Just a short note for taking the bus back to KMQ from Kanazawa.

There is a pretty easy website (needs registering) to purchase your ticket in advance: however, this does NOT guarantee one a seat: one 'activates' the ticket just before boarding and it then has a 90 minute validity. Alternatively, one can buy a ticket at Kanazaw station, or even just pay cash to the driver.

I had initially planned to get the bus that arrives ~60 minutes prior to my departure to HND since the bus stopped just outside my hotel, but in the end decided I was too risk averse and went for the one 45 minutes earlier, but this starts out at Kanazawa station. I arrived ~15 minutes before departure (which I thought was plenty of time given the efficiency of things Japanese) but found a long line at the bus stop ahead of me. Quite a few people arrived after me too, and I'm not 100% sure we all made it onto the bus: they used the fold-out aisle seats mentioned upthread to accommodate as many pax as possible.

Several of my colleagues just took a cab to KMQ (becomes reasonable if three or so folks, but bus still much cheaper at only Y1300), so one can imagine a scenario where one doesn't make it onto the bus is not unreasonable.

My recommendation, therefore if taking the bus _to_ the airport is to either plan on arriving at the stop rather early and be first in line, or plan to pad out with taking an earlier bus. As it happens, if I had taken the later bus, since my stop was _before_ the station, I don't think I would have had an issue getting a seat fwiw.

KMQ is a tiny airport and security etc takes a few moments only. There's nothing to do in the airport: there is a Sakura lounge for JL pax but it's only major convenience is plentiful AC sockets for charging phones/laptops (and rice crackers as snacks).

tb