kurobe gorge scenic railway

I will be visiting Kanazawa in November and hope to make a day trip to Unazuki and take the scenic train to Kurobe Gorge. It is OK to buy tickets on the spot or is advanced reservation expected? How much time should I set aside for the end of the trip before heading back to Unazuki?

I also have considering visiting the railway in October. Have you seen the railway company website at: http://www.kurotetu.co.jp/en/index.html

On that website there is info about the tickets, and also a guide sights and facilities along the railway, so you can plan how much time to reserve for staying at Keyakidaira.

I've heard that the trains might be quite crowded on weekends during fall foliage season. But on November the season might already be over.

Thanks. I visited the website and information is very helpful. As I am living outside Japan, and the ticket reservation is only possible within Japan, I have scheduled my visit to a weekday, hopefully not too crowded. Hope you have a good trip!

This looks very interesting, but I am wondering how to get from Kanazawa or Toyama to Unazuki, I mean, on the map of the website, it seems that there is no railway between Toyama and Unazuki??

From Toyama, you can take Hakutaka Ltd Express to Uozu then walk to the nearby Shinuozu station and take Toyama Chiho Railroad Express to Unazuki Onsen Station. The entire journey is about 1 hour. I got the information from Hyperdia website.