date and replace it. If you are camping in tent use electric fense. Food must be at least 40m avay from camping area hanged on tree or inside antibear boxes
Thank you very much for this educational video :) It is really interesting to hear that the Bears kind of get the taste of human food our even humans and then come back searching for it. I never thought that this would be the case. I am usually not afraid of wild animals because I truly believe that animals are not interested in conflicts - why woul they be? because in every conflict they risk losing their lives or energy, which they would rather use for collecting food. I always thought that the only reason an animal would attack is when it feels/thinks that it itself or their offspring is in danger, or if they are injured/sick and therefore in agony/pain. I did not expect that the Bears would go so much "out of their way" to attack humans 🤔 Thank you for sharing the tips 😊
I completely understand your reasoning, but it seems that evolutionary drives are complicated, and certain risks reap big rewards, so aggressive behavior sometimes pays off...? At any rate, take care!
Culture in bears would be very interesting *edit - they do have culture! They develop unique shared behaviours in populations across habitats. Let's say there are 2 forest habitats in region 1 and region 2 of Canada with a population of bears in each, which have no contact with each other. Without culture, all these bears would use the same array of behaviours in the same kind of habitat. However, the bear behaviours in habitat 1 and habitat 2 will be original and different. Some things they will do in the same way but habitat 1 will have a new shared behaviour that habitat 2 will not perform. And that is culture 😊 But the most fascinating question is how it becomes shared. I would guess from bears observing each other and the teaching of their mothers*
I have seen a lot of ‘walking sticks’ for sale in shops as it gets more rural and mountainous. Some not so great as walking sticks, but maybe good for whacking [bears]. I was very surprised to see a section dedicated to bear bells at Homac!
Living in Colorado I tend to view black bears as big silly dogs so thank you for this! I know grizzly bears are much more aggressive so it's good to know Japanese black bears are not as "friendly" as black bears in the US!
Rule #1: When you see a bear, tell your friends to run away. Rule #2: Look at the bear and point at the back of your friends running away. Thanks for the entertaining monologue. I grew up in Akita, but in a coastal town called Yuri Honjo. Wish I had a chance to hike in Komagatake.
@@GoNorthJapan I hope Mt. Chokai makes it to your list of hiking destinations for your future video. A beautiful mountain. Stepping outside of the house, I was always in awe of its gracious presence on clear days.
Does bear bell = dinner bell? I keep forgetting the bears in Japan can be dangerous. I think we eat more bears than they eat us though. I hate to admit it but we ate bear at a ryokan in Gunma once. We didn't know before we ate it though. It was only afterwards we asked what was the meat in the soup. We were told it was shot by a local hunter and was sort of a regional specialty. It was beary nice but I don't think I'd knowingly eat bear again though. Great video Quinlan!
Usually the bear bell isn't a dinner bell, but for the rare man-eating bears it could be, LOL Yeah- there are a fair number of places out in the countryside that serve bear, deer, and wild boar. I think it's more ethical to eat that over factory farmed meat though.
I have a country house in Miyazu. 7.30 one evening I went out to set up trail camera and a bear was already in my kaki tree munching away above my head. I shined it. It growled. I jumped back. quite shaken. It ran down the road. First experience. Came back again but I was not so close.
@@GoNorthJapan Happened again last years. 130 in the morning I could nots leep.Went out to inspect the wall I was building. It was in the tree. I moved halfway to my door and stopped . It came down . Stood up and we stared at eachother. I was frozen.. He/she was full from eatinging some 50 kaki fruit.. His look was not mean. Not aggressive. I had phone in hand but dared not take my eyes off of it. It decided it seems it was satified with the fruit and clambered off down the road. . Later my neighbor saw two cubs in the tree.That may have ended upin a differrent experience. Had I came out then. This is only 10 meters from my bedroom. I heard nothing.
The only time i have seen a bear in my life was in japan and luckily i was driving in a car but Holy moly was i stunned as someone frome central germany bears are not even in my Dictonary of "Danger" if i would see one while hiking ... id bet i had a real bad time :D
I personally find this very sad. Either the beekeeper got really lucky or the bear was already sick or injured. Sometimes in my part of California mountain lions come into neighborhoods. It is usually the case that the mountain lion is very young and confused or is injured in some way.
They can when they are provoked, bears dont normally eat human meat and i think might even dislike it ( just like sharks ), but they are still animals following a simple logic (not based on some kind of feelings). Act accordingly and you will probably be fine. Ofc its easier said than done when you see 100-300 kg black bear infront of you, but it's better to overcome your wear than end up dead.
Hi Quinlan! I plan to alight at Omoshiroyama-Kogen to just enjoy the scenery there (heard the trailhead is closed until Mid-May so I wont be attempting that) but after hearing of reports of bears sightings as recent as 2023 and 2022 along the JR Senzan line, I'm wondering whether it's safe for me to be doing that. On a side note, do you think Montbell carries bear mace by any chance? Thanks so much!
At least certain Montbell locations definitely carry bear spray! Maybe not all of them. I'm not familiar with the route that you mention, but as long as you take proper precautions in terms of noise, etc. it's generally a somewhat small risk.
omg...this is not even something I've thought about!! I am planning a trip to Kumano Kodo, which is exactly the kind of trails winding in and out of small villages where these bear attacks seem to happen...Have you heard of bears on the kumano kodo by any chance?
When I was cycling in Nagano, I saw some monkeys crossing the road. I stopped and waited for them to cross. I didn't know if monkeys can be aggressive and I didn't want to risk it. What is your advice when being confronted by monkeys?
That's a great question. I've been mugged my monkeys in Nepal - where they can be super aggressive, but never in Japan. I don't have any really solid advice for this as there are no monkeys really in Iwate or Akita. I think the going wisdom is to not maintain eye contact with them and keep your distance... I've never heard of people having problems with them in north Japan.
Oh, I don't know actually! I just get the normal mist bear pepper spray. I don't think I'll ever need to use it, but good to have just in case. I'll ask some mountain guides about the gel type.
I support animal life and nature preserve but these bears are so scary. I would not feel safe. North American grizzly bears are aggressive but our land mass is huge, we rarely see them ...these aggressive asiatic black bears sound too wild. stay safe yalls !
Could Japanese villages affected by bear attacks maybe get together and put ammonia and chilli along boundary lines and roads to deter bears. In the UK there used to be a product at garden centres made from something like fine sawdust impregnated with lion urine from the zoo. It smelled very heavily of ammonia. It was used to deter unwanted animals. Could Japan produce a product like this, ammonia based made from top predator urine, with added scotch bonnet chillies. Also the bamboo water clackers could be added throughout the villages.
i must admit i got rather nervous whenever i saw warning signs regarding bears lol...still, i am glad they are still allowed to exist in Japan. We've pretty much slaughtered all wild life that could be a threat here....most certainly bears. Some years ago a brown bear had wandered all the way into the south of Germany and the hunters were going wild. It wasn't permitted to shoot him but everyone wanted the trophy and in the end..if they say he went after them who will prove that its not true? So yeah, needless to say, he never got far. The idea of fighting of a bear is terrifying, I wonder if i'd stand a chance..flimsy weak and fat as I am..lol...well..i hope i never need to find out.
There are no shortage of bears here, that's for sure! But they did hunt and trap the native wolves to extinction in Japan, which makes me sad. Hopefully you'll never have to test yourself against a bear!!
Carry a sling, a spear, and big knife's. There's rocks everywhere. Also, there are self defense umbrella's which can be very effective with training. I train in the forest everyday with my custom J handle Cane, knifes, tomahawks, hatchets, kali sticks. My Canes and techniques are unique though and unknown. My Cane fighting is a new paradigm, but I got no incentive to share what I've created as it literally was the convergence of my life's paths. All my EDC, I wear it all everywhere, even grocery shopping. If anything other than law enforcement thugs threatens me, Im extremely aggressive. Not fucking with pepper spray, that shit is only good for police pigs spraying defenseless people in the face, and they stupidly get it on themselves and each other, because they are skilless thoughtless pigs, who then get angry and start spraying bullets everywhere if your in the US. I don't worry about bears attacking me, they won't. Walked at night through the mountains with no light. Don't recommend that though. Soon I will expat to Costa Rica. That will remove the danger of US police killing my dog and I, or ending up in a profit prison. So I wont have to be afraid. If they don't let you carry capable knifes in Japan, then I suppose you can't sharpen a stick or do much anything. IDK if they do or not, but Im not gonna participate anywhere being set up as defenseless prey. Though I can take my cane everywhere, and some cord too. A knife is the most basic and vital tool, hope knife's can be carried there. Yeah I don't want to be anywhere there's predators which can likely kill me or my dog. Why Im in Appalachia. Fair easy climate, no big instant natural disasters in this area other than the genocidal ancestors of, and the current Americans. Ain't got fingers coming outta the sky at me, lit up by lightning in the dark sea. Nothing to eat us in the rivers here either. Only danger really is police and such ilk, but around here, they haven't been as dangerous as many places I've lived in the US. Just the same, I seen and experienced their brutality enough around the entire nation, to know better than to invest anymore life in the US. I know what its like to be hunted getting my water, hunted getting my food and so on. I got service connected disability so I can dual citizen expat and take the payments with me. One way, is to avoid places where you are not allowed to properly defend yourself against every threat, and migrate to less threat, and more freedom. In Costa Rica I'll hang out up in the mountains. No crocks up there. Had enough of them too.
