The bear sightings had forced the closure of all 94 public primary and middle schools in the city on Monday and Tuesday.
Public broadcaster NHK and other major media reported the bear’s capture as breaking news.
The Shimotsuke Shimbun daily, based in Utsunomiya, said the first and second tranquiliser shots missed the target but a third successfully hit the animal.
A city official told AFP Monday it was not clear whether there was one bear or more roaming the city.
Separately, an “extremely intelligent” bear that injured four people in Fukushima in northern Japan has remained at large after apparently unlatching a window while evading capture, NHK reported.
A record 13 people were killed by bears in Japan last year, and there has been a jump in sightings as the animals emerge hungry from hibernation.
Bears are thriving thanks in part to an abundance of food – including acorns, deer and boars – under the influence of a warming climate, experts say.
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