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
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:

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:

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:

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.

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. Mandy says:

    HI Takeshi,

    I need to go kyoto, kobe, himeshi, nara and kinosaki onsen and also exploring osaka city.

    What is the best pass I should get.

    Thanks

    Mandy

  2. Jonathan says:

    Good day Takeshi San!

    My wife and I will be arriving in Osaka on February 8 and we will be spending two nights there and leave for Kyoto. We will be spending six days in Kyoto but during our stay there, we’re also planning a day trip going to Nara. My question is, what’s the best train ticket if we want to travel around these areas? Should we get an ICOCA card? Please do let us know. You’re suggestion would really help us since this is our first time visiting the Kansai region. Thank you!

    Here’s our detailed itinerary just to give you an idea about our trip.

    Day 1 – 2: Osaka
    Day 3 – 8: Kyoto (Day trip to Nara on our 5th day)
    Day 9 – 10: Back to Osaka

  3. Ed says:

    Hi Takeshi,

    I will be visiting Osaka for 7 days in April.
    Please help with the choices of transportation.
    Here is my tentative itinerary:

    – Day 1: Arrive from Kansai Airport at Night, head to Osaka
    – Day 2: Universal Studio, back to Osaka at night
    – Day 3: Himeji Castle, back to Osaka at night
    – Day 4: Nara, back to Osaka at night
    – Day 5: Kyoto, maybe staying 1 night
    – Day 6: Kyoto, back to Osaka at night
    – Day 7: Osaka, leaving from Kansai Airport at night

    Thank you for your help!

    Ed

  4. Gnet says:

    Hello Takeshi,

    Would like your advice on the best option for my itinearary:
    June 18 – Arrive at Osaka ITM, stay at nearby Tomoyoko Inn
    June 19 – Osaka to Kii-Tanabe
    June 20-24 – Kumano Kodo (Takahara, Chikatsuyu, Yunomine, Nachi-san), take a couple of buses
    June 24 – Nachisan to Kii-Katsuura to Osaka
    June 24-26 – Sighseeing in Osaka, stay at Tennoji-ku
    June 26 – Osaka to Kyoto
    June 26-30 – Kyoto (stay at Shimogyo Ward, sidetrips to Nara & Koya-san)
    June 30 – Kyoto to Tokyo
    July 1-2 – Hike Mt. Fuji
    July 3-4 – Tokyo (stay at Nakano-ku)
    July 4 – Fly out of NRT

    My friends are not doing the Kumano Kodo and will be arriving June 24, can you also let me know what the best transportation option for them is?

    Thank you,
    Gnet

  5. Paz Benares says:

    Hello Takeshi San! My daughter and I will be arriving at KIX on Feb. 13 and we will be in Osaka until February 19. We will be staying at Fraser Residence in Namba. If we buy the Icoca-Haruka card, will be able to use it on the Midosuji line? If not, what pass do you suggest? We will not be leaving Osaka as we have been to the other cities near there. Thank you!

  6. Alvin says:

    Hi Takeshi san,

    I would like to ask for your advice in travelling around Japan using mainly train passes. I will be visiting for 16 days in mid-April with this itinerary in mind:

    – Day 1: Arrival in Tokyo via Narita Airport, and staying in Tokyo (Ginza area)
    – Days 2 to 4: Explore Tokyo (Tokyo Disney Sea, Ghibli Museum, Sanrio Puroland, Shibuya & Akihabara)
    – Day 5: Travelling from Tokyo to Kyoto, and staying in Kyoto
    – Days 6 to 8: Explore Kyoto
    – Days 9 to 12: Day trips from Kyoto to Osaka & Nara
    – Day 13: Travelling from Kyoto to Tokyo, and staying in Tokyo (Ginza)
    – Day 14: Day trip to Hakone
    – Day 15: Explore Tokyo
    – Day 16: Leaving Tokyo via evening flight from Narita Airport

    For Tokyo, would it suffice to get Tokyo Subway tickets to travel around the area?

    As for Kyoto, would it suffice to get just the Kansai through pass to cover Kyoto, as well as day trips to Osaka and Nara?

    For Hakone, I was wondering if it will be better to just pay ‘ala-carte’ for the train rides to the area? Or would a Hakone free pass be justified (though it is a 3-day pass)?

    As for trips between Narita Airport and Tokyo, and between Tokyo and Kyoto, do you have any advice on the best route to take? I was reading through the site, and I am not sure if Keisei Skyliner is the way to go for trips between Narita Airport and Tokyo. I have not figured out if there are any train passes to use for the trip between Tokyo and Kyoto.

    Please advise, as I am not familiar with Japan’s rail system, with this being my first overseas trip to Japan with my fiancee. Thanks Takeshi san!

  7. Hylie says:

    Hi Takeshi,

    Thanks for the information but i am still a bit confused over what is best for my itinerary.

    My current plan is
    Day 1: Arrive at Kansai airport and travel to Kyoto direct
    Day 2-3: Stay and explore Kyoto
    Day 4: Travel in Nara and stay for 1 night
    Day 5-7: Back to Kyoto for 3 nights
    Day 8: Travel to Shirakawa-go and stay 1 night
    Day 9-10: Takayama and stay 2 nights
    Day 11: Kanazawa and stay 1 night
    Day 12-14: Osaka (leaving in the night)

    For the trip from Kyoto to Shirakawa-go to Takayama, Kanazawa and Osaka, i am considering to use the JR Takayama Hokuriku Area Pass for 5 days. But for the rest of the trip, i am not sure what pass is good as i have not finalise whether to travel to othe places as i seem to be spending too much time in Kyoto.

    Hope to have your comments on my plan.

    Thanks alot.

  8. Jessica says:

    Dear Takeshi,
    Thank u for ur information,

    I would like to hear ur advise, i will have this trip :
    Day 1 & 2 kyoto
    Day 3 osaka
    Day 4 osaka USJ
    Day 5 osaka to kobe
    Day 6 osaka to himeji
    Day 7 osaka to nara
    Day 8 to kansai airport

    Day 5-8 i will use jr west pass
    Day 1 & 4 use a single pass
    Day 2-3 days pass kyoto osaka

    Lookinh forward for ur reply, thank u

  9. Ott Kekišev says:

    Dear Takeshi,

    Thank you for the great information you have shared on this site. It has helped a lot to make the itinerary for our planned visit in start of April. I would like to ask for some advice, if I should make any changes to my planned transportations:

    Day1: Arrival at Kansai-Airport and a day in Kyoto
    Day2: Kyoto
    Day3: daytrip to Nara from Kyoto
    Day4: travel to Hiroshima and a day there
    Day5: day in Hiroshima and Miyajima
    Day6: travel to Kinosaki and a day there
    Day7: travel to Osaka and day there
    Day8: Osaka
    Day9: Leaving in the morning at Kansai-Airport

    At the moment I am leaning towards ICOCA and Haruka discount tickets for travel to and from the Airport and in the cities and Kansai Hiroshima Area pass for Days 4-8 (I guess it dosen’t stretch for a return to the airport).

    I also have a question regarding the Kansai Hiroshima Area pass. Is it legible for travel like this: Hiroshima->Himeji Station->Kinosaki (the last line is JR towards Hamasaki I think)?

    Thank you,
    Ott

  10. ellis hadikin says:

    Hi Takeshi,

    I wiil come to osaka with this Itinerary:
    day 1 Kansai – Shin-osaka (by Takayama Hokiriku pass)
    day 2 Shins-osaka – Shirakawago (by Takayama Hokuriku pass)
    day 3 Shirakawago – takayama
    day 4 takayama
    day 5 – Takayama – shin-osaka
    Please suggest which way I should take :
    Takayama – toyama – kanazawa – shin osaka (include Takayama Hokuriku pass) or
    Takayama Nagayo (Takayama Hokuriku pass) and than Nagoya Shinosaka (what pass should I use?)

    Day 6 Osaka city (Osaka pass 1 day?)
    Day 7 Universal (Single pass ?)
    Day 8 Osaka Kyoto (Kyoto osaka sighseeing pass 2 days ?)
    Day 9 Osaka Kyoto
    Day 10 Osaka Kansai

    Please advise. Thanks Takeshi san. Ellis

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