One year after the Mt. Rausu brown bear accident, a father who lost his son climbs the mountain to commemorate his death. ``Never climb the mountain alone.''

On the 14th, one year has passed since a climber was attacked and killed by a brown bear on Mt. Rausu (1,661 meters) in Shiretoko, a world natural heritage site in Hokkaido. On the same day, a father (60) who lost his son (26 at the time) in the accident climbed Mt. Rausu to console his soul.

"The danger continues. Never climb alone."

Hoping to prevent it from happening again, the father warns climbers.

One year ago, at noon on August 14th, my father received a phone call. The other person was a friend who was climbing with his son. A hoarse voice told me, ``(My son) was dragged away by a brown bear.''

“Please stay alive.”

I left Kansai for Hokkaido with prayers in my heart, but at the police station I met my son who had completely changed. He was wrapped in a body bag, and a police officer told him, ``We will meet you here, but please only show us your face. It is best not to look at your body from the neck down.''

All the dirt, mud, and sand had been removed, but the son's well-trained body was ``slender due to being attacked by a brown bear.''

After the accident, the GPS watch that my son had been wearing that day was returned to me.

The watch had the ability to obtain location information from satellites and record the route and distance traveled. When I gingerly checked the data from August 14, 2025, I found that the trajectory of more than 33 hours, from the start of the climb to the attack and around noon the next day, remained, along with records of movement speed, heart rate, etc.

Small movements that suggest a struggle with a bear, heartbeat data that has been interrupted, movements that indicate that the animal was being dragged around by a bear...

“I wonder how it felt.”

“What did you think before you died?”

It's hard. Still, many times I looked back at my son's final steps on the screen.

Careful preparations for memorial service

I had little mountain climbing experience. However, where was it attacked? What was the situation like? I want to see it with my own eyes. That thought led me to the mountains. I started training wearing clothes that were left behind by my son. He continued climbing during the winter, mainly in low mountains, increasing his physical strength and experience. I also learned about bear habits and countermeasures.

On the 14th, the father met a total of 5 acquaintances...