Alpine route ticket day fixed and guaranteed?

Hello,

I'm going to Japan next week and plan to do the Tateyama-Kurobe Alpine Route.
I see tickets for tourists at http://www.jrtateyama.com/e/ but they can be bought only in Japan so I am expecting to do that when landing at Narita, however two points are not clear:

- when buying the ticket do I have to choose then a specific date, or is it an open ticket to be used at any date?
- I see also tickets being sold at https://tateyama-kurobe.alpen-route.com/en/; availabilities to do the route seems low, so when buying the tourist ticket at Narita I am guaranteed to be able to ride all the transports on a given day? If not, should I buy a ticket in advance through second link or what can I do to increase my chances to be able to do the route?

I land at Narita on the 12th, and plan to do the Alpine Route on the 21st of May.

Thanks in advance for all your help and advices.

Hi Patrick M.

I did the alpine route on 22 April.
I purchased my ticket (http://www.jrtateyama.com/e/) at Kyoto Station and was asked to specify a date. The ticket will be valid 5 days from the date you specify.

I too had the same concern with you about availability of seats on all transportation as i was going on the first Sunday the route is open.
Most people would start from Tateyama Station to the snow wall. My initial plan was the same but i read that waiting time for the cable car can be 2 hours, so i changed my plan and started from Nagano station. Didnt have to wait too long for the rides. At most 45 mins. I started my journey early.

Thanks for this information. I was indeed planning to go from Toyama to Nagano. Do you think the reverse is less crowded?
I plan to be at Kyoto on the night after it, so it might have more sense to start from Nagano.

I would think starting from Nagano will be less crowded than starting from Toyama/Tateyama station

A lot of tour groups start from Tateyama Station. A few tour groups only from Ogizawa station, the first point after the bus ride from Nagano station