'Bear Spray' Rentals Rise

Aug 25, 2025 | News On Japan

HOKKAIDO, Aug 25, 2025 (News On Japan) - The most effective option when you encounter a bear and are about to be attacked is bear spray. Using capsaicin, it is expected to slow the animal’s movements and help avert an attack.

In July 2024, a Tokyo-based company launched a bear-spray rental business headquartered in Makubetsu, Hokkaido. By reserving on the website, customers can have a can delivered to a designated hotel or rental-car outlet for 3,850 yen for one night and two days.

At the delivery hub Honami Marche, Fujiwara said, "We receive about two to three orders a day."

Shiraiwa, the company’s representative who lives in Tokyo, has been climbing in the Daisetsuzan range for about a decade and has encountered bears almost every year. For hikers coming from outside Hokkaido, he says purchasing bear spray is a hurdle. "When I tried to bring bear spray, I couldn’t take it on a plane. I had the same problem myself, and I thought many people were in the same situation, so I started this service," said Shiraiwa.

A single can costs roughly 10,000–20,000 yen, and carrying it on aircraft is prohibited, so demand for rentals is rising, especially among hikers from outside the prefecture. According to Shiraiwa, "When we started last year, total rentals were about 100 cans. This year, as of July 2025 we had already exceeded 100, and we currently have around 140 including reservations."

Rental offerings have also begun at a Hokkaido-based reuse chain. Since April 2025, the "Nandemo Recycle Big Bang" chain has offered rentals at 21 stores across Hokkaido and the Tohoku region. The fee is 1,000 yen for one night and two days, with an additional 500 yen for each extra night. To date there have been roughly 300 rentals, about 80% by customers from outside Hokkaido, with many borrowing from the Chitose store near the airport.

Bear-spray rentals are also available at visitor centers in Quasi-National Parks.

Bear spray does not guarantee safety, but hikers are urged to carry it as a precaution whenever heading into the mountains.

Source: HBCニュース　北海道放送

Typhoon No. 15 Set to Make Landfall in Kanto Tonight

Typhoon No. 15 (Chan-hom) is expected to make landfall near Ibaraki Prefecture between around 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. on August 11, bringing rapidly strengthening winds, high waves and heavy rain to parts of Kanto and southern Tohoku, with unsettled weather potentially continuing even after the storm moves inland.

H3 Rocket No. 9 Successfully Launches Japan GPS Satellite

Japan's H3 Rocket No. 9 successfully placed the Michibiki No. 7 navigation satellite into its planned orbit after lifting off from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture at 4:23 a.m. on August 11, marking the country's second consecutive successful H3 launch.

Tokaido Shinkansen Runs First Overnight Service

The Tokaido Shinkansen operated its first overnight service ahead of the Obon holiday period, offering travelers a 15,000 yen trip from the Tokyo area to Kyoto and Shin-Osaka while allowing them to save on hotel costs and arrive earlier than the first regular morning trains.

Typhoon No. 15 to Disrupt Travel on August 11

Typhoon No. 15 is expected to approach and likely make landfall somewhere in the Kanto region on August 11, bringing strong winds and heavy rain that could disrupt conventional rail services, expressways and flights while also affecting a wider area extending into Tohoku.

Raccoon Damage Surges Across Japan

Raccoons are increasingly invading homes across Japan, damaging roofs and wiring, contaminating buildings with large amounts of urine and feces, and raising concerns over agriculture, native wildlife and the spread of disease as their population continues to expand.

MEDIA CHANNELS

MORE Travel NEWS

Lake Biwa Fireworks Event Abruptly Canceled Over Missing Permits

A fireworks festival that had been promoted as a simultaneous display of more than 10,000 fireworks across three cities on Lake Biwa in Shiga Prefecture was abruptly canceled on August 9, with organizers having failed to submit applications for permits required to hold the event.

Nara's Deer Population Hits Record High

Nara Park's famous deer are increasingly spilling into residential areas and farmland as their population reaches a record high, creating new problems for residents even as the animals remain a major attraction for visitors to the ancient capital.

Inside Universe Club: Japan's Best-Known Sugar Dating Club

Japan's dating scene has its own vocabulary, its own etiquette, and — for the arrangement style commonly known abroad as sugar dating — its own dedicated clubs.

Akihabara Maids Join Traditional Water-Sprinkling Event

Maids from Akihabara maid cafes joined shrine maidens from Kanda Myojin and members of the public on August 8 to sprinkle water across the shrine grounds in Tokyo, calling out "Cool down!" as they took part in a summer tradition aimed at easing the midsummer heat.