Kurobe Gorge Railway

Hi,

I will be travelling to Kurobe Gorge on 13th Nov '13. Will it be very crowded?

I intend to go from (1)Unazuki Station to Keyakidaira Station. After which, from (2)Keyakidaira Station to Kanetsuri Station. And lastly, from (3)Kanetsuri Station back to Kanetsuri Station.

For the 3 trips, is it possible to make advance reservation at JTB?

Or perhaps I can purchase them at the various station that I am departing from?

I will be travelling to Kurobe Gorge on 13th Nov '13. Will it be very crowded?

Especially if the weather is good, Ithink it could be quite crowded. But since it is a regular weekday, I don't think it will be extreme.

For the 3 trips, is it possible to make advance reservation at JTB? Or perhaps I can purchase them at the various station that I am departing from?

There is quite a bit of explanation about the tickets here:
http://www.kurotetu.co.jp/en/ticket/index.html

Hi Uji,

Thanks.

So I would be able to reserve the Railway ticket at any JTB within Tokyo?

The page states:

Passengers may also purchase tickets from a travel agency such as JTB and Kinki Nippon Tourist Company.

So, yes, it sounds like it. Some travel agencies may not have English speakers, though.

I was there last November and it was *very* crowded, although it was a weekend. Very few people would use the midway stations, and the trains become full quickly, so be careful. Even just going from Unazuki to Keiyakidaira, a walk around, and then back, took me about a day.
Also have in mind that it will be quite cold up there and the travel with the open-car train is absolutely not as romantic as it looks on pics (at least in November). It takes 1.5 hours one way and everyone was freezing in the open cars. As the sun disappears behind the mountains early in the afternoon, it gets even colder and people (including me) queued to pay extra for the closed heated car on the way back.
But all in all, it's a fantastic experience, the place is marvellous, and I recommend it.

I was able to make an advance reservation thru JTB USA many years ago; they had the ticket delivered to my hotel. However I was unable to use it as all trains were canceled due to a sudden snowfall and this was in the first week of November.

Everyone,

Thanks for the info. I will try to make a reservation while I am in Tokyo. If not, then wish me luck :)