Bears at Kamikochi

Following your Japan walks reports there is a mention of seeing bears at Kamikochi and the Kiso valley around Tsumago. We will be there next week.
Do we need to take precautions on main trails.

When I went to Kamikochi before, I was told that there are not many bears in the valley. There are probably too many tourists for the bears to feel comfortable. Along the Kiso Valley it is also unlikely to meet a bear. But not impossible.

Remember that bears are afraid of humans and will run away when they see or hear humans. The only dangerous situation are surprise encounters, where both the bear and human meet each other by surprise and the bear may panic. In order to avoid such surprise encounters, it is recommended to make some noise in areas where there is bad visibility, e.g. talking loudly, stamping loudly or wearing a bear bell.