Foreign traveler attacked by bear near one of Japan’s most popular countryside attractions

Attack occurred near stop for shuttle bus to Shirakawa observation area.

Gifu Prefecture’s Shirakawa-go village is one of Japan’s most beautiful sights, a tranquil cluster of preserved farmhouses standing in lush green fields and backed by forested mountains. Unfortunately, on Sunday morning while a foreign traveler was taking in the scenery, he was attacked by a bear.

At around 8:30 in the morning the man, a 40-something Spanish national, was taking photos of the village from a distance when a bear came out of the brush and attacked him from behind, leaving him with scrapes along his right upper arm. Worryingly, the incident didn’t occur in some off-trail section deep in the woods, but instead took place near a bus stop for the shuttle bus that carries visitors to the Shiroyama Viewpoint, a scenic lookout above Shirakawa-go’s Ogimachi Village area that’s one of the most popular attractions among visitors.

▼ Ogimachi Village

The man, who was with a traveling companion, suffered only minor injuries and was able to walk to a nearby tourist information center for help, where the staff called an ambulance and he was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. His description of the bear as being about one meter (3.3 feet) in length suggests that it was mostly likely a cub, not an adult bear. The police and hunting parties have been dispatched to patrol the area following the attack. Bear tracks were found near the bus stop, and traps have been set in case the animal returns.

Like many places in Japan, the town of Shirakawa has been seeing a dramatic increase in bear activity this year. Since April, roughly 90 bear sightings have been reported in Shirakawa, versus only 35 for the same period in 2024.

With hibernation season approaching, bears will be becoming more active in their hunting and scavenging activities as they seek to bulk up for their winter sleep, so extra caution, such as being aware of your surroundings, staying out of the underbrush, and making sure to produce some sort of noise (either with a bell, radio, or carrying on conversations with traveling companions) in order to prevent startling bears with unexpected encounters and triggering their aggressive self-defense instincts, is advised.

Source: Yomirui Shimbun, TBS News Dig, Chunichi Shimbun
Top image: Pakutaso
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