Breaking the Rules about Bears in Daisetsuzan

Written by Super Member: Leon Roode


For those who don't know me, I'm a Kiwi (New Zealander) who has been living and guiding treks up on the big northern island of Hokkaido, Japan for over 11 years now.

If you know what to do when camping in bear country, you would know that there are some rules that one should try to follow, like hanging your food out of reach of Mr. Bear, not cooking or keeping food in your tent, etc. In Hokkaido, we have brown bears and you would think that everyone follows the same bear rules, but you would be wrong.

My first Japan trekking experience was in Daisetsuzan, the biggest National Park in Japan. It is a 10-day trek. Being a Kiwi, this was my first experience to set up camp in a place with bears and I was surely going to follow all the rules that I had read. While I was in NZ, I met some people from the US and Canada who have given me plenty of tips.

When I reached my first campsite, I realized real fast one of the rules that I wasn't going to keep - there wasn't a tree in sight (most of the campsites in Daisetsuzan are above the tree line and in alpine terrain). I got there early and was the only one, I followed all the rules: cooked 100 yards away from my tent, buried my food under a pile of rocks away from my tent which I really didn't think would work well if a bear really wanted to get at my food but someone had told me that so I did it.

I was feeling pretty good. About two hours or so before sunset, a group of Japanese people came, set up their camp, and they started cooking and eating in their tents. In the morning, I noticed that they all kept their food with them overnight. I wasn't sure what was going on, I was thinking, "is this bear country or not?" Well, I found out on the way over to the next campsite when I came across fresh bear tracks.

The truth is that as some locals would say, it isn't necessary to follow the rules or worry about Mr. Bear in Daisetsuzan while in camp. An old Japanese guy told me that just before the Japanese entered World War II, they used Daisetsuzan as a bombing range for their air force and Mr. Bear just stayed away from people. Another reason could be that most locals here make so much noise using bear bells that old Mr. Bear just likes some places that are peaceful and quiet.

In over 11 years of going into the national park now, I've never seen any locals practicing any of the rules. Also, I've never heard of any trouble or problems with Mr. Bear at any of the campsites or on the trails.

Over the years, I have slightly changed my thinking, but I still have never cooked in my tent. At some campsites, I can tell if there are other foreigners around because they are the only ones who are cooking outside.


It is a different country, and if you have traveled or lived around the world, you will know that other people do things differently, and who are we to judge what they do? If you have a different way of doing something then just do it.

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This Article was contributed by a Super Member:

Hi! My name is Leon Roode aka The Bush Pig. I am a New Zealander who has been living and running guided treks on the big northern island of Hokkaido, Japan for over 10 years. I have well over 25 years guiding and outdoor experience which I am more than happy to share with you here. Take care and happy trails.

Cheers,
Leon