This year, the trend for Golden Week is to enjoy activities “close by and cheaply.” On the other hand, there are concerns in famous tourist destinations such as Nikko and Karuizawa about… bear sightings. At Ninna-ji Temple, a World Heritage Site in Kyoto, a popular spot on the hillside behind the temple has been closed to visitors.
■Free leisure activities are booming Parking lots full at 8am (Director Kazuyuki Mimuro) “It’s just past 10:40am on the southbound Chuo Expressway. There’s a traffic jam. The flow of traffic is very slow.” It’s the latter half of Golden Week. Traffic jams are already occurring on the southbound Chuo Expressway… Near the Sagamiko Interchange on the Chuo Expressway, traffic jams reached a maximum of 17km in the morning with cars heading out for leisure. According to a JTB survey, 76.6% of people said they would not be traveling during this year’s Golden Week. It seems that the trend is to stay close by and do things cheaply. 5am, a parking lot in Yokohama. Cars are constantly coming in. By 7:45am, the 362-space parking lot was full. Everyone’s target is clam digging. “Yay, that’s big!” Q: You’ve caught a lot! “It’s still not quite enough.” (A family from Yokohama) “We’re thinking of catching some razor clams to eat for dinner. It’s really free here, and the only cost is parking. We’re looking for places where we can have fun and it’s cheap.” Yokohama’s Umi no Koen (Sea Park) is a place where you can enjoy clam digging for free, and the beach is packed with people… Approximately 27,000 people visited on this day. Q: How are you spending your Golden Week this year? (From Hiratsuka City, Kanagawa) “We’re going to hot springs and enjoying ourselves in nearby places like Kanagawa.” “Every year during Golden Week we go on overnight trips, but this year it’s a bit expensive, so we’ve opted for day trips instead of overnight stays.”
■ Fishing grounds closed due to bear sightings, people rejoice as they reopen “Wow, how many centimeters is it?” “It was exactly 50cm.” People are also enjoying themselves in nearby places… Akita Port, where fishing grounds were reopened on the 3rd. In fact, a bear was spotted here on the 29th, the first day of Golden Week. A bear walks along the breakwater. It slips under the fence and descends towards the wave-dissipating blocks. Due to the bear sighting, the fishing grounds at Akita Port have been closed to the public… (Seiji Sasaki, Vice Chairman of the Akita Port Effective Utilization Association) “The other day, when the bear climbed up the breakwater, it slipped through that gap. Since it came through here, there is a possibility that if a bear comes again, it could slip through here.” Reinforcements have also been made to the fence that the bear slipped through. And on this day, the fishing grounds were opened for the first time since the bear sighting. Bear countermeasures have been strengthened, such as setting off firecrackers. (Angler) “Today is the first day it’s open, so I want to enjoy it, especially since it’s Golden Week.”
■”Bear” Sights Up in Backyard, Stays for 4 Hours Bears have been sighted in various places during Golden Week. On this day, a bear appeared in the backyard of a house in Azumino City, Nagano Prefecture, and stayed there for about 4 hours. “Oh, oh, oh, it’s a bear. Oh no, it’s huge, huge, we might get hurt…” “So they really are here, is it small? I’ve never seen one before.” “Yeah, there’s a bear, a bear. I’m in the car, but there’s a bear, it’s the first time I’ve encountered a bear…”
■ Kyoto World Heritage Sites “No Entry” Due to Bear Measures Bears are in Tourist Spots Too… Kyoto is bustling during Golden Week. Here too, there have been bear sightings… Three bears were spotted on a riverbank about 5km from Arashiyama. A local hunter who was in contact with the city and police said: (Local hunter) “They’re a family. I think there were three. A mother and her cubs. I think that’s why the male bear kills the cubs. The female bear doesn’t want that to happen, so if she senses the male bear nearby, she takes her cubs and runs away.” Q. Is that why they came out (towards the city)? “That’s what I think, anyway. There have always been bears around here. They’ve been here for ages.” According to the hunter, three more bears were spotted near a nearby bridge a few hours later, suggesting they may have been staying in the area for some time. This area is also home to Kōzan-ji Temple, which houses the national treasure “Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga,” a scroll painting said to be the origin of manga, and is a popular tourist destination.
(Tourist) “It’s scary. I’m worried about my wife and others, but I think we’ll be alright.” Q. Were you aware that a bear had been spotted around here?
(Australian tourist) “Really? I heard that bear sightings and attacks have become more frequent in Japan recently. I think we’ll be alright as long as there are lots of people around…” “It’s scary. There are no bears in Australia, so it’s a little frightening. I don’t know what to do if I actually see a bear.” At the World Heritage site Ninna-ji Temple, entry to some areas has been prohibited for the safety of visitors.
(Ryokan Takenaka, General Affairs Manager, Ninna-ji Temple) “We have taken measures to prohibit entry to the 3km course along the approach to the temple and to the mountain. The main reason is that it is dangerous. The primary reason is to prevent any dangerous situations if visitors encounter bears.” The location where the three bears were sighted is about 6km away, but a walking event that was scheduled to be held that day has also been canceled… (Ryokan Takenaka, General Affairs Manager, Ninna-ji Temple) “There are people who are looking forward to it, and there are people who climb the mountain every day out of faith, so we would like to lift the entry ban as soon as possible, but we do not have a standard to confirm how safety is being ensured, so we need to decide on that.”
■ “Beware of bears” even at Nikko’s famous waterfalls In Nikko, there have been three bear sightings since the beginning of April. In the past, bears were even seen swimming leisurely in Lake Chuzenji… Near Ryuzu Falls, a famous waterfall representative of Oku-Nikko, there is a “Beware of bears” sign… This is a bear photographed near Ryuzu Falls. From the side of the road, it went further in… reappearing behind the building, and then up in a tree… “Is that a bear…? Is it around here?” Startled by the sound of firecrackers, it climbed down from the tree… “Hey, stop that!” It went off into the mountains. The garbage dump that had been ransacked by the bear. “This is still there, isn’t it? On the pillar…” Q.”Are these scars?” “Yes.” There were also bear claw marks. (Tea shop owner who suffered bear damage) “Everything was destroyed. They destroyed everything, including the garbage. It was terrible. It’s spring now, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see them again soon. But I’m still worried…”
■A town that coexists with bears: A shift in policy also seen in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture… (Tourist) “It’s further up in the mountains, but yesterday when I went sightseeing, there was a sign warning about bear sightings, so I was scared.” Bears have already begun to be sighted after emerging from hibernation. (Person who saw a bear) “I was thinking of taking my car out for a bit around 7 a.m., and when I got down to the parking lot to take my car out, I saw a bear running. I think it had crawled under the guardrail and onto the road. It was a cub.” Just before Golden Week, the mayor announced a change in policy. (Mayor Michio Tsuchiya of Karuizawa Town) “In Karuizawa, in line with neighboring municipalities, we will adopt a policy of temporarily culling bears captured in human activity areas and buffer zones.” Until now, Karuizawa Town has focused not only on culling bears but also on coexisting with them. Organizations commissioned by the town have carried out activities such as driving bears back into the mountains using bear dogs. However, the town has decided that if bears appear in the buffer zone established between urban areas and forests, culling will be the basic policy. Karuizawa Town saw a record 208 bear sightings last year.
(Director Kohei Shimozato) “It is said that bears were also sighted last year in this school zone located in a residential area.” A man who was once nearly attacked by a bear said… (Local resident) “I was riding my bicycle when it chased me from behind.” Q. On a bicycle? Aren’t you scared? “Yes, I was going downhill, so I managed to get away on my bicycle.” Measures are being taken in villa areas close to forests. (Visitor at the villa) “Last year, there was a bear sighting, so people were warned to be careful, and the caretaker immediately put up an electric fence. It’s still a little scary when you arrive late at night. You have to make noise, leave the car door open so you can get back in quickly, or leave the engine running so you can escape immediately, otherwise it’s frightening. There used to be chestnut trees, but they’ve cut down all the fruit-bearing trees like that.” The organization commissioned by the town says it will continue to work on creating an environment that keeps bears away more than ever before, by installing bear-proof trash cans and continuing patrols with bear dogs. From the May 3rd issue of ‘Udo Times’ [TV Asahi NEWS
