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.

Find your hotels in 500 cities throughout Japan!!!

Hotels in Kyoto
Hotels in Osaka
Hotels in Kansai International Airport
Hotels in Nara
Hotels in Kobe

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. John says:
    September 27, 2015 at 5:29 am

    Hi Takeshi,

    Thank you for the information on the website. We would be really grateful for any advice you could give us on our itinerary, which is quite long and has made it difficult to decide on travel passes. We are in Japan for 17 days but only travelling for 7, all of which are non-consecutive:

    13th Oct – Kansai Airport to Kyoto
    15th – Kyoto to Arashiyama
    17th – Kyoto to Nara
    19th – Nara to Koyosan
    22nd – Koyosan to Tanabe
    26th – Hongu Taisha to Osaka
    29th – Osaka to Kansai Airport

    We also intend to use buses and subway around the cities and in the Kumano area. We’d appreciate any help you can suggest.

    Kind regards,

    John

  2. Bryan says:
    September 23, 2015 at 10:13 pm

    Hi Takeshi-san,

    Your website is very helpful, and I hope I can ask for your advice!

    I have a 3-week long stay in Japan, and this is my plan (outlining major travel routes)

    Day 1: Arrive NRT Airport, stay in Tokyo
    Day 2: Tokyo > Arima, stay in Kobe (〒652-0802)
    Day 3: Kobe > Himeji Castle > Kyoto. Stay in Kyoto (〒610-1142)
    Day 4: Kyoto (Arashiyama + Northern Kyoto)
    Day 5: Kyoto (Eastern Kyoto)
    Day 6: Kyoto (Southern Kyoto) > Osaka. Stay in Osaka (〒556-0002)
    Day 7: Osaka (Osaka Castle, Kaiyukan)
    Day 8: Osaka (箕面の滝, Shinsaibashi)
    Day 9: Osaka > Kawaguchiko
    … (Next 9 days: Hakone + Kawaguchiko + Tokyo)

    I have done a lot of research and determine JR Pass is not going to work for me, because shinkansen route for me will be Day 2 (Tokyo > Kobe), Day 3 (Himeji > Kyoto), and Day 9 (Osaka > Kawaguchiko)… meaning 7 day pass just missed by 1 day. I feel that regional JR passes won’t work for me either; not many destination in Osaka/Kyoto use JR.

    I have also map out every place I will visit, and the cost. Because I am in Kansai for 7 days, I thought of buying Kansai Thru Pass 2day/3day pass (3 day + 2 day + 2 day), but this seems very expensive. Maybe I need a combinatino of Kansai Thru Pass + local Osaka/Kyoto passes?

    I have a lot of places to go planned out already and notice many of my transport route uses local bus + local metro/subway/railway.

    Now I am just confused. haha.

    Your help would be greatly appreciated!
    Bryan

  3. Joy says:
    August 28, 2015 at 2:02 am

    Hi! Can you pls comment on this? We’ll be going to Japan on Oct24-Nov 3. Our accomodation in Tokyo is near Aoto while in Kansai is near Higashi-sano JR station (Osaka)

    Oct 24 – arrive at NRT, Asakusa, Ueno, Ameyoko
    Oct 25 – Tsukiji, Akihabara, Shinjuku
    Oct 26 – FUJI Q (use Qpack)
    Oct 27 – Disneysea
    Oct 28 – Hakone (use hakone freepass)
    Oct 29 – travel to osaka via shinkansen (my friends want to ride the bullet train), Namba, Himeji
    Oct 30 – USJ
    Oct 31 – Kyoto
    Nov 1 – Kyoto
    Nov 2 – Osaka, Koya-san
    Nov 3 – Osaka, flight back home from KIX

    From oct 24-26, we will use the Tokyo subway 3day ticket… My plan is to buy the shinkansen ticket separately then buy the 4day Kansai area pass.. I will not avail the 7 day JR pass.. What do you think? 🙂

    Thank you!

    • Takeshi / JPRail.com says:
      August 28, 2015 at 1:04 pm

      Hi Joy,

      You have done a great job. You have picked really good deals.
      But I would like to mention to you just one thing.

      If you take Shinkansen to Himeji from Tokyo and take one more time to go back to Shin-Osaka by Shinkansen, the cost is around 20000 yen. At this point, the difference between single fares and 7 days JR pass is about 9000 yen. You can take JR train to go to KIX by limited express Haruka. It costs around 2500 yen. You can take Shinkansen to get Odawara when you go to Hakone. You can save 1000 yen between Shnjuku departure and Odawara departure. But Hakone Free Pass does not include limited express charge. So you may save more if you intend to take Odakyu limited express.

      So in my opinion, JR Pass is better option for Oct 28 to the end. It may not give you a big saving, but it will give you more flexibility. It’s of course much easier to handle than single fare ticket.

      You may need to add subway fare or pass for Kyoto and Osaka. But you can take JR train among the cities.

      Cheers,

      Takeshi / JPRail.com

  4. Sheryl says:
    August 26, 2015 at 4:11 am

    Dear Takeshi,

    I will be heading to Japan for a 20-day trip in December 2015.
    Below is my itinerary:

    Day 1: Osaka Kansai Airport to Kyoto (Staying in Kyoto for the next 8 nights)
    Day 2-Day 8: Kyoto and day trips to Nara/Kobe/Osaka
    Day 9: Kyoto to Tokyo
    Day 10 – 13: Tokyo and day trip to Mt Fuji
    Day 14: Tokyo to Takayama
    Day 15-16: Takayama
    Day17: Takayama to Shirakawa-go (Nohi bus)
    Day 18: Shirakawa-go to Takayama (Bus) and back to Osaka
    Day 19: Osaka
    Day 20: To Kansai Airport

    Should I buy the Icoca and Haruka card to explore Kansai area from Day 1-8? I understand the round trip ticket is only valid for two weeks, hence I would not be able to use it for the trip back to Kansai Airport on the last day.

    Should I also get the JR pass for Kyoto to Tokyo and for exploring the rest of the trip?

    Not sure if my itinerary is the most cost-efficient in terms of planning for transport.Appreciate your advice. 🙂 Thanks!!!

  5. Kristi says:
    August 24, 2015 at 9:23 pm

    Thanks for the quick reply Takeshi.
    But the question is, will JR Kansai 3 days pass enough?
    Or do we still have to purchase Osaka eco card?
    Thanks.

  6. Kristi says:
    August 24, 2015 at 9:02 pm

    Hi Takeshi,
    Just wondering if you can help me with Osaka/Kansai travel.
    Here’s our itinerary for the first part of the trip:
    1. Arrive at Kansai airport at 9am – activate JR Kansai 3 days pass
    Leave baggage at Tennoji station, lunch at namba, visit osaka castle, go to hotel in kyoto, dinner at namba
    2. Universal studio japan
    3. Visit Arashiyama, fushimi inari, go to kobe and osaka at night

    With this 3 days, would it be enough to use 3 days JR kansai area?
    I was thinking to purhase Osaka 1 day eco card as well for day 1.

    Please advise?
    Thank you.

  7. Alvin says:
    August 16, 2015 at 8:36 am

    Hi Takeshi,

    Good day! My family will be travelling to Osaka on Sept 6(Night) until Sept 13, with a Day Trip to Kyoto on the 11th…

    Since we’ll be all over the place at Osaka for Universal Studios, Umeda Sky Building, Doutonburi, Osaka Castle, Shinkansen for Kyoto and others, can you recommend a suitable pass for us for 7 days(to cover Sept 7-13)?

    We’ll be staying somewhere at Namba, near Daikokucho and Namba-Nankai Stations, so both would work as easy-access transportations…

    I can’t seem to find the most suitable pass for us to save time and money, any tips and suggestions would be very much appreciated…

    Thank you very much in advance!

    Cheers!
    Alvin

  8. Paulyn says:
    August 6, 2015 at 7:56 am

    Hi Takeshi

    My family and I would like to make our first trip to Japan this mid Dec.
    We need some advice on how best we can travel and below is a rough itinerary that we have worked out:

    Day 1 : SIN-HND (Tokyo) Arrival 6:30pm. (Stay overnight in Tokyo)
    Day 2 : Tokyo – Nagano
    Day 3 : Myoko Kogen
    Day 4 : Myoko Kogen
    Day 6 : Toyama – Kanazawa / Kenrokuen Garden
    Day 7 : Kanazawa – Takayama / Hida Takayama)
    Day 8 : Takayama / Shirakawa
    Day 9 : Takayama / Kiso Valley / Tsumago Azuma
    Day 10 : Takyama – Nagoya / Nagoya City
    Day 11 : Nagoya / Suzuka Circuit Theme Park
    Day 12 : Mt. Fuji 5 Lakes
    Day 13 : Hakone / Outlet Shopping
    Day 14 : Tokyo / Shopping / Toyota Mega Web
    Day 15 : Tokyo / Shopping / Markets
    Day 16 : Tokyo / Last Minute Grabs / Depart for SIN

    Thanks,
    Paulyn

    • Takeshi / JPRail.com says:
      August 6, 2015 at 2:47 pm

      Hi Paulyn,

      Your itinerary is good, but I just want to mention only one thing on your itinerary.
      As far as I know, there is no direct transportation between Takayama and Kiso valley. You can go but you have to take several local bus and it’s very hard for even residence. This area is much more accessible from Nagoya. If you want to visit there as day trip, Nagoya is better base city.

      Regarding deals, unfortunately there is no deal is available. In rough calculation, total fares for Tokyo-Nagano-Myoko-Toyama/Kanazawa-Takayama-Nagoya-Tokyo is not far from 7 days JR pass. Only JR pass covers whole part of your trip. 14 days pass is too expensive at this point. But if you take a train to get Kiso valley from Nagoya, take JR train to get Suzuka and will do one more long trip, 14 day pass may be suitable.

      You may use 14 days pass for Fuji and Hakone partially. But Fuji Hakone Pass is better choice. I don’t think JR Pass is a good idea to get these places.
      https://jprail.com/destinations/chubu-area/fuji-hakone-access-guide-by-train-and-bus-from-both-tokyo-and-osaka-kyoto-nagoya.html

      I don’t think you have any extra time to squeeze one more long trip. So if you keep this itinerary, your choice is single ticket. This is the most affordable choice.

      Cheers,

      Takeshi / JPRail.com

  9. Aileen says:
    August 1, 2015 at 10:22 am

    Hi Takeshi,

    First of all, thank you so much for providing such an informative website.

    My husband and I are travelling in Japan for the first time (Osaka, Kyoto, Nara & maybe Kobe) from 23 Aug to 30 Aug.
    We need some help as we are feeling overwhelmed by the amount of information we have read on the different rail passes.

    Below is our rough itinerary:
    Day 1: 23 Aug – Arrive KIX in the evening at about 7p.m.
    Accommodation for the night is at a hotel connected to Shin-Osaka station. Will explore nearby areas for the night.

    Day 2: Travel to Kyoto.
    Days 2 – 5: Base is Kyoto. Staying at a hotel that is 7 mins walk away from Kyoto Station.
    In between Days 2 to Days 5, we plan to do one day trip to Nara, and maybe another day trip to Kobe. (We are undecided about Kobe, because we are not sure if it’s worth a visit.)

    Day 6: Travel back to Osaka.
    Days 6 & 7, staying in at a place near to Shinsaibashi subway station and Nagahoribashi subway station.
    Day 8: Fly back to Singapore (late evening flight) from KIX.

    Which pass(es) do you recommend for us for these 8 days?
    Friends told us to get the JR pass, but I figured we don’t need that since we are only at Kansai area, and not travelling to Tokyo.

    Appreciate your help and advice.

    Thank you so much!

    Regards,
    Aileen

  10. Chris says:
    July 28, 2015 at 8:04 am

    Hi Takeshi,

    My friend and I are going to Japan coming this November (mid). The thing is that we will be flying into Osaka and flying out from Tokyo. This will be our first time visiting Japan. I’ve read few travel materials especially on the web but until now I’m still quite confused on the transportation mode in between here and there [especially the lines, like you have the JR line, Kansai line, Hankyu line, Sanyo line and so forth. And then you have the Shinkanzen, Railway, Subway, midnight express bus (Willer Express ), ICOCA, Haruka etc.
    We plan to cover Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, Nara and Tokyo within 14 days as based on blogs that I’ve came across, these are the few places which are highly recommended. We plan to travel ‘as cheaply as possible’. We do note that transportation in Japan are quite expensive. We do hope you could advise us on these few things :

    1) Mode of transportation in between cities ie. from Osaka to Kyoto, then from Kyoto to Nara and so on.
    2) Next place to go from Osaka ?
    3) Can we possibly cover Hiroshima and Hakone too ?
    4) How long should we stay in 1 place ?
    5) Cheaper to move around within a city with subway/railway ?

    Really appreciate your help and looking forward in hearing from you soon !

    Thank you !
    Chris

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