Bear attacks have been coming up in the news and media at an alarmingly increasing rate of late. The year 2023-2024 (April to March) saw a record number of attacks which sadly included six fatalities. The news has been reporting on bears across the country being sighted, not just in woodland and on mountains but actually in residential areas and in one recent report, a bear getting cozy under a living room kotatsu under-heated table!! Looking at reports for bear attacks the figures over the years are inconsistent, it seems that a high year is then followed by two to three years of declining numbers before the figures rocket up again. Could it be that a high year causes some action which is then followed by complacency, it really does look that way from a statistical point of view, but of course there are other reasons for the increase in recent sightings and attacks.
And at HIDDEN PATHS we have had our own close encounter with bears here in Kyoto, in Uji to be specific. Whilst hiking over Mount Daikichi and Mount Asahi in Uji, close to Uji River and Ujigami Jinja (a World Heritage Site) on January 4th 2025, we came across FRESH tree bark damage that was clearly made by bears. A number of trees were damaged along quite a distance which showed a clear trail of where the bears had been. We say bears, as opposed to bear, because only days before there had been a sighting of THREE bears together on Inariyama, which is only a few kilometres north of Uji. Bears can easily walk 20-40 km outside of their range in a day so it's easily feasible that the same bears were in Uji as seen in Inari.
Whilst taking a moment to look out from the top of Mount Asahi over Uji town below we noticed some tree bark damage, and although not convinced at that stage, we wondered if it could well have been made by a bear. One of our group lives on Inariyama and is well aware of some of the 'wildlife signs and tracks'.
From here we headed south with the intention of hiking towards the Amagase Dam. Making our way down from the peak of Asahiyama we soon saw more and more tree damage that was clearly made by bears. Pictured below, one of the damaged trees. There were more trees with a lot more damage than this one pictured.
Knowing that there could potentially be three bears we decided that the safest option was to find a route away. From here we turned east towards a road, residential area, and Shizu River, which eventually led to Amagase Dam, our original destination. Things that we were aware of was that bears are fast, they can stalk, and they can climb! As we were below a ridge we needed to get moving quickly to avoid a bear attack from above (the tree damage was still sticky from sap so the bears had definitely been there within the last 24 to 48 hours, so could still have been in the area).
Recommendations from HIDDEN PATHS, when planning a hike, check local media for any recent bear sightings. Try not to hike alone. Carry bear spray. If you see bear tree damage or tracks leave the area and take a different route.
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