Bear spray, bear spray, BEAR SPRAY!!! Did anyone mention that you need to carry some bear spray?! Seriously, bear spray would be MUCH more effective than a knife, or even a sword. Bears have incredibly thick fur and skin, and bones like baseball bats. Even if you did get lucky enough to draw a sword fast enough and get it pointed in the direction of a bear, it would likely just get caught in its fur and break your wrist as it ripped it out of your hand. And lets say you get lottery-winning-lucky, and it pierces the skin. THEN, you have to make it through about TWO FEET of muscle, bone, and sinew to reach the vitals, especially in a head-on attack. Carry bear spray.
Even here in the US, where I can carry my Glock 29, I still carry bear spray (at least in brown bear country). If I'm in black bear country, I just carry my Glock. However, in black bear territory, I carry the Glock just because I ALWAYS carry (it's not 100% for the bears). Black bears are usually pretty easy to run off, unless they have cubs or food to defend, and even then, I've been able to run them off. Personally, for any species of bear, I think bear spray is the best option.
The best thing about bear spray, even here in the US where it's legal to carry a firearm, is that you can spray the bear spray to run off a curious but not yet aggressive bear without getting in trouble. If you discharge a firearm in a State/National Park, you better have been in real danger, or you're going to face some serious legal issues.