Visit Kyoto, Osaka, Nara and Kobe for 5 to 7 days sample itinerary

4 to 6 days
Fushimi Inari shrine is most popular spot in Kyoto in these days. ©Kyoto Convention Bureau /©JNTO
Yasaka shrine in Kyoto Higashiyama area. ©JNTO
Yasaka shrine in Kyoto Higashiyama area. ©JNTO

I have received inquiries about the trip to Kansai area many times. So I make a basic itinerary that includes Kansai area, such as Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe and Nara only. This is 7 days itinerary. But you can shorten or extend as you can.

Now I would like to tell you the best route and most economical deals about this trip.

Day 1 – Kansai airport (KIX) to Kyoto

Central exit of Kyoto station. (C) JP Rail
Central exit of Kyoto station. (C) JP Rail

Kansai One Pass and Haruka one way trip to Kyoto at 4,600 yen.
Overnight around JR Kyoto station

If you arrive in Kyoto early, you can visit somewhere around Kyoto station. Fushimi Inari is only 5 minutes away from Kyoto station. Kyoto Tower is just located in front of Kyoto station. You can use Kansai One Pass to get there.

Day 2 and 3 – Sightseeing in Kyoto

Togetsukyo bridge in Arashiyama, Kyoto. ©Yasufumi Nishi/©JNTO
Togetsukyo bridge in Arashiyama, Kyoto. ©Yasufumi Nishi/©JNTO

There are several deals available. I recommend you to use both Kansai One Pass and Kyoto City Bus Pass. Kansai One Pass covers city bus too but Kansai One Pass does not give you unlimited travel. It offers only convenience. On the other hand, Kyoto City Bus Pass is sold at 600 yen for one day. You can take a bus as many as you want. You can get the worth of it by only 3 rides. You can use Kansai One Pass only for taking a train and/or a subway.

Kyoto City Bus and Subway Pass (Kyoto Sightseeing Card) is also available. But this does not cover other railways, such as JR, Hankyu, Keihan railways. You will take various trains in Kyoto. Please see the link below to find the train route in Kyoto:

Kyoto train guide

You can get anywhere in downtown Kyoto by bus. It is possible to visit all places only by city bus. However city bus is always crowded and the traffic in Kyoto has been very heavy in these days. I recommend you to take a train or a subway as much as you can.

Kansai One Pass and Bus Pass are the best combination for sightseeing in Kyoto, in my opinion.

Day 4 – Trip to Nara and transfer to Osaka

Todai-ji temple in Nara  	©Nara Prefecture/©JNTO
Todai-ji temple in Nara ©Nara Prefecture/©JNTO


Visit Nara on the way to Namba, Osaka from Kyoto.

You can take either Kintetsu Railway or JR to get Nara. Both trains depart from Kyoto station. But Kintetsu railway’s Nara station is better location. It is 1 km closer to most of tourist spots in Nara than JR Nara station.

After Nara, you can take either JR or Kintetsu to get Osaka. Please see the link below to find the route to Nara:

Nara access guide

Day 5 – Trip to Kobe and Himeji from Osaka

There are lots of castles in Japan. But Himeji castle is one of four existing original catle buildings. (C) JNTO
There are lots of castles in Japan. But Himeji castle is one of four existing original catle buildings. (C) JNTO

You may use JR Kansai Area Pass one day at 2,200 yen if you book it online in advance. If you buy it online, you have to exchange the pass at Shin-Osaka, Osaka, Kyoto or Kansai airport.

JR West Pass official site

You can purchase this pass at many major stations in downtown Osaka but the price is a bit higher. There is other trains to Kobe and Himeji, like Hanshin railway. But JR is the fastest to get Himeji. Please see the post, How to access to Himeji and Kobe from Osaka to get the details.

Day 6 – Sightseeing in Osaka

Dotonbori is very popular place to eat and shop near Namba. ©Osaka Convention & Tourism Bureau/©JNTO
Dotonbori is very popular place to eat and shop near Namba. ©Osaka Convention & Tourism Bureau/©JNTO

There are lots of deals available in Osaka. Please see the link below to find the deal:

How to choose the pass for sightseeing in Osaka

Day 7 – Osaka to Kansai airport (KIX)

If you want to take Haruka again, you can purchase Haruka discount ticket. This discount ticket is available for overseas tourist who has ICOCA or Kansai One Pass only.

ICOCA and Haruka, Kansai One Pass and Haruka

Otherwise you can choose other deal in the link below:

How to choose the deal for trip to/from KIX

I hope this sample helps you to build your trip plan.

Comments

  1. Ricky says:

    Hi Takeshi-san,

    I would be travelling on budget on Feb 23 (3 person group) for 9 days 8 nights from Tokyo to Kansai Area before heading back to Tokyo to catch my flight at Narita Airport.

    My itinerary
    Day 1: Narita Airport to Tokyo station via J-bus, follwed by an overnight Willer express bus from Tokyo station to Osaka Umeda Station.
    Day 2: Osaka Umeda Station to Koyasan utilizing my 3 days Kansai Thru pass. I will be having a night Shukubo at Koyasan btw (Day 1 usage).
    Day 3: Koyasan to Osaka (1 day tour) paying single fare trip to Osaka, then commence utilizing Osaka Amazing 1 day pass for Osaka city tour.
    Day 4: Osaka to Kobe (1 day tour) using Kansai thru pass (Day 2 usage)
    Day 5: Osaka to Kyoto (1 day tour) using Kansai thru pass (Day 3 usage). Overnight travel via Willer express bus from Kyoto to Shinjuku.
    Day 6 – 8: Tokyo tour utilizing 3 days JR Tokyo wide pass.
    Day 9: Tokyo Station to Narita Airport via J-bus.

    Based on the above itinerary,
    1)Is this considered a cheaper alternative compared to getting the 7 days JR nationwide pass?
    2)Did I missed out any miscellaneous transportation cost?
    3)For Day 3, What is the recommended route to take from Koyasan to Osaka for single trip?
    4) Which station vicinity do you recommend to get a hotel/apartment for my itinerary in Kansai to save travelling time?

    Cheers.

  2. Nunilon Sy says:

    Hello Takeshi-san,

    Is it possible to cram Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe in only three days? My itinerary is ff:
    1. Arrive KIX evening, hotel check-in in Osaka.
    2. DAY 1: Tour Osaka
    3. DAY 2: Train to Kyoto and Tour Kyoto, back to Osaka
    4. DAY 3: Train to Kobe and Tour Kobe, back to Osaka
    5. DAY 4: Depart KIX in the afternoon.
    What passes should I purchase?
    Domo arigato gozaimasu.

    Sincerely,
    Nuni

  3. Moises says:

    Dear Takeshi-San,
    We are planning a 7-day trip to Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo.
    Arriving Kansai 8pm. Below is our planned itinerary:
    Day2: Sightseeing Osaka
    Day3: Sightseeing Kyoto
    Day4: Early morning Off to Tokyo by JR Train
    Sightseeing Tokyo
    Day5: Lake Kaguchi-ko; Fuji; Gotemba?
    Day6: Sightseeing; Shopping in Tokyo
    Day7: Off to Narita for 11:30am flight

    With this itinerary, what mode of transport can you recommend?

  4. Raymond says:

    Hi Takeshi

    I am doing a 7 day trip around the Kansai area and am basically following the above itineray. Do you think I will save any money by buying a 1 way ICOCA and Haruka ticket instead of round trip and take the Nankai railway deal, Rapi:t Tokuwari Ticket to KIX from Namba?

    Also, I am staying near the Gojo (五条) station in Kyoto and near Nippombashi (日本橋) Station in Osaka. Can these use the ICOCA card?

    • Hi Raymond,

      That’s right. You can use ICOCA and Haruka one way to Kyoto. And Nankai railway is better choice to get KIX than Haruka. You can use ICOCA to get Namba from Nippombashi by ICOCA. You also can use ICOCA from Kyoto to Gojo.

      Cheers,

      Takeshi / JPRail.com

  5. Maria says:

    Dear Takeshi-san,

    May I ask for your insight on my trip to Osaka ?
    We have booked an airbnb in Abeno ward, Bishoen which is near Koboregushi station (I will refer to this as home from this point on)

    Day 1
    Arrive at Kansai International Airport at 7:55 PM
    to Home
    to Dontonburi
    [Do you think there will still be time (and trains) that will head to Namba station after we have checked in at approximately 10PM?)

    Day 2
    HOME to Day trip/ Sightseeing in OSAKA and back to HOME

    Day 3
    HOME to Day trip KYOTO and back to HOME

    Day 4
    HOME to Day trip KYOTO and back to HOME

    Day 5
    HOME to Kansai International Airport


    In addition, we are thinking of just buying a round trip Haruka pass to save time travelling to and from the airport. I am concerned about the expenses going to and from our home to Osaka and Kyoto for sightseeing

  6. Stephanie says:

    Dear Takeshi san,

    For the Haruka and ICOCA round trip ticket, is it correct that I can use Haruka directly from Kansai Airport to Kyoto and from Osaka back to Kansai Airport?

    Thank you.

    Stephanie.

  7. vivian says:

    Hi, on my third day in kyoto, im only planning to go to arashiyama, then to osaka after that. which pass do you recommend me to take? thanks! 🙂

  8. Miyeko says:

    Hello there! I’d like to thank you in advance for taking your time in reading and answering my questions.

    1) How do I decide between taking the Kansai Thru Pass and the Icoca & Haruka (main concerns are maybe which is more budget friendly or time friendly)?

    I’ll be doing a 14D trip to Japan, where the first week mostly covers the Kansai region. If you could kindly take a look at my itinerary, it goes something like this. I’d appreciate your input and adjustments to improve the itinerary too!

    D1 KIX-Osaka

    D2-5 Osaka-Kyoto-sidetrips
    2) I plan to include daytrip to maybe Nara on the fifth day. Would you recommend anywhere else?

    D6 & D7 Kyoto- Himeji – Miyajima

    3) Here I’m not sure whether the plan is feasible. It’d be nice if you could offer your input on this. I’d also like to activate my 7D JR Pass from Miyajima to Tokyo.

    D8-12 Tokyo + sidetrips
    Sidetrips include Nikko and Hakone.

    4) Here I wonder if the JR Pass would be sufficient to cover most of Tokyo and the sidetrips? Or if I’d need to consider the Suica.

    D13 Tokyo-Kyoto

    5)Up to D13, my travels should be covered by the JR Pass? I’d be interested in another stop before Kyoto. But I’m just not clear yet. My research is not as extensive as I’d hope.

    D14 Kyoto-KIX
    Either with the Icoca&Haruka or Kansai Thru Pass.

    I based my itinerary on a sample itinerary on japan-guide.
    But obviously I have a lot of concerns and questions that require direct answers, preferably from one person.
    Thank you once again for your time and answers.

  9. Regina says:

    Dear Takeshi-san,
    Im planning a 13 days trips to Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo. I will be arriving Osaka, KIX 07:00AM on 16 Apr 2017 and leaving from Tokyo, HND 10:30AM on 30 Apr 2017.

    I plan to visit the following places:
    16th: Osaka City
    17th: Osaka City
    18th: Himeji and Kobe
    19th: Nara and Yoshino
    20th: Mt. Koyo
    21th: Kyoto
    22th: Kyoto
    23-30th: Tokyo Area

    Do you think this itinerary will cover most of the places i want to visit ? And which passes do you reccomend me for my trip ? For would you reccommend 7 days in Kansai and 6 days in Tokyo instead ? I would prefer to have a more relaxed trip, do not want to cramp too much activities in one day. Thank you !

  10. Vighas says:

    Dear Takeshi San,

    I have booked first 3 day hotel stay in Kyoto and from Day 4 to 8 in Osaka. Kindly let me know if the below train passes are okay or if anything is unnecessary like use ICOCA for a day somewhere. Prefer faster travel via JR trains, appreciate your assistance.

    Itinerary
    =========
    Day 1 Reach Kyoto(Near Yamashina Station) ard 12:30 from KIX Airport and Sight see in the evening
    Day 2 Kyoto Sight seeing
    Day 3 Nara day trip from Kyoto
    Day 4 Kyoto to Kobe & Himeji, Himeji to Osaka (JR Imamiya Station)
    Day 5 Mt.Koya day trip from Osaka and return in the evening
    Day 6 Osaka Sight seeing
    Day 7 Osaka Sight seeing
    Day 8 Reach Airport from Osaka and flight at 11:00 AM

    Train passes
    ============
    Day 1 Haruka & ICOCA card (one way) + Kyoto Sight seeing 2 day pass
    Day 2 Kyoto Sight seeing 2 day pass
    Day 3 Kansai Wide Area pass 2 day
    Day 4 Kansai Wide Area pass 2 day
    Day 5 Koyasan world Heritage ticket
    Day 6 Osaka Amazing 2 day pass
    Day 7 Osaka Amazing 2 day pass
    Day 8 Buy Haruka from Osaka to KIX

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