Unreserved buses from Shirakawago to Kanazawa

Hi all,

I just booked 2 tickets from Kanazawa to Shirakawago for 14 April almost 1 month in advance, without any issue. However already the return buses to Kanazawa for that afternoon appear to be booked up, there is one bus showing 2 seats left, but it won't allow me to book them. Is it possible to get an afternoon bus from Shirakawago to Kanazawa without a reservation if you are willing to line up at the stop 20-30 minutes before the bus departure time?

It seems to imply this on the Nohi bus website on this main page, but then on another page it says that all buses that stop in both Shirakawago and Kanazawa are "express buses" and must be reserved in advance: https://www.nouhibus.co.jp/route_bus/takayama-shirakawago-line-en/#tim...

I don't want to take the chance of getting stranded in Shirakawago - should I just call the Nohi bus reservation center and see what's going on?

Are there any other options, apart from getting a bus?

Thanks for any insights and help!

On the Nohi bus timetable page, all buses between Kanazawa and Shirakawa-go are marked as "Reservation required". The few "non-reserved" buses run between Takayama and Shirakawa-go.

The only option I see, if you don't manage to book a seat for Kanazawa, is to return to Takayama and take a train to Kanazawa.

For April the 14th,
currently this bus bound for Toyama Station seems to have more vacant seats.
Shirakawa-go (Ogimachi) {14:10} -> {15:30} Toyama Station
: 2400 yen (per adult).
https://japanbusonline.com/en/Detail/11900040002/0/4212032/4162027/


Toyama {15:55} [HAKUTAKA 565] {16:17} Kanazawa
by Hokuriku Shinkansen
: 2860 yen (per adult) without seat reservation.
: 3390 yen (per adult) with you seat reserved.

Toyama {16:02} [Local] {16:59} Kanazawa
by Ainokaze Toyama Railway + IR Ishikawa Railway
: 1290 yen (per adult).

Oh, good point by @omotenashi! If you can go to Toyama from Shirakawa-go, that would be much more efficient than backtracking to Takayama.

If possible, I would seriously look into renting a car for a day in Kanazawa. Then you wont get stranded but more importantly you can also visit Ainokura or Gokayama instead of Shirakawago, similar villages with considerably less tourists, because harder to reach.

Just in case you get "stranded" in Shirakawago, note that there are also local buses (that don't require reservations) to Takaoka: https://www.japan-guide.com/bus/gokayama.html