Los Angeles Times

Dylan Hernandez: Even with fans at some events, the Olympic spirit remains elusive in Japan

RIFU, Japan — Signs along the highway warn of the predator that roams the forest: the Asian black bear. Bear attacks are somewhat common in Japan, with more than 140 reported over a six-month period last year. This part of the country is familiar with such incidents, which often take place in autumn when people venture into the woods to harvest wild mushrooms. With the metropolis of Sendai ...

RIFU, Japan — Signs along the highway warn of the predator that roams the forest: the Asian black bear.

Bear attacks are somewhat common in Japan, with more than 140 reported over a six-month period last year. This part of the country is familiar with such incidents, which often take place in autumn when people venture into the woods to harvest wild mushrooms.

With the metropolis of Sendai nearby, this isn't the middle of nowhere, but this isn't Tokyo, either.

A search for the elusive Olympic spirit brought me here, some 200 miles north of the center of the Games, to a crescent-shaped concrete

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