Some telemarking friends saw a tsuki-no-waguma (Asian black bear) in the BC above Tashiro/Kagura Jan 15. Popped up from behind a tree and ran away. Closest skier was about 10 meters away. Looked to be about 60kg.

I haven't seen any bears yet, but I did get up close and personal with a kamoshika last year. We didn't do much except stare at each other until some friends came crashing through the trees and it took off.

Whenever I go wandering off to unexplored parts (read: getting lost), I do wonder if I'm skiing over some bear hideout. We have mikazuki kumas here (black bears with a white crescent around their neck). They don't look too big, but I wouldn't want to arm wrestle one.

Coming from Australia, bears aren't something I've ever had to deal with - anyone have an idea what a hibernating bears hideyhole would look like in the snow?

I saw a bear run under the lift at Houdaigi in Gumna. Came out of the trees in the middle of the resort! There were model plastic bears outside the restaurants on the slopes & bears in cages at a nearby onsen. Guess that area must be well known for bears then?

Don't bears sleep through winter?

Yeah, I believed it big-will until someone sent me some pics of tsukinowaguma which they took while they skiied.
Global warmness causes?

Yeah I'm sure I thought bears hibernated all winter.

Bears are supposed to sleep all winter
Kind of wierd that it awoke. Maybe it's home was disturbed by the huge snow???

I have seem many Kamoshika. On the weekend I was about 1-2 metres from one. They are a funny looking animal.
But in all my adventures I have yet to come across a bear in Japan.
Canada is a far different story.

Yeah mate, you were chasing it down the double black course eh?? That was pretty funny

I saw a couple in Niseko in March before coming off the golf course into Hanazono - I looked at them and they looked at me, Im sure I know what they were thinking, fast-foodlunch

three seasons ago, in the spring, i saw a small brown bear about 20 meters away, in the trees near the run above the park at hakuba 47. i stopped and gawked @ the sight 'til i saw my friend come charging down through the trees.
when i caught up with her, she'd said a larger bear (prolly the mother of the one that i saw???) had popped out of nowhere right in front of her!!!
the japanese bears are all tiny compared to bears in colorado...KAWAII. but they could still rip your head off.

Will just take more effort and time on their part.

If I had a choice between a quick head ripping off and a slow head ripping off I would choose the larger North American Bears and there fast head ripping off abilities

I was just reading on the internet and found that many places around the world are getting early bear sightings.
It said it is due to the warmer than normal winter. The report also said that it is far to early for cubs to be emerging from the den and most will not make it if they wake and leave to early

This fall there were many more bear sightings than normal. This is probably due to a lack of natural food or just far to many bears out in the wild. Maybe the bears waking up is because they didn't get enough fat to last them through the winter and are waking up hungry

I'll be sure to keep away from any I see then!

r they saying the cause of the warmer winter than usual is el nino? i'd heard a few years ago that bears on a whole were decreasing b/c of less food&poor weather (el nino/abnormal weather)...hmm food 4 thought

there's a ramen shop in Asahikawa, Hokkaido that serves a 10,000 yen bowl of "special ramen" --U can have a bear claw in your ramen!! (for the broth, Ur not supposed 2 paw the hand meat) i passed.

10,000yen??!!

Uh oh - I will spend the 10,000 yen for sushi!!!

yeah. 10,000 for shio or miso ramen w/ a hairy bear in it. yuk!

Bears are supposed to hibernate, but being the unpredictable bastards that they are....they can and often do wake up whenever they like. But not often. That said, bears are pretty cute....from about a half mile away...but never in a cage...I've never seen one around here, I'm sure it'd be shot and eaten before anyone had a chance to say anything about it. I know there was a lot about bears coming into houses and scareing people and even mauling some but whose fault is that really? Where the hell are they supposed to go in Japan!? I'm shocked to even know they can exist here, would love to see one though....and not on a plate or a spit...not so tasty really...sorry rant over..

I find bear quite tasty. I'm not going to go and shoot one myself but if somebody offers it to me I don't turn it down.

That bear paw thing is gross though. I don't like knowing the meat I am eating was once living.

why don't u like knowing that toque, do u think steak grows on trees? :p j/k. Yeah, bear is pretty good and i can 5 4 basashi from time 2 time as well.



KUMA SHUTSU BOTSU--Beware of the Haunt of the Ezo Brown Bear

You see these as stickers and such all over the resorts in Hokkaido. For good reason: from time 2 time, they DO come down 2 towns and they do attack people (whether provoked or otherwise), and then the poor things are shot. This design makes 4 cool stickers though.