00:00:00 John Daub: So another bear warning has been issued, an official one from the United States Department of State. It's on the website for the U.S. Embassy. Check this out. It's a big deal when you see this, and we like to take these kinds of warnings seriously. The travel advisory is on the website for the Tokyo Embassy. It's remarkable. I never thought I'd see a warning for wildlife, but I wanted to show you today because I'm getting so many questions about this alert. There's also one for volcanic activity down in Kagoshima with recent eruptions, and then this one: increasing bear activity message for U.S. citizens.

00:00:57 John Daub: Where exactly is the location of the warning? Sapporo City, Hokkaido, Akita Prefecture, and parts of northern Japan, which includes Yamagata, Aomori, Iwate Prefecture, as well as Miyagi and maybe parts of Fukushima. It could also include Gifu because some of the countryside there, including Shirakawa-go (World Heritage Site), has seen bears. A Spanish tourist was attacked recently, so this stuff's kind of real. Bear sightings and attacks have increased in parts of Japan, especially municipalities close to or adjacent to populated zones, which is odd. In Sapporo, authorities closed Maruyama Park, adjacent to the U.S. Consulate General, for two weeks following a bear sighting in the park. So they had a bear sighting near the U.S. Consulate? Although the consulate is located outside of the park, they encourage all visitors for routine or other services to be diligent and aware of your surroundings. Imagine getting a bear attack going to the consulate.

00:02:06 John Daub: Bears have also been spotted in other residential areas in Hokkaido and Akita Prefectures. Authorities generally close areas like parks if a bear has been sighted. The embassy gives some things to take action on, like avoid the areas or walking alone in areas of bear sightings. Be aware of your surroundings. If you see a bear, let everybody know because then they make a sign to let everybody else know that there is a bear in the area. These things have been attacking a lot more, so you should be a little bit more vigilant than in years past. There are some links to local resources; the Hokkaido one is in English, so I recommend that. And you can see what Hokkaido has in store. There are other alerts for U.S. citizens, so it's good to check out the U.S. Embassy website. Just Google "U.S. Embassy Tokyo" and you'll come up with it. But the bear sightings have been real and they are gradually starting to attack.

00:03:18 John Daub: If you're still here, I want to wish this one character in the corner a happy birthday. This is Kumamon (mascot). Today—or was it today?—Kumamon's 15th birthday. Unbelievable. I cannot believe it's been 15 years since the Kyushu Shinkansen opened up connecting Hakata with Kagoshima-Chuo, the last stop on that line. Kumamoto was one of those stops and that's when Kumamon was born. Since then, he's become the number one mascot in all of Japan. In the world, he's beloved by all of us. In fact, he's an emoji here. It's royalty free and we absolutely adore this bear. There's a small percentage of the population that considers him to be satanic. I don't know where people got that, but that's out there. So Kumamon, we love you.

00:04:19 John Daub: Bear spray has also been an issue here; they're out. Let me show you what's been in the news today. There's one TV station in particular, Nippon Television. They have a website in English. This happened yesterday: a driver crossing the bridge, and that is a mega bear. That's a mama bear. That's a big one. And it came in and attacked the car. The news media kept showing this over and over in slower motion. This is up in Hokkaido. Bears don't attack cars normally. It's very odd that they would do this. I think they're just hungry. And the brown bears are scarier than the black bears. They 1000% are. The bears from Hokkaido have more of a temper. They're not scared and they're not afraid. This is the bear near the U.S. consulate in Hokkaido, spotted at night near Maruyama Zoo. They looked at the footprints; it doesn't look like a very big one, but it's in an area that bears never would come down to because they try to avoid people. Now they're coming down from the mountains to look for food, to forage. A hungry bear looks at you like you're a hot dog.

00:06:17 John Daub: This bear is on the roof of buildings in Tokyo—it's quite crazy. This news article talks about the bear sprays in Tokyo. This is the Sabre bear spray; this is the one I would recommend. Montbell is out in 140 stores or so. You don't really need them in the city of Tokyo unless you're out in the countryside of West Tokyo. The Sabre 100 is the most popular; there are two sizes—the smaller one is just a couple seconds less spray. I have the bigger one because I could use two more seconds if that means life or death. Counterfeit sprays are all over Amazon right now. The one on the bottom is real because it's yellow with the actual pepper, the very spicy pepper that's the most popular. It's very strong and lasts for six to seven seconds. Bear spray should be at least five seconds minimum. You don't need as much because it'll do the job in five seconds. If the bear attacks, that's when you use it. You can give it a half-second spray to set the foundation—that should scare away 90 percent of the bears.

00:08:01 John Daub: The reason bear spray is very effective is because it has capsaicin, a spice that really hurts the nose of the bear, the most sensitive part of the animal. If it touches the bear's nose, it's unbearable pain and they usually escape. It's the best way to save you and the bear's life—more humane than a shotgun. Point it down first, make sure the guard is off, because the bear will attack low and then come up at you. Start with one second low to set a foundation, then raise it to get distance. It creates a mist that jets out, so even if the bear goes left or right, the mist is everywhere. Spray like mace doesn't work as well because it goes down to the ground. The mist gets into the eyes and nose. If it's just a spray type, it's not very effective unless you get a direct hit. The mist is a good idea. It'll jet out 12 meters, like 25 feet, which is enough. 99 out of 100 bears are going to get the heck out of there because this stuff hurts. There's a YouTuber who sprayed it in his face for entertainment—not pleasant. I've seen bears take the spray and get out of there. At least rational bears.

00:10:24 John Daub: Before we end this live stream, I just wanted to keep this really short and sweet and talk about this. I'm actually making an episode—if you haven't already, this is the live streaming channel. The main channel is Only in Japan, with edited videos. The next video uploading next week is about 25 minutes long: hiking out in the countryside of Japan, and I do have bear spray in it. Hiking is one of the most beautiful things you can do. The majority of the country lives in city areas or along the coast, but the heart of Japan is out in its countryside. That's where you get that real Japan experience, with kominka (old traditional houses), old ladies farming in the fields, walking between the fields. Some are established hiking paths, but it's also bear country in a lot of these places. The chance of getting one seems like the bears are down in the cities, so maybe the safest place is in the woods. A lot of hikers had bear spray; you can rent them at Montbell, but maybe not now—they're out. Sabre and companies are going to send more in. You can't bring it on the plane, not even checked baggage—it's prohibited.

00:12:13 John Daub: Buying it in Japan costs about $70 to $100. Expiration date is about four years on a new can. There's a secondary market; they weigh it to see how much is left. If you use a second of it when renting, you have to buy the whole thing. But if just a little spray, they weigh it and if there's a lot left, they'll rent it. Nobody wants a half bottle because it has only six to seven seconds—if you use three, no one's renting a three-second bottle. So if you use it, you lose it, but you saved your life. Reality is, one out of nine million tourists is going to get eaten by a bear—it's like winning the lottery. You're not going to Nara and get attacked; too many people, authorities, park rangers. Bears aren't going down there unless early morning or late at night, and we haven't seen any yet. Deer got there first and eat up all the food—they're protected national treasures. Most questions are "Am I safe in Nara?" Yeah. Takayama in Gifu too. Unless hiking at night or early morning, that's when bears come down. If you're out 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., so many people around, you're not going to encounter one.

00:14:51 John Daub: More and more, we're seeing them at tourist attractions, but signs come out quickly and news spreads rapidly. As a tourist, seriously doubt you'd have anything to worry about, but knowing is good. You don't need bear spray unless hiking alone. Fear the deer biting you more than bears in Nara. Safer in public places—absolutely. All tourist attractions have rangers, police, lots of people. Chance of a bear springing on you is very small during operating hours. If a bear charges, no reason to eat you with so many people throwing stuff or with bear spray. If I saw somebody getting attacked, I'd throw something and run away. If I had my son, I'd give him to my wife, throw something, run away, protect them. Remember, I'm Ralph Macchio—I have a crane kick. Have bears in Japan ever gotten rabies? I don't think so. Playing dead is common advice: don't make eye contact, don't show teeth, back away slowly, don't run. But it depends; bears are pretty smart. Turn onto your stomach and cover up—the bear usually gets tired and goes away because they don't want to eat you. Tasers are illegal; no guns except plastic pellet guns.

00:18:10 John Daub: Some tourists wear cologne that would keep bears away. Why bring that traveling? It doesn't attract Japanese. That might be the biggest deterrent. Get a can of Axe body spray—it'll keep everyone away. In Kyoto, behind a tourist, it smelled so bad. Nobody likes it—just shower. Japanese noses are sensitive; that's why food is good. We don't corrupt our senses. Hard to find deodorant in stores—bring your own or use soap. If showering and washing clothes, no need for cologne. If you smell bad, see a doctor. Laundromats and hotel laundry everywhere. In Japan, baths at night, no sweat, no morning bath. Westerners shower morning and put slime in bed at night—maybe can't smell themselves. In the U.S., we showered morning, not much at night; some wore shoes in house or on sofa. Deodorants are toxic. In summer, shower twice; winter, not every day. Adapted Japanese way—baths raise temperature, boost immune system. Love evening bath at 7 p.m., after dinner, then bedtime for Leo. Baths relax, reset, get melatonin for good sleep.

00:22:11 John Daub: In U.S., friends take showers, baths for kids. I take baths daily—pretty healthy, maybe because of that or eating natto. Hiking naked scares off bears? No, you'd look like food without cloth armor. Prancing naked makes you smell like an animal—you're food. Shower and fresh laundry trump cologne. Had a friend who smelled bad plus cologne—worst. Just shower, don't mask. Two smells collide into super smell. Like Bloomin' Onion—not pretty, heart attack. Lived here long, wife would tell me if I stink—Japanese noses good. In summer people stink sometimes, but nothing like West. In Ohio State dorm, foreign students never bathed—university had to step in. Bears can smell you. Worst smell: tobacco, booze, old cigarettes after 8 p.m. on trains, or teacher breath—old coffee, donuts.

00:25:25 John Daub: We have Black Friday in Tokyo, nothing like U.S. Thinking of Apple Watch Ultra 2 at 25% off, $500 for marathon. Any Japan questions? Artificial colorings in food thought banned but not—maybe next time. Want to show Tokyo neighborhoods. Recent video: getting Shinkansen tickets at Kyoto Station, re-uploaded with subtitles, vending machine scenes. Can get seat reservations day of, up to 5 minutes before departure from machines—no line. Please come to Hokkaido Snow Festival? Overdone, all foreign tourists. Sapporo Snow Festival overrated now—too many people, hotel prices skyrocketed, no story. Better smaller ones like Abashiri, Tokamachi in Niigata—more local, better hospitality, food. Asahikawa too. Lake Towada, Lake Akan beautiful but freaking cold. Livestreamed Lake Akan 2020, minus 25, wind chill minus 90, face falling off. Drove rented car through frozen tundra.

00:31:35 John Daub: Was in Rikubetsu, minus 29 or 30—crazy for Japan. Don't cancel trip over bears—be aware, but chance slim as tourist. Stay on beaten path; hiking, bell usually enough, others have spray. Bears in populated areas now. Take care—see you tomorrow livestream from Tokyo area. Get ready for video dropping Tuesday or Wednesday: Shin'etsu Trail in Nagano and Niigata, hiking bear country early autumn. Stayed in abandoned school—good story. Matane.