Kanazawa to Gokayama to Shirakawa go to Takayama all in a day
Hello everyone,
I will be staying in Kanazawa a couple of days in June and I was planning to leave the city to visit both Gokayama and Shirakawa go during the day and reach Takayama in the evening where I'll be at for another couple of days. I was trying to book the buses between these stops but I have a question.
Currently I'm using japanbusonline.com and I found the Takayama/Shirakawa-go-Takaoka/Toyama/Kanazawa Line. The issue is that it says that I have to book a ticket for every stop I make on the way, so 3 total tickets. I can easily find the Kanazawa-Gokayama (Suganuma) bus and the Shirakawa go - Takayama one but I'm having issues with the transportation between Gokayama and Shirakawa go.
I can see for example on the Japan guide website that there is a bus between Suganuma (Gokayama) and Ogimachi (Shirakawa go), but seat reservations are not possible. Could it be that on the day I go to Gokayama, I buy a ticket there for the bus for Shirakawa go but can't get on it because it's too crowded? Does anyone have any experience with this itinerary and can help me select the best option?
On a secondary note, any idea how much time does it take to visit Suganuma and Shirakawa go?
I much rather prefer to take my time to visit less crowded places on my own pace than spending a lot of time between lots of tourists, even in gorgeous places, that's why I really want to visit the villages in Gokayama, hoping I will find less people there.
Thanks to everyone that will help me with these doubts!