Matsumoto to Bessho Onsen

Hi. I’m travelling from Matsumoto station to Bessho Onsen.
I searched that I need to transfer line at Imai station. Do I need to buy separate tickets from Matsumoto station to Imai station then Imai station to Ueda station?
Thanks.

Yes, they are two separate railway companies, and you will need to purchase separate tickets.

Appreciate your fast response, Uji.
Just want to clarify, by getting another ticket means getting of my train at Imai station, exiting the platform and getting another ticket at Imai heading to Ueda?

I looked into it, but couldn't find a clear answer. If you were to travel in the opposite direction, it seems that you could buy a ticket from Ueda to Matsumoto via Shinonoi all the way, but I could not confirm whether it is possible to buy the ticket to Ueda via the Shinano Railway at Matsumoto Station. It may be possible, in which case you have to be careful to select the route via Shinanoi and the Shinano Railway rather than the all-JR route by shinkansen via Nagano. However, while the official Shinano Railway websites eplains that JR tickets can be purchased at some of their stations, they mention nothing about JR stations selling Shinano Railway tickets.

If it is not possible to buy the ticket at Matsumoto Station, then you would buy the ticket at Shinanoi Station. Or it may be possible to but them on board of the train from the conductor. When transferring at Shinanoi Station, note that you do not need to pass any ticket gates.

But if you were to buy the Shinano Railway tickets at Shinanoi Station you would have to exit and re-enter to ticket gates to buy the tickets.