How to use JR West Kansai Area Pass. Compare pass and single fare.

Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe and Nara
Osaka castle is one of popular spot to see cherry blossom in Osaka. ©Osaka Government Tourism Bureau/©JNTO
Limited Express Haruka from KIX is covered by this pass.
The limited express Haruka from KIX is covered by this pass.

JR West Kansai Area Pass is one of the choices for the traveler who stays in Osaka and make some day trips to the surrounding places, such as Kyoto, Kobe, Nara, Himeji and Wakayama.

In this post, I would like to share the information about JR West Kansai Area Pass with you. And I will compare the price of the pass and the regular fare. You can find that you can get the worth by your trip or not.

Coverage area

Kansai Area pass map
Only major stations are shown in the map.

Please refer the map in JR West Kansai Area Pass official site as well to get the detailed map.

The pass covers most of points of interest, such as Osaka (Umeda), Namba, Universal Studio Japan, Kobe, Kyoto, Nara, Wakayama, Kansai airport, Himeji.

Expansion of the coverage area in Kyoto

And also Kansai Area Pass includes the following exchange vouchers:

  • Keihan Railways Kyoto Sightseeing Pass 1-day
  • Kyoto City Subway 1-day pass

These passes expand the coverage in Kyoto so much:

Green line (subway) and red line (Keihan railway) are additional coverage. (click to view large)

Kansai Area Pass did not cover Keihan and subway in Kyoto. These lines cover eastern part of Kyoto, such as Gion, Kiyomizudera.

You may exchange the vouchers in the designated stations. Please find the detailed information in the official press release:

JR West official press release

You can use these passes separately.

e.g.
You have Kansai Area Pass 2-day
Day 1 trip to Kyoto and exchange Kyoto city subway pass only
Day 2 trio to Kyoto and exchange Keihan Railway Kyoto sightseeing pass

But in my opinion, you should use these two passes in same day. If you use only JR line and Kyoto city subway line, the coverage are limited.

The places where you cannot go by Kansai Area Pass

Major spots that are not covered by this pass is Mt. Koya. But if you want to go to Mt. Koya, Nankai Railway is the best way. Nankai Railway is not covered by JR West Kansai Area Pass anyway. Nankai Railway’s Koyasan World Heritage Ticket or Kansai Thru Pass is a right choice for trip to Mt. Koya.

Nankai Railway Koyasan World Heritage Ticket
How to use Kansai Thru Pass. Compare pass and single fare.

Who is eligible

Visitors who land as “Temporary Visitor” status can purchase this pass.

Types and prices

Purchasing from
the travel agent
overseas
(Before arrival)
Purchasing from
JR West online
(Before arrival)
Purchasing from
JR West station
(After arrival)
1-day2,400 yen2,4000 yen2,400 yen
2-day4,600 yen4,600 yen4,600 yen
3-day5,600 yen5,600 yen5,600 yen
4-day6,800 yen6,800 yen6,800 yen

*Child rate is half of the adult prices above.
*5 year old or younger child is free. Maximum 2 children per one adult.

The pass must be used in consecutive days. The validity of a rail pass starts from 12 O’clock at night (midnight to midnight).

e.g.
If you start to use 3 days pass on May 1, the pass is expired at 23:59 on May 3. The time when you start using does not matter.

If you want to purchase this at the lower price, you can purchase it at authorized travel agents. You can find the dealers list and exchange location at the link below:

JR West Rail Pass Dealer’s list

You also can purchase this pass online through JR West official site. But the price is not much cheaper than the price which is sold at the station.

Valid trains and bus lines

This pass covers all JR local trains and non reserved seat of Limited Express Haruka. You CANNOT ride any other express trains, such as the Tokaido Shinkansen the Sanyo Shinkansen, the limited express Thunderbird. But as long as you travel in Kansai area, Rapid Services Network is enough to cover your trip. It is actually crowded because these trains are the commuters one. But these are fast and frequent. The following list shows you trains that you can ride by JR West Kansai Area Pass.

Of course, you can ride any local trains that are not shown on above list.

Find your hotels in 400 cities throughout Japan!!!

Hotels and Ryokans in Nara
Hotels in Himeji
Hotels in Kobe
Hotels in Himeji
Hotels in Kansai Airport

On the other hand, JR West Kansai Area Pass does not cover any private railway lines, subway lines and the bus lines. Most of major private railway companies and subway lines are shown on the following list:

  • Osaka Metro (Subway)
  • Kyoto Municipal Transportation (Subway and city bus)
  • Nankai Railway (Namba-Kansai airport, Namba-Mt.Koya)
  • Kintetsu Railway (Namba-Nara, Kyoto-Nara)
  • Hankyu Railway (Sannomiya-Umeda-Kawaramachi)
  • Keihan Railway (Yodoyabashi-Kyobashi-Shijo-Sanjo)
  • Hanshin Railway (Namba-Sannomiya, Umeda-Sannomiya-Himeji)
  • Sanyo Railway (Umeda-Sannomiya-Akashi-Himeji)

These above railways and bus lines are NOT covered. When you are in Osaka or Kyoto, subway trains and city bus services are very convenient. So you may have to pay a single fare or purchase other pass. This is the biggest disadvantage of JR West Kansai Area Pass. You can find the coverage of this pass in these posts:

Compare cost between pass and single fare. Best way to use.

First of all, please see the fare table for major sections below:

StationsOsakaShin
Osaka
KyotoKansai
airport
Sannomiya
(Kobe)
NaraHimehjiJR Namba
Osaka1605401160
1150
3907801450190
Shin
Osaka
1605401330
1150
5408901450210
Kyoto5405401830
1150
10506902210890
Kansai
airport
1160
1150
1330
1150
1830
1150
1660
1150
1660
730
2730
1150
1030
730
Sannomiya
(Kobe)
39054010501660
1150
1210950690
Nara7808906901660
730
12102210540
Himeji1450145022102730
1150
95022101620
JR Namba1902108901030
730
6905401620

*If there are two fares, basic fare is shown at the top and limited express surcharge at the bottom. For example, if you travel from Kansai airport to Shin-Osaka, basic fare is 1330 yen and surcharge is 1150 yen.

As you saw the fare table above, most of trips from Kansai airport is very efficient because of limited express Haruka. If you travel to Osaka, Kansai airport rapid may be better than Haruka because Haruka do not stop at Osaka. But if you think about getting on Haruka, Kansai Area Pass is considerable. Even one day pass is cheaper than basic fare + surcharge. If you go to Namba, you can access there by JR trains. But Nankai Railway gives you much better access to Namba. Especially if you think about transfer to subway at Namba, Nankai Railway Namba station is much easier to transfer to most of subway lines. Please see the details at the post, How to access from Kansai airport to downtown Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe.

Next, I recommend you to use this pass for the trip to Himeji. Special Rapid Service connects Osaka with Himeji in 62 minutes. This train is the fastest and most frequent service. If you think about Kansai Thru Pass, this pass do not cover JR trains. If you go to Himeji by Kansai Thru Pass, the pass cover all part of your trip to Himeji. But you will spend more than 90 minutes. Kansai Thru Pass is very efficient for the trip to Kyoto or Mt. Koya. But if you go to Himeji, I recommend you to use JR West Kansai Area Pass.

If you go to Kyoto, Nara or Kobe from Osaka, it may not be very efficient. The fare range is between 500 and 1,000 yen. The difference between 1 day pass and 2 days pass is 2,000 yen. If you will purchase 3 days or 4 days, the price difference is 1,000 yen. If you have two trips, from Kansai airport by Haruka and trip to Himeji, you will already make more than 4,000 yen worth. You can use the pass to Kyoto, Kobe or Nara. But if you use 2 days pass for trip from Kansai airport and trip to Kyoto, Nara or Kobe, you may not be able to make more than 4,000 yen worth.

JR West also sell ICOCA and Haruka. This discount ticket include trip from Kansai airport by Haruka and 1,500 yen value e-money in ICOCA prepaid card. If JR West Kansai Area Pass is too expensive for your trip, ICOCA and Haruka may be suitable for your trip. ICOCA can be used for not only JR trains but also Kyoto subway, Osaka subway and other major private railway companies. ICOCA is more flexible than JR West Kansai Area Pass. Please see the details about ICOCA at the post, ICOCA and Haruka ticket. Very flexible and good deal for tourist who stay in Kansai..

At last, if you want to explore some more places, I strongly recommend you JR West Kansai WIDE Area Pass. This pass is available in 4 days pass only. But the area where is covered is much bigger. And limited express train and Shinkansen between Shin-Osaka and Okayama are covered by this pass. And the price is only 1,000 yen higher than Kansai Area Pass 4 days. I am very happy if you are interested in other places outside of Kansai area.

Comments

  1. Jarryd B. P. says:

    Hi Takeshi-San

    I was searching for the best and most efficient way to go to all the places on our itinerary since we don’t have have enough time and so much to go to.

    I was really thinking on whether to get JR west (KANSAI Pass) for the 4 days of stay there , and i was planning to buy the 4 day pass. Would this be a good option? Would appreciate any input or advice u can give us.

    This would be our itinerary.

    DAY 1 –
    KANSAI AIRPORT SHIN OSAKA
    DAY 2
    SHIN-OSAKA OSAKA CASTLE HIMEJI CASTLE KOBE SHIN-OSAKA
    DAY 3
    SHIN-OSAKA NARA PARK AND TEMPLES NIJO CASTLE/NISHIKI MARKET SHIN OSAKA
    DAY 4
    SHIN-OSAKA UNIVERSAL STUDIOS SHIN-OSAKA 
    DAY 5
    SHIN-OSAKA TOKYO AKIHABARA  ASAKUSABASHI
    DAY 6
    MT FUJI TOUR

    Thanks!

  2. Sean says:

    HI Takeshi San, I am currently contemplating between suretto pass, Jr west kansai area pass. Would appreciate any input or advice u have.
    Kansai one pass is also a consideration for me.
    I am going from 6apr to 15
    Day 1- Airport to Namba. Osaka Castle, tennoji area.
    Day 2-Kyoto fushimi Inari, kiyomizu dera and return to Osaka.
    Day 3-kyoto kinkakuji and arashiyama
    Nishimura market. Return to Osaka
    Day 4-Kobe- herb garden
    Day 5- Osaka Japan mint, Osaka aquarium,dotonbori
    Day 6- Nara
    Day 7- Himeji and osaka
    Day 8- Universal studio Japan
    Day 9- Umeda and shinsaibashi
    Day 10- Osaka and airport at 10pm.
    Thank You
    Sean

  3. BENJAMIN GOH says:

    Dear Hi Takeshi san,
    Seek your knowledge on train . So confused!
    Accomodation: Osaka
    “Day 1:
    Nagoya Chubu International airport(8AM), head straight to Yamabe Ryokan at Tenri Nara Station.
    Visit Nara Deer Park, Isuien Garden, Todaiji Temple and Higashimuki shopping arcade and Naramachi-no Machiya
    Try to get to Floating Garden by 9.45pm”
    “Day 2:
    Train from Osaka Station to Central Kyoto (day trip)”
    “Day 3:One Full Day at Osaka
    Breakfast @ Osaka station (or thereabouts)
    9am Osaka Castle
    Shinsaibashi-suji Shopping Arcade
    Crab lunch @ Dotonbori Kani Doraku
    Aquarium (closes 8pm)
    Back to Dotonbori for some street food!
    Checkout Osaka Depart for Tokyo
    Day 4: Eat Breakfast : Depart For Tokyo Check in.
    Day 5,Day 6 : Tokyo
    Day 7: Tokyo – Nagoya Chubu Airport(11AM)

    Regards,

  4. Corry says:

    Hi Takeshi San

    My family and I will be visiting Japan in December for new year. Will there be any changes in the train schedule if I look up into it now?

    Also, here is my itinerary:

    28th Dec : arrive in Narita

    29th Dec : go to Kawaguchiko (stay one night)

    30th Dec : back to tokyo (shinjuku)

    30-1jan : Tokyo

    1 jan : go to Nozawa Onsen
    (Still considering to stay or not)

    1 jan (evening) : go to Matsumoto to transfer to Takayama

    2 Jan : Arrive in Takayama, day trip
    To shirakawago (stay in takayama)

    3 Jan – 7 jan
    Kansai Region
    (Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, Kobe)

    Would you please kindly suggest me what pass I should use? I’ve done some researches and I might consider to purchase Tokyo Subway 3 Days Pass and return bus ticket for Tokyo and around. And for the Kansai, might consider JR West.

    Thank you for your help and much appreciated.

    Cheers
    Corry

  5. Hugo Lockwoods says:

    Hi Takeshi san,

    Can you advise me which pass i should get this coming April.

    2nd: Arrive Kansai airport straight to Kyoto

    3rd – 5th: Kyoto sight seeing

    5th afternoon: Travel to Osaka

    6th – 8th: Visiting Osaka, Kobe and Himeji

    9th: To Kansai Airport

    I been advised to purchase those tickets below when i arrive Kansai International Airport. Will be great if you able to advise me more better coverage for the trains and bus for the sight seeing zone.

    2nd: Kansai Area Pass

    3rd – 5th: Purchase the bus and train tickets (without ICOCOA)

    5th – 6th: Kansai Thru Pass (3 days pass)**

    7th – 8th: Osaka Amazing pass

    9th: Kansai Thru Pass (3 Days)**

  6. Athirah says:

    Hi Takeshi-San,

    I’m tira. Me and my besfriends will be visiting japan on April. I will arrive at Narita Airport. And from Narita airport;

    Day 1: Narita to Osaka
    Day 2: Osaka
    Day 3: Osaka to Nara
    Day 4: Osaka to Kyoto
    Day 5: Osaka to Tokyo.

    Can you please suggest me; which pass is right for us? Because Im Confused. Really appreciate your help.

    Thank you!

  7. Jd says:

    Hi Takeshi,

    We will be visiting Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Kobe & Himeji. I am not sure if it’s worth it to buy Kansai West JR Pass and ICOCA at the same time. We will be staying in one place only which is near Namba.

    Our itinerary as follows:

    Day 1 – Kansai Intl Airport to Namba, Osaka

    Day 2 & 3 – 2 days trip to Kyoto

    Day 4 – Day trip to Kobe & Himeji

    Day 5 – Universal Studios Japan

    Day 6 – Day trip to Nara (Is it possible to do half day trip to Nara and half day trip to Mount Koya?)

    Day 7 & 8 – Osaka

    Day 9 – Flight from Kansai Int’l Airport

    Appreciate your help. Thank you. 🙂

    Cheers,
    Jd

  8. shahrol says:

    Hi Takeshi san,

    Me and my friends (from Malaysia) will be visiting Osaka-Kyoto this coming mid april for six days and would like your advise/input as to how do we go about our transportation plan when we are there.

    I understand that there are many transportation options available such as ICOCA Haruka, Kansai area pass etc in these 2 cities and got ourselves a little confused as to which one is the best.

    Below is our tentative itinerary –

    Day 1 – Arrival in Osaka (we plan to go to Rinku premium outlet on our way to Osaka city, we will be staying in the Osaka bay area, near to Osaka kaiyukan. We plan to visit Dotonburi/Shinsaibashi at night.

    Day 2 – Universal studios japan (whole day)

    Day 3 – To visit Osaka castle and Umeda sky building

    Day 4 – to visit Kyoto (our accomodation will be in the Gion area) we plan to visit Fushimi Inari and Kyomizu Dera on this day.

    Day 5 – to visit Arashiyama (full day) and plan to go to Kyoto Tower at night

    Day 6 – Going back to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Looking forward to your advise/input

    Thank you

  9. Syaz says:

    Hi Takeshi-San,

    My husband, daughter and I will be visiting Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Kobe and Himeji and our itinerary is as follows:

    Day 1: Reach Kansai Airport – head straight to Kyoto. Will be staying near JR and metro Nijo stations. Plan to visit Kiyomizu-dera Temple, Maruyama-Koen Park, Kyoto downtown, Nishiki Market, Fushimi-Inari

    Day 2: Kyoto – Arashiyama

    Day 3: Kyoto – Golden Pavilion, Daitoku-ji Temple, Pontocho Alley

    Day 4: Kyoto – Kurama and Kibune, Northen Higashiyama

    Day 5: Day trip to Nara – Todai-ji Temple, Nara Park, Kasuga Taisha Shrine, Isuien Garden, Horyu-ji Temple

    Day 6: Kobe – Staying at Grand Kobe Station, visit Mount Rokko, Kobe Harbourland

    Day 7: Day trip to Himeji Castle

    Day 8 – 10: To Osaka from Kobe – Hotel is connected to Keihan Kyobashi train station. To visit Dotonbori, Osaka Aquarium, Castle, Kuchu-Teien, Kuromon Ichiba Market etc

    Day 11: Flight home from Kansai Airport

    Can you please suggest which pass is right for us? We are so confused. Would greatly appreciate your input.

    Thank you!

  10. Michael says:

    Hi Takeshi san,

    I have been reading you site with great interest and there seems to be a few passes that I have and am considering, but we are not too sure where we would get good value with some, such as the JR Kansai area pass (apart from a 1 day pass to use it to go to Himeji as it is cheaper than the return ticket from Osaka to Himeji) but maybe one of the other Kansai passes, we are too confused.

    By looking at the below itinerary we have planned, would you suggest any passes to be possible or not? Or are we better to use our ICOCA card and combination of separate tickets, apart from the Koyasan and Hakone? We cannot change any main city, as we are booked the accommodation, but at worse, would consider changing if a pass would be of value in a different itinerary? We are flying into and out of KIX airport, and did like this plan, as we are doing long-short-long-short and city-town-city-town-city kind of trip to break it all up.

    Day 1 (Wed) – KIX to Osaka (Yotsubashi subway station – Blue line) – Yokoso! Osaka pass for Rapi:t limited express to Namba, then one way fare to Yotsubashi. Will also buy an ICOCA card to use when needed.

    Day 2 (Thu) – Osaka, make use of the 1-day unlimited pass that comes with the Yokoso! Osaka.

    Day 3 (Fri) – Day trip to Himeji: Yotsubashi/Nishi-Ohashi subway to JR Osaka > Himeji. Was thinking to buy a 1 day JR Kansai area pass as this is Y2200 and the return ticket to Himeji is Y2980.

    Day 4 (Sat) – Osaka

    Day 5 (Sun) – Osaka

    Day 6 (Mon) – Yotsubashi to Namba; Nankai Namba to Koyasan (Namba > Gokurakubashi > Koyasan on the Koya Limited Express @ 8.42am, will used Koyasan World Heritage ticket).

    Day 7 (Tue) – Koyasan to Nara (Koyasan > Gokurakubashi > Hashimoto on Nankai-Koya line, then Hashimoto > Nara on JR Wakayama line); Nara to Shinjuku on overnight bus.

    Day 8 (Wed) – Tokyo (Shinjuku to Shimokitazawa).

    Day 9 (Thu) – Shimokitazawa > Tokyo Disneyland.

    Day 10 (Fri) – Shimokitazawa > Maybe daytrip to Kamakura (will be possibly using the Enoshima Kamakura free pass for this) and Yokohama.

    Day 11 (Sat) – Shimokitazawa > Maybe half a day to Mt Takao.

    Day 12 (Sun) – Shimokitazawa/Tokyo (in the morning I need to be in Chiyoda area).

    Day 13 (Mon) – Shimokitazawa > Hakone-Yumoto, will buy the Hakone free pass for 3 days, as we will spend 2 nights/3days in Hakone.

    Day 14 (Tue) – Hakone

    Day 15 (Wed) – Miyanoshita > Odawara > Kyoto (Tokaido-Sanyo shinkansen, Hikari), Kyoto >Karasuma Oike > Sanjo (Kyoto subway)

    Day 16 (Thu) – Kyoto (Kinkaku-ji, Arashiyama, Sagano romantic train and that side of Kyoto); Shijo/Gion.

    Day 17 (Fri) – Kyoto (Kiyomizu dera, Fushimi inari and that side of Kyoto).

    Day 18 (Sat) – Kyoto > KIX on JR Haruka (will buy a 1-way Haruka ticket with ICOCA discount).

    Thanking you for your help and much appreciated.

    Cheers,
    Michael.

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