Bus from Akita to Noshiro

Hello everyone,

I see there's a long-distance coach from Akita to Noshiro and it doesn't mention anything about luggage. Seeing how I'll be travelling with my suitcase and backpack I want to make sure I won't be denied boarding when bringing my suitcase? Anyone done the trip or know anything about it. I know that the other option would be to just take the local train lines..

Kind regards

From the official website: Luggage pieces larger than carry-on size, heavier than 10kg or longer than 1 meter should not be brought onto the bus, and a delivery service should be used instead.
https://shuhokubus-gr.co.jp/express/noshiroakita.html

Hm, sh*t... I've never used luggage forwarding services before. Do you think it's possible for my suitcase to make it to Noshiro on the same day? Or would it at least def. make it if I sent it off the night before?

Delivery is next-day:
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2278.html

Why don't you take the train?

I wanted to keep the trip as smooth as possible BECAUSE of my luggage, so when I found this connection that'd require me to transfer only once, I was delighted.

The non-stop train connection from Akita is the Shirakami Resort, which requires reservations. I'll pick up my rail pass on 10/2 for activation on 10/6 and considering it's koyo season, I doubt I'll get a reservation on the non-stop train from Akita to Noshiro if I reserve it as late as 10/2, but will instead have to take the train to Higashi-Noshiro and then transfer to Noshiro from there; not the end of the world, but I'd rather have it convenient.

What pass are you getting? Can't you make online reservations 30 days in advance when you buy one of the JR East regional passes? The Resort Shirakami should be covered by the pass. If you try as soon as reservations open for the day you want, you can probably get a seat. (Although I don't have first-hand experience, from what I hear this train is not nearly as hard to book as some other popular trains in areas of Japan that have more tourists.)

This assume you buy the pass from the official JR East site and not a third-party agency like Klook or JTB.

If you buy a nationwide pass you can definitely make reservations 30 days in advance, although not through the JR East reservation site.

Yes, I'll get the nationwide pass. Will book it thru Japan Rail Pass net (or sth like that, the official website), but can't purchase it earlier than a month in advance. And it also said I can only activate it once inside Japan (ie landing in Narita and getting it activated there and then at the airport station). It's my umpteenth trip to Japan, but my first time getting a rail pass (and maybe using luggage forwarding service) lol. Everything I know about the rail pass comes from ChatGPT, which is super off about fares, so idk whether to trust it fully.

Buy the pass online, book the train with Eki-net one month in advance. Personally I do not think you will have too much trouble getting seats.
As for some random AI assistant - do some real research, and come back here for advice if you have questions. AI models are great at making up random s**t - I've seen that twice in the last week on my internet search results with the "helpful" summaries that were false/fake.
I don't remember how many times I have done the resort train to/from Atami oer the last decade, but I will be doing it again in a couple of weeks and again later this year.

If you buy the nationwide JR pass through the official site, you can make reservations online up to 30 days in advance! You do NOT have to wait until you get to Japan or until you collect the physical pass. (I�fm not sure if you can even use ekinet for making reservations. But there is no reason to.) Once you buy the pass you will have access to a dedicated online interface that allows you to book, cancel, and change reservations, and it keeps track of all of your reservations for you. I have purchased the nationwide pass and used the booking system on four trips in the last two years, and it all went without a hitch. That said, I suppose there is some slight chance the Resort Shirakami could get booked out even if you try at the earliest possible time. It isn�ft very likely, though.

Get your information about the nationwide pass at
https://japanrailpass.net/en/

Thank you! That at least gives me hope I have a chance at taking the easy connection and if anything fails I'll just send my luggage up to Noshiro, hoping it'll make it lol!

From Akita to noshiro, you need
1200 yen, 75 minutes

If the train ticket fails I would not �ghope�h tgat the luggage makes it but ensure it. Sending the evening before is likely too late. Ask at Kuroneko but I think at least the morning on the day before your arrival or even one more day before. You could potentially send you big luggage to your following destination and just put stuff in your backpack if your stay in Noshiro is 1 night only.

The bus company replied to my email:

"Regarding your inquiry bringing luggage onto the Noshiro ExpresswayLine,
We can store items that cannot be brought onto the train in the trunk,
So that is no problem."

So for anyone planning to do the same trip and running into the same problem, this is the official answer. I did, however, reach out again because I'm confused as to why they'd say "train" instead of "bus", just to make sure they understood me correctly.

Thanks for the useful update!
I am wondering why on earth would they not mention the trunk on their website...