In the Daisetsuzan Mountains, there was one fatality due to a bear attack on a person in 1949 (Showa 24).

No fatal accidents have occurred since then (as of September 2025).

<Brown bear attack on humans in the Daisetsuzan Mountains>

Date and time: July 30, 1949 (Showa 24)

- Encounter location: Second observation deck, approximately 1 km below Toma Pass

Situation: Nine men who entered the mountain from Aizankei departed at 1 PM with a plan to head towards Asahidake via Numanohira and Susoaihira.

The hiking experience of all participants is unknown, and the plan is to hike 26 km round trip in a single day.

By the time we arrived at Sugatami Pond, it was already evening, and four of us decided to turn back due to fatigue.

At around 7 PM, these four people arrived at the second observation deck, about 1 km below Toma Pass.

I spotted a brown bear climbing up the mountain trail I was about to descend.

Since they were unarmed, they tried to scare them away by shouting,

Perhaps we only provoked the brown bear, as it growled and came even closer.

The four men jumped into a bamboo thicket, but one of them was attacked and killed by a brown bear.

<Brown bear attacks on humans throughout Hokkaido>

According to records of brown bear attacks on humans released by Hokkaido,

As of the time of this post (September 2025), from 1962 (Showa 37)

It is possible to view records up to August 2025 (Reiwa 7).

According to that, between 1962 and August 2025

Number of brown bear attacks on humans: 161

183 casualties (61 dead, 122 injured)

Many of these accidents occur while gathering wild vegetables and mushrooms, or while culling deer and bears.

The mountain climbing accident resulted in 7 deaths and 4 injuries, as follows:

<Brown bear attack incidents involving hikers in Hokkaido>

August 2025, Shari Town: 1 death

October 2023, Fukushima Town: 1 death, 2 injuries.

July 2019, Nakasatsunai Village: 2 people sustained minor injuries.

July 1970 Nakasatsunai Village 3 people died

September 1964 Sapporo 1 person died

July 1964, Kamikawa Town: 1 death (The mountain area is unknown as detailed information has not been released).

Examples of bluff charges (threatening charges) in the Daisetsuzan Mountains

〇August 2, 2025, around 9:30 AM, at Goshikidake (Information reprinted from YAMAP)

Location of encounter: Dwarf pine zone 400-500m before the summit of Goshikidake.

Situation: I was briefly stopped on the mountain trail in the dwarf pine zone, about 400-500m before the summit of Goshikidake.

Suddenly, after a growl, a brown bear leaps out from among the dwarf pines, roaring.

The distance from the climber was 25-26 meters, and the adult was 1.5 meters long.

When the bear roared, I roared back, and it suddenly charged at me for 2-3 meters.

The climbers continued to call out without flinching, and the bear's excitement subsided, slowly retreating into the dwarf pines.

He went in. (This probably took about 10-15 seconds.)

After that, I went to the summit, and on my way down, I was barked at again from the dwarf pine zone just below the summit (at a distance of 5-6 meters).

We returned to the summit, waited for a while, and then descended.

The climber's own observation: I didn't bring bear spray. Even if I had it, it would be difficult to use it accurately and reliably.

I think that by lingering too long in front of the dwarf pine zone where the bear happened to be, I may have unsettled the bear and it threatened me to leave quickly.

〇Around 4:00 PM on August 30, 2025, at Takanegahara (information provided by a hiker)

Location of encounter: On the hiking trail towards Mt. Chubetsu, about 2km from the Takanegahara junction.

Situation: The climber was alone.

The weather is foggy. We are currently moving from the direction of Mt. Shirakumo towards Mt. Chubetsu.

Visibility was poor, but they were making noise with a radio and bells.

While walking along a mountain trail with small ups and downs, I unexpectedly encountered someone at the top of the climb, at a distance of about 10 meters.

The hikers slowly backed away, but the brown bear grewl and approached.

The distance between me and the brown bear remained unchanged, resulting in a stalemate for about 5 minutes. I then sprayed bear repellent spray from a distance of about 10 meters.

The brown bear rubbed its face against the ground before disappearing onto the Takanegahara slope.

The climbers returned to the Shirakumo-dake mountain hut.

On the way back, we spotted another brown bear about 50 meters from the hiking trail.

〇On June 29, 2021, within the Kogen Onsen Marshland Tour Course

Location of encounter: Along the stream on the clockwise route of the Kogen Onsen Marshland Tour.

Situation: A patrol officer was patrolling along the stream on the right-hand side of the course when he encountered a mother bear and her cub at close range.

I was ringing my bell, but the sound of the stream drowned it out, and by the time I noticed, it was about 5 meters away.

The mother bear charged at the patrol officer to protect (and intimidate) her cub.

It came within about a meter of me, stopped, and then slowly walked away.

The patrol officer took out bear spray but didn't use it, and after watching the brown bear leave, he evacuated safely.

〇Around 2015, on the Midori-dake mountain trail (information provided by a climber)

Location of encounter: Mid-mountain hiking trail, dwarf pine zone on the mountainside

Situation: While hiking through a dwarf pine zone, a hiker unexpectedly encountered a brown bear and was subjected to a bluff charge.

As a mother bear and her cub were moving through the dwarf pine zone, I happened to be in the middle of them on the hiking trail,

It is believed that the mother bear was acting to protect her cub.