Is hiking the nakasendo safe?

Good morning,

My husband and I will hike the Nakasendo for 2 days:
Day 1: Magome-Tsumago
Day 2: Yabuhara-Narai (Torii pass)

I read somewhere that between Magome and Tsumago, there are bells we need to ring, to scare off bears. But I was wondering: is there a similar thing between Yabuhara-Narai? How safe is the nakasendo? Do we need to bring a whistle or something, to scare bears off?

Thanks!

According to the website of the relevant tourist association, there's no report of encounter with bear along Nakasendo Trai as of June, 2019.
You may rent bell at the tourist information center as below website shows:

http://www.kiso-magome.com/migarunatabi-suzu.html

Thanks! Then I guess we�fll be fine, also without bell.

I have done the trail twice without a bell. There are a few bells set up along the trail & I rang them. Occasionally If I hadnt seen anyone for a while I would clap loudly just to make any bear in the area aware of my presence.

If you're worried, buy one (or several!) of those little jingly charms sold all over Japan, and attach it to your bag so it makes noise as you're walking.

Thanks, everyone! These are useful tips.