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A 46-year-old dispatch worker in this northern Japan city was seriously injured in an apparent bear attack outside of his home on Oct. 31, police said.

Among his injuries, the man suffered fractures to bones in his head, and was blinded in both eyes. Akita Prefectural Police's Akita-Higashi Police Station is warning residents to remain vigilant in the wake of the attack.

According to police investigators, the eastern side of the man's home faces a mountain forest. They said the man had arrived home and just stepped off his bicycle when an apparent black animal suddenly emerged from the shadows of where he parked his bike and mauled him.

The scene of the incident is a residential area some 4 kilometers north of JR Akita Station. It's also just 500 meters from a hot spa inn.

As part of preventative measures following the attack, local police are dispatching patrol cars to drive around the area near to where the incident took place at the same time that children are leaving school.

(Japanese original by Shun Kawaguchi, Akita Bureau)