How to choose discount railway ticket and pass for the trip in Kansai area

Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe and Nara
Katsura river in Arashiyama, Kyoto is very popular in Spring and Fall. ©Yasufumi Nishi/© JNTO
2011.11.27
Dotonbori (道頓堀) is one of the popular spot around Osaka Namba area. ©JNTO
Dotonbori (道頓堀) is one of the popular spot around Osaka Namba area. ©JNTO

There are JR lines and lots of private railway lines, such as Hankyu, Hanshin, Kintetsu and Keihan in Kansai area. There are so many kinds of ticket or passes as well. It makes you confused to choose it.

In this post, I would like to share the information about the discount tickets and passes that cover Kansai area.

Kansai Thru Pass

  • Online purchasing price (2-day) – Adult : 4,300 yen / Child : 2,150 yen
  • Online purchasing price (3-day) – Adult : 5,300 yen / Child : 2,650 yen
  • Coverage – All Non JR lines, subway lines and city bus in whole part of Kansai area
  • Valid period – 2 or 3 days (not required using in consecutive days)

This is the most recommend one. This pass includes all major private lines and subway lines, such as Hankyu, Hanshin, Keihan, Kintetsu, Nankai, Osaka Metro and Kyoto Subway. You can access Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Nara, Himeji, Mt. Koya, Kansai airport, Wakayama and many more place. This pass is sold at 5,300 yen for 3-days and 4,300 yen for 2 days. It gives you the greatest value in any railway pass of Kansai area. But if you think about only round trip between Kyoto and Osaka, the regular fare may be cheaper. Please see the details at the post in the link below:

How to use Kansai Thru Pass. Compare pass and single fare.
Kansai thru pass is one of the best option to travel in Kansai area, such as Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, Nara, Himeji, Wakayama, Koyasan. This post shows you how to use this pass.
jprail.com
2012.10.07

JR West Rail Pass – Kansai Area Pass

  • Price (1-day) – Adult : 2,200 yen / Child : 1,100 yen
  • Price (2-day) – Adult : 4,300 yen / Child : 2,150 yen
  • Price (3-day) – Adult : 5,300 yen / Child : 2,650 yen
  • Price (4-day) – Adult : 6,300 yen / Child : 3,150 yen
  • Coverage – All JR railway lines in whole part of Kansai area
  • Valid period – 1 to 4 days (midnight to midnight)
Limited Express Haruka connects Kansai airport and Kyoto via Tennoji and Shin-Osaka. This is covered by Kansai area pass.
Limited Express Haruka connects Kansai airport and Kyoto via Tennoji and Shin-Osaka. This is covered by Kansai area pass.

This pass includes most of JR lines in Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, Kobe, Himeji and Kansai airport. But the Shinkansen and all express trains are not covered except Kansai airport express “Haruka”. Please see the details about this pass in the link below:

How to use JR West Kansai Area Pass. Compare pass and single fare.
This posts explains you how to use Kansai Area Pass. It is one of JR West rail passes and it covers whole part of Kansai area.
jprail.com
2012.10.19

Hankyu Tourist Pass one day and two days

  • Price (1-day) – Adult : 700 yen / Child:Not available
  • Price (2-day) – Adult : 1,200 yen / Child:not available
  • Coverage – All Hankyu railway lines
  • Valid period – one day (midnight to midnight) and two days (must be used in consecutive days)

Hankyu Railway operates trains among Umeda (Osaka), Takarazuka, Kawaramachi (Kyoto near Gion), Arashiyama (Kyoto) and Kobe (Sannomiya). The price of this deal is very attractive to cover three cities, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe. If you access to Kobe-Sannomiya from Umeda, single fare is 320 yen. If you access to Kyoto-Kawaramachi from Umeda, single fare is 400 yen. You can get the worth of one day pass by one round trip to Kyoto-Kawaramachi from Umeda. If you look for deal to access to just Kobe, Arashiyama and Gion area, this is a good choice.

But if you want to visit all part of Kyoto and many places in Kobe, Kansai Thru Pass is better choice. Because you have to take other train or bus than Hankyu Railway. Kansai Thru Pass covers all.

Please see the link below to find more information:

Hankyu Railway official site- Hankyu Tourist Pass

Kyoto-Osaka Sightseeing Pass one day and two days

  • Price (1-day) – Adult : 700 yen / Child : 350 yen
  • Price (2-day) – Adult : 1,000 yen / Child : 700 yen
  • Coverage – All Keihan railway lines
  • Valid period – one day (midnight to midnight) and two days (must be used in consecutive days)

Keihan Railway connects Yodoyabashi (Osaka) and Demachiyanagi (Kyoto). It covers Kyoto and Osaka only but the price is cheaper than Hankyu Tourist Pass. And many places in Kyoto are located along Keihan Railway. Fushimi Inari shrine, Uji, Kiyomizu-dera temple and many places in Higashiyama area can be accessed from Keihan Railway stations.

This pass has same issue as Hankyu Tourist Pass. You may have to take subway to get Keihan Railway station in Osaka, such as Yodoyabashi, Nakanoshima, Kitahama, Temmabashi and Kyobashi. And when you visit western part of Kyoto, such as Arashiyama, Kinkaku-ji temple, you have to pay extra to access this place. Kansai Thru Pass may be better choice if you have another trip(s).

Please see the link below to find more information about Kyoto-Osaka Sightseeing Pass:

Keihan Railway official site – Kyoto-Osaka Sightseeing Pass

Kintetsu Rail Pass one day and two days

  • Price (1-day) – Adult : 1,500 yen / Child : 750 yen
  • Price (2-day) – Adult : 2,500 yen / Child : 1,250 yen
  • Coverage – All Keihan railway lines
  • Valid period – one day (midnight to midnight) and two days (must be used in consecutive days)

This deals covers Kintetsu Railway in Osaka, Kyoto and Nara.

In Nara, many of places can be accessed by walk from the station. But this deal can take you to Kyoto station only You cannot use this deal to access to most of places in Kyoto.

Please see the link below to find more information about Kintetsu Rail Pass:

Kintetsu Railway official site – Kintetsu Rail Pass

Hanshin Tourist Pass

  • Price – Adult:700 yen / Child:Not available
  • Coverage – All Hanshin railway lines
  • Valid period – one day (midnight to midnight)

Hanshin Railway operate trains among Umeda (Osaka), Osaka-Namba, Kousoku-Kobe and Kobe (Sannomiya). The price of this deal is very attractive. If you access to Kobe-Sannomiya from Osaka-Nmaba, single fare is 410 yen. It is paid off by just one round trip. If you look for deal to access to just Kobe, this is the one for your trip.

However if you access to Arima-Onsen and/or Himeji, Kansai Thru Pass or Kansai Area Pass may be better choice.

Please see the link below to find more information about Hanshin Tourist Pass:

Hanshin Railway official site – Hanshin Tourist Pass

Kansai Wide Area Pass

Kyushu Shinkansen Sakura and Mizuho give you direct trainsfer to Shin-Osaka from Kyusyu.
All Shinkansen trains non reserved seat on Sanyo Shinkansen are covered by this deal.

If you may travel both inside and outside of Kansai area, Kansai Wide Area Pass is the best choice. You can get same coverage as Kansai area pass in Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Kobe, Himeji and Wakayama. And also this pass covers Kinosaki Onsen, Shirahama, Kii-Katsuura, Shingu, Okayama, Kurashiki and even Takamatsu in Shikoku. You can take non reserved seat on limited express trains and Sanyo Shinkansen between Shin-Osaka and Okayama. Please find more information in the post below:

Kansai WIDE Area Pass user guide. The best deal for the traveler who want to travel Kansai and surrounding areas, such as Okayama, Kurashiki, Kinosaki and Kumano.
Kansai Wide Area Pass offers bigger coverage area than Kansai Area Pass. This pass covers Kansai area and surrounding places, such as Kinosaki, Kurashiki, Okayama, Kii-Katsuura. Please find the details about Kansai Wide Area Pass in this post.
jprail.com
2012.04.26

ICOCA and Kansai One Pass

ICOCA is most popular IC card in Kansai area. (C) タンジェント (own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
ICOCA is most popular IC card in Kansai area. (C) タンジェント (own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

You may use these cards to take any trains and buses in all Kansai area. You can use even other area’s card, such as Suica, Pasmo too. These cards give you convenience. You can avoid to purchase a ticket whenever you make a train trip. You can take any kinds of trains, such as JR, subway and Non JR trains. However these cards do not give you any discount and unlimited ride.

If you meet these following things, IC card is your choice.

1. You intend to visit a few places in a day.
2. You need to take several kinds of trains and buses, like subway, Hankyu, Keihan, JR.
3. You cannot fix your plan and want to have some flexibility.

However if you have day trip to other cities, such as day trip to Kyoto from Osaka, Kansai Thru Pass or Kansai Area Pass is better choice in most of cases.

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Hotels in Kyoto
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Kansai One Pass

This is same type of card as ICOCA. You can use this pass by same way as ICOCA. But this card is designed for overseas tourist. Preload amount is 2,500 yen (plus 500 yen deposit and sold at 3,000 yen) and you can get discount at many attractions. ICOCA is sold at any JR stations throughout Kansai area. But Kansai One Pass is sold in the designated stations only. Please see the link below to find the detailed information at official site.

Kansai One Pass official site

For traveler who use national or regional pass

If you use JR pass (national pass) or other regional deal, such as Kansai Hiroshima Area Pass, JR train network in Kansai area is covered. You may have same or better coverage than Kansai Wide Area Pass. If you use these passes, please try to use this pass as much as you can. I think you may add only city deal, such as bus pass in Kyoto.

For the traveler who stay in Kyoto or Osaka and visit inside city only

These above deals are too much for the city sightseeing only. You may find the deals in the links below:

How to choose the best train pass for sightseeing in Kyoto
How to choose the best train pass for sightseeing in Osaka

I hope you get the best deal in this post and enjoy your trip in Kansai area.

Comments

  1. Su says:
    February 11, 2015 at 10:58 pm

    Hi,

    I need some advice on the passes for the Kansai Region following this itinerary.
    My base is primarily in Osaka except for when I am at Kinosaki.
    Apart from Kinosaki, the other cities (listed below) are flexible depending on how best I can maximize the travel passes.

    Day 1: Arrive Kansai Intl Airport (arrival 10pm)
    Day 2: Osaka
    Day 3: Kobe
    Day 4: Osaka to Kinosaki Onsen Town (fixed)
    Day 5: Kinosaki Onsen Town (fixed)
    Day 6: Kinosaki Onsen Town to Osaka (fixed)/ Himeji
    Day 7: Yoshino
    Day 8: Nara
    Day 9: Kyoto
    Day 10: Kobe
    Day 11: Osaka
    Day 12: Kansai Intl Airport (8am flight)

    Appreciate your help, thanks.

  2. karly says:
    October 22, 2014 at 12:26 am

    Hello Takeshi !

    Good Afternoon!

    We are in group tour (11 people) to visit Kyoto and Osaka, can you advise which pass we should get for our trip below?

    12 Nov – (Arrival 12:10 Kansai Airport) and then train to Kyoto
    13 Nov – Kyoto
    14 Nov – Kyoto and then late afternoon trip to osaka
    15 Nov – Osaka
    16 Nov – Osaka
    17 Nov – Osaka (Depart 16:00)

  3. Jefferey says:
    October 20, 2014 at 3:16 am

    Hi,

    I would like to ask for advise if I pick the right pass for my itineraries below.

    Day 1 (Weds, 22 Oct): KIX -> Osaka -> Kobe (half day) > Osaka (ICOCA & Haruka)
    Day 2: Osaka (Osaka Amazing Pass)
    Day 3: Osaka (Osaka Amazing Pass)
    Day 4: Osaka -> Kyoto -> Uji -> Nara > Osaka (Kansai Thru Pass)
    Day 5: Osaka -> Miyama -> Amanohashidate -> Osaka (?)
    Day 6: Osaka (Osaka Amazing Pass)
    Day 7: Osaka (Osaka Amazing Pass)
    Day 8 (Weds, 29 Oct): Osaka -> KIX (ICOCA & Haruka)

    Also, any recommendation for a round trip between Osaka, Miyama and Amanohashidate?

    Thanks in advance

  4. Gigi says:
    October 2, 2014 at 1:45 am

    Hi, I will be staying in Osaka for 6 Day 5 Nights and I’m planning to have a day trip to Kyoto.
    my hotel in Osaka will be at Esaka area,

    1. Could you tell me the effective and cost saving way to go kyoto? should i purchase a day pass in Kyoto ?

    2. how much it will cost?
    4. Kansai Thru Pass or JR West Kansai Area Pass what do they covered? Subway and buses also can be used? is this pass can cover to go Kinkakuji & Arashiyama area?

    Thank you.

  5. Alex says:
    August 17, 2014 at 5:59 am

    Arrive at Kansai airport on Thur 11th.
    11th – Dec- 14 – Osaka
    12th – Dec- 14 – Osaka
    13th – Dec- 14 – Nara
    14th – Dec- 14 – Kyoto
    15th – Dec- 14 – Tokyo
    16th – Dec- 14 – Tokyo
    17th – Dec- 14 – Tokyo
    18th – Dec- 14 – Tokyo
    19th – Dec- 14 – Tokyo
    20th – Dec- 14 – Tokyo Depart Narita Airport

    We are getting a 7 day JP pass for the dates 14th-20th but wondered if you had any advice for travel around the Kansai areas we will do in the first 3 days.

    Thank you.

  6. Jade says:
    July 30, 2014 at 10:01 pm

    Hi Takeshi san

    Can you advise which pass we should get for our trip below? I am thinking to taking 7 Days Jr pass+ Haruka/Icoca package and 2 day Jr West pass.

    27 Nov – Kyoto
    28 Nov – Kyoto
    29 Nov – Kyoto / day trip Nara
    30 Nov – Kyoto / day trip Kobe
    1 to 3 dec – Osaka
    4 – Dec Takayama
    5-9 dec – Tokyo ( possible side trip to Yokohama)

    Thank you

    • Takeshi / JPRail says:
      July 30, 2014 at 10:16 pm

      Hi Jade,

      ICOCA and Haruka is a good choice. But Kansai Area Pass 2 days is doubtful.

      2 days pass 4110 yen
      Kyoto-Sannomiya round fare 2160 yen / Kyoto-Nara round trip fare 1420 yen

      I think one day pass for Kobe and single fare to Nara is better. Or Kobe is closer to Osaka than Kyoto. If you access to Kobe from Osaka, single fare (round trip 820 yen) is much cheaper than Kansai Area Pass one day.

      At last, if you use JR Pass for Osaka – Takayama – Tokyo, total single fare is slightly cheaper than JR Pass 7 days. But if you intend to visit somewhere outside of Tokyo or usign JR Pass to get Narita, JR Pass will be better deal.

      Cheers,

      Takeshi / JP Rail

  7. Pornpan Anstruther says:
    May 10, 2014 at 6:37 am

    26-Jul-14 Hakone – Matsumoto
    27-Jul-14 Matsumoto
    28-Jul-14 Matsumoto – Takayama
    29-Jul-14 Takayama
    30-Jul-14 Shirakawa- Kanazawa
    31-Jul-14 Kanazawa
    01-Aug-14 Kanazawa
    02-Aug-14 Kanazawa – Kyoto
    03-Aug-14 Kyoto
    04-Aug-14 Kyoto
    05-Aug-14 Kyoto
    06-Aug-14 Kyoto
    07-Aug-14 Kyoto
    08-Aug-14 Kyoto
    09-Aug-14 Kyoto – Mount Koya
    10-Aug-14 Osaka
    11-Aug-14 Osaka
    12-Aug-14 Osaka
    13-Aug-14 Leve Osaka Kansai for 10.45am
    Is there any suggestion on the transportation please.

  8. Jannie says:
    January 28, 2014 at 2:02 am

    Hi Takeshi,

    We arrive on febr. 28 in Kobe by cruiseship in Kobe. We arrive 12.00 and leave the next day on 18.00. We want to go to Kyoto on our self to visit some different spots. You think we can do that or is the timetable unregular? Is there a train station near the cruise terminal? Which railwaycompany is the best to choose?
    Thank you for the answer.

    Jannie

  9. Weiyen says:
    January 21, 2014 at 7:05 am

    Hi, I will have 1day 1 night in osaka and I’m planning to have Nara day trip if possible can I slot in osaka castle before that? Doable? Night time I Plan to go namba shinshabashi area. As for Nara, kintetsu train is recommended but is osaka unlimited pass 1 day encouraged? Since its charge 500yen extra, wat does that means?

    • JPRail says:
      January 21, 2014 at 10:34 pm

      Hi Weiyen,

      You can squeeze Osaka castle before/after trip to Nara.
      Sorry, I don’t understand what 5000 yen extra means. Osaka unlimited pass covers Kintetsu line, but it’s in downtown Osaka area only. You can’t use this for trip to Nara.

      Cheers,

      Takeshi / JP Rail

  10. Junjun Sarreal says:
    January 10, 2014 at 1:18 am

    Hi Takeshi-san,

    Me and my friends are arriving in Osaka on Feb 20, 2014. The following day (Feb 21, 2014), we plan to go to Kyoto the whole morning and spend the afternoon in Osaka. On Feb 22, 2014 morning we plan to go around Kobe and continue to sightseeing in Osaka again in the afternoon.

    Would you please recommend a discount railway / subway / bus pass that we could use to do all of the above? How much is the adult price of one pass?

    Thank you,

    Junjun

    • JPRail says:
      January 10, 2014 at 1:06 pm

      Hi Junjun,

      Maybe Kansai Thru Pass is your choice. But you have to make sure how much you will use subway in both Osaka and Kyoto.
      Kansai Thru Pass 2 days is sold at 3800 yen. But round trip to Kyoto from Osaka by Hankyu or Keihan is around 800 yen. So if you will take subway for more than 1100 yen worth, this pass will work. Otherwise single ticket will be your choice.

      By the way, half day in Kyoto is very difficult. I recommend you to spend at least one whole day.

      Cheers,

      Takeshi / JP Rail

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