Originally Posted by
dontsh00t
Taking the 8.30pm bus means I'll reach Hakuba around the same time as the Jamjam bus - it just means a total of 1+ hours milling around Narita/Tokyo JR/Nagano JR with my luggage. I suppose I could find something to do at Tokyo/Nagano stations, but
If you do decide to go down this route, just be aware that Nagano basically shuts down after dinner. You won't have much to do after dinner besides walking around some shops that happen to open late/supermarkets/Don Quijote.