Hyperdia and Jorudan confusion etc

i will be leaving for Japan in a few days and have suddenly got nervous about doing a journey from from Hakuba to Kanazawa [via Minami-Otari and Itoigawa] on Tues Oct 21 starting at 8.54 am - it involves changing twice, i will be on my own and i dont speak any Japanese except for please, thank you etc

1 is there a way of finding out which platforms each of the trains will leave from? [but are the platform numbers in English as well?]

2 Is this route reliable? why doesn't Hyperdia show the same route that Jorudan does? Jorudan says change twice and arrive at 12.00 but Hyperdia says change 3 times and get there after 1pm

3 is there a place for luggage in each carriage that is not overhead?

i do not have a JR pass

thanks for any help on this

Rebecca

Hyperdia and Jorudan schedules can be different depending on which time of the day you enter, and also the type of trains you choose. We can't explain exactly the problems you have without knowing exactly what parameters you entered.
Choose only one of the 2 schedules to avoid confusion or read carefully the explanations on how to use their respective systems.
AS for platform numbers, there is no such a thing as English numbers. 1, 2,10 are Arabic numerals, used the world over. I, II, X are the same numbers in Roman numerals.

for some reason hyperdia isn`t picking up the hakutaka #4.

but if you change your input, you`ll see the same route is available.

depart: hakuba arrive: itoigawa

depart:itoigawa arrive: kanazawa.

hyperdia gives platform numbers (click the train with the I) but they aren`t always correct.

my best advice, have the route name & departure time written down. most stations have electronic departure boards that list the next 3 (or 5) departing trains & their platforms.

there generally aren`t luggage racks beyond the overhead. most people stand with their luggage or hold it in front of them if they get a seat.

thanks very much for the last 2 answers - really helpful [and much more related to my question than the semantics lesson that someone posted first!]

cheers
Rebecca