As close as you'd want to get: The climber shared his close encounter with the bear. Photo / Bear and Climber; YoutTube
A man has shared a terrifying, close encounter with a Japanese bear in which he "fought for his life".
A heart-stopping video has emerged of a climber's bear encounter. Caught on a GoPro, the man is forced to fight for his life in a brawl with a wild black bear.
The incident occurred in the Mount Futago National park in the southern Island of Kyushu. The area is popular with hikers and wilderness lovers.
However, this climber got a bit too close for comfort.
Descending the ridgeline, to his horror, the wild animal pounced on him from above. Dodging the bear, the split second reaction may have saved his life.
Hanging from a ledge he fought off the animal again and again, in the incident from the beginning of the month.
Screaming and fending off the bear with his hiking boots, it is a terrifying ordeal.
Despite the determined animal's repeated attacks he said he was not scared.
"Instead of fear, I switched to the feeling that if it was coming, I had no choice but to face it."
His blood-curdling screams can be heard on the recording as he tries to shout down the animal.
For his part, the tourist says he was in the wrong as the one invading the bear's territory. He said he had no choice but to defend himself from the bear.
Fortunately he claims to have had some martial arts training to fend off the animal.
"I learned karate when I was a child," he said, publishing the video to YouTube. As a mixed martial arts fan he said " used hammer fist instead of punches" to deter the bear from attacking, which it did again and again.
He was aware of the dangers and brought bear deterrent to ward off encounters, but had been caught off guard.
"I always have a bear bell, but I mute it when descending rocks because it is noisy," he said.
The region in the Hakone Prefecture, above the bay of Tokyo is a favourite among birdwatchers and hikers. However the local tourism website advises that visitors are not to climb Mt Futago itself.
"Currently, the mountain is closed to the public for nature conservation," it reads.
Tourists are eager to get into the thick of Japan, which is newly reopened to tourists. But if you go down to the woods today... it's unlikely you'd be in for such a shocking bear-related surprise.
Despite this the climber has no regrets and appreciates the encounter as a valuable experience. Posting it to YouTube under the account 登山者と熊 - 'Bear and Climber - the video has been seen over 1.7 million times. The unnamed tramper claims he did nothing wrong.
"I think it was a desperate situation, but the fact that I survived safely is the most wonderful thing. It is a valuable image that will remain in posterity."
The perfect destination for both a one-stop holiday, or a much-needed stopover.