Bears are a Tokyo problem, too!

Even though I live in the Niigata countryside now, I lived in Tokyo for several years beforehand. While you're not going to see a bear strolling its way across Shibuya Scramble, they are still definitely an issue in parts of the prefecture, such as the Tama and Okutama areas. Those areas also happen to be very popular for outdoor activities such as hiking, so it's important to be aware of bear risks there, too.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has an online bear map (https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiMTI3ZWMwMzktODJkZS00NzMxLWI0MTctOTVlODBhMjEzMGY0IiwidCI6ImQwMzAyZmNjLTNlODEtNDljMy04MjM1LWQzMTFhMzY4NGNmYyJ9) where you can stay up to date about bear sightings in the prefecture. The dots are color coded, with red dots indicating a sighting within the last month, yellow dots indicating a sighting within three months, and the blue dots indicating a sighting 3 months or more ago.

For part of my time living in Tokyo I was based in Fussa, and I thought it was interesting to see that bears had been sighted close to nearby areas like Hamura and Ome.

All that to say, be mindful if you're headed out to do some nature activities in these regions of Tokyo!