Kansai Hiroshima Area Pass user guide. The deal for the traveler who wants travel in Kansai, Hiroshima and the surrounding area.

miyajimaHiroshima and Miyajima
The landmarks . Tsutenkaku tower (Osaka/left) and Atomic Bomb Dome (Hiroshima/right)  ©JNTO (Osaka/left) / ©Hiroshima Convention & Visitors Bureau (Hiroshima/right)
The landmarks . Tsutenkaku tower (Osaka/left) and Atomic Bomb Dome (Hiroshima/right) ©JNTO (Osaka/left) / ©Hiroshima Convention & Visitors Bureau (Hiroshima/right)

As the name tells you, Kansai Hiroshima Area Pass covers Kansai area (Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, Kobe, Himeji, Wakayama), Hiroshima and many places between these, such as Okayama, Kurashiki. But the coverage is much bigger. This pass covers even Takamatsu in Shikoku, Kinosaki Onsen, Amanohashidate, Kii-Katsuura, Shingu.

I would like to share the information about Kansai Hiroshima Area Pass in this post.

Coverage Area

The coverage area of Kansai Hiroshima Area Pass (Click to enlarge)

This pass covers whole part of Kansai area, such as Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Nara, Kansai Airport, Himeji and Wakayama. And it includes Sanyo Shinkansen between Shin-Osaka and Hiroshima. And also this pass includes the conventional lines to Takamatsu in Shikoku, Kinosaki Onsen, Shirahama and Shingu in Kii peninsula, Hikone and Tsuruga too. Of course you can access Himeji, Okayama, Kurashiki, Onomichi, Miyajima and Iwakuni too. In addition, this pass covers Kyoto Tango Railway to Amanohashidate. It is a big benefit to visit northern Hyogo region.

If you want to access to Hakata, Yamaguchi or Sanin area, Sanyo Sanin Area Pass is recommended. But it does not include Kinosaki and Kii area.

JR West will also release Hiroshima Yamaguchi Area Pass too. If you need an access to Hiroshima from Hakata side, this pass will be suitable for you.

Other part of Japan, such as Hokkaido, Tokyo, Nagoya, Kanazawa, Takayama, most part of Shikoku and Kyushu are not covered by this Pass. So if you intend to travel throughout Japan or travel to Tokyo, Hokkaido or Kyushu, Japan Rail Pass is maybe more suitable for you.
*Osaka – Tokyo one way trip is not enough to use JR Pass. Please see the the post, Japan Rail Pass user guide. How to use JR Pass to its maximum.

Valid trains, bus services, routes and class

Kyushu Shinkansen Sakura and Mizuho give you direct trainsfer to Shin-Osaka from Kyusyu.
Both Mizuho and Nozomi on Sanyo Shinkansen are covered by this deal.

All daytime trains in coverage area are covered. But reserved seat fee is NOT included as well. You have to take non reserved ordinary seat. Most of limited express and Shinkansen trains have non reserved seat. And Green seat is not covered fully either. If you want to take Green seat, this pass covers base fare only. You have to full of surcharge and Green seat fare.

Overnight option is not available in the coverage area. There are two overnight trains, Sunrise Izumo and Sunrise Seto are depart/arrive in the coverage area. But these trains run to Tokyo. You cannot stay overnight in the coverage ares by this pass.

Miyajima ferry is also covered. You have no problem to access to very popular World Heritage Miyajima.

As of mid April 2017, this pass started to cover JR bus in Kyoto, Fukui and Hiroshima. In Hiroshima, there are some bus routes which are covered by this pass. Especially Hiroshima sightseeing loop bus “Meipuru-pu” is very very useful. You can get most of popular spots in Hiroshima by this bus. Please see the link below:

Hiroshima sightseeing bus Meipuru-pu

In Kyoto, you can get Ryoan-ji temple, Kitano-Tenmangu shrine, Takao area via Nijo. This pass also covers Obamba to/from Omi-Imazu bus service and Sonobe to/from Fukuchiyama bus service.

This pass also started to cover Kyoto Tango railway as of mid April, 2017. You can get Amanohashidate, Miyazu without any extra charge.

When you use this deal, there are a few exceptions. You have to know that before you choose this deal. Please see the below to get the detailed information.

The Tokaido Shinkansen among Maibara, Kyoto and Shin-Osaka

Even though it is in the coverage area, you cannot take Shinkansen train in this segment. Because Tokaido Shinkansen belongs to other JR company, JR Central. It is same JR Group company and many trains go through both areas each other. But technically it is different company. Therefore this deal cannot include this Shinkansen segment. When you depart from Kyoto or Maibara and take Shinkansen, you have to take Special Rapid Service to Shin-Osaka and then transfer to Shinkansen train there.

Find your hotels in 500 cities throughout Japan!!!

Hotels in Hiroshima
Hotels in Okayama

Price, eligibility and how to purchase

This pass is available for temporary visitor only. If you are resident, you can’t purchase it.

JR West is the first company that has different price tag for same product. Please see the below:

Kansai Hiroshima Area Pass 5-day

Purchasing from
the travel agent overseas
(Before arrival)
Purchasing from
JR West online
(Before arrival)
Purchasing from
JR West station
(After arrival)
Adult13,700 yen14,500 yen14,700 yen
Child
(6-11 years old)
6,850 yen7,250 yen7,350 yen

As you have seen, you can purchase this pass after you arrive in Japan. But you have to pay 1000 yen more.

If you want to purchase this pass at the lowest rate, you have to purchase it at authorized travel agents before you come to Japan. 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 period

It is valid for 5 days. One day means midnight to midnight, technically 0:00 to 23:59. So try to start in the morning. It does not make sense to start to use in the evening.

You can purchase this pass only once per visit if you purchase online or inside Japan. If you purchase it at authorized agents outside Japan, you can purchase as many as you want. If you need more coverage, please think about combining with other deals in Kansai area, like Kansai Thru Pass or Kansai Area Pass or pick up other deals, like Japan Rail Pass.

Compare to single fares

Base fare and surcharge for the major segments are the following. Please compare the price of Kansai Hiroshima Area Pass and these fares. If you use Kansai Hiroshima Area Pass, these following fare, both base fare and surcharge, are covered.

*All surcharges in the following table are non reserved seat rate.

SegmentBase fareSurcharge
Osaka – Kyoto560 yen
Osaka – Sannomiya (Kobe)410 yen
Osaka – Nara800 yen
Kyoto – Nara710 yen
Osaka – Himeji1490 yen1730 yen
Osaka – Kansai Airport1190 yen970 yen
Osaka – Okayama3020 yen2480 yen
Osaka – Hiroshima5620 yen4090 yen
Osaka – Miyajimaguchi5940 yen4090 yen
Hiroshima – Miyajimaguchi410 yen
Miyajimaguchi – Miyajima (Ferry)180 yen
Osaka – Kinosaki Onsen3350 yen1730 yen
Osaka – Shirahama3350 yen1730 yen
Osaka – Shingu4750 yen1940 yen

*The rate is varied by the season.

As you see, Osaka-Hiroshima one way fare and surcharge total amount is 9,710 yen. So if you have round trip on this segment, it is pay off easily.

Assessment

I believe this deal will be fit to many traveller’s itinerary who stay in Kansai area. If you have a plan to go to Hiroshima when you stay in Kansai area, this pass is the best choice. Hiroshima can be visited as day trip from Osaka or Kyoto.

Day trip to Hiroshima and Miyajima from Osaka/Kyoto

I strongly recommend you to stay in Kinosaki Onsen and Shirahama. But these destinations can be accessed as day trip too.

There are so many ways to use this deal. I hope you enjoy in Kansai and Hiroshima area by this deal.

Comments

  1. Rodger says:

    Hi, can I use this pass from KIX directly to Hiroshima? I have seen in the area map that Kansai Airport is covered. But the valid train pharagraph does not mention anything about it. Thanks.

    • Hi Rodger,

      Yes, you can. Basically all trains running on the coverage map are covered.
      You can take Limited Express Haruka from KIX to Shin-Osaka and Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka to Hiroshima.

      Cheers,

      Takeshi / JPRail.com

  2. rr says:

    Can you advise how to go from Hiroshima airport to Osaka city centre? i try to search but not sure which trains i can take with the kansai-hiroshima-area-pass…

    i am going on 31 dec – will the trains be open? will it be crowded? afraid i cannot get seats since the pass is non-reserved…

  3. She says:

    Hi Takeshi!

    We are coming from Tokyo to Osaka and plan to visit Hiroshima, Miyajima, Himeji, Kobe, Kyoto and Nara. I was thinking if we could save more from this pass (with 1-way train fare from Tokyo), or the JR Pass is best for our itinerary.

    Thank you!

  4. Kenzaki says:

    Hello..is the limited exp kuroshio to and from kyoto-kiikatsuura covered by the hiroshima-kansai pass? Thank you

  5. Nat says:

    Hi,
    I am planning a trip with my partner and am very confused about the rail system.

    We are flying into Osaka on 19th Dec.
    Osaka to Kyoto on 23rd December
    Kyoto to Hiroshima on 28th December
    Hiroshima to Hokkaido by plane and later to Tokyo by plane.

    So there are two train trips we were hoping to do, Osaka to Kyoto and Kyoto to Hiroshima. My partner really wanted to experience a shinkansen so that was the plan from Kyoto to Kiroshima.

    Originally we were going to get a JR pass but it seems like a lot for just these two trips. Is the Kansai-Hiroshima pass better for us? If it’s only 5 days then it wouldn’t cover both trips would it?

    We weren’t really planning on other side trips because we thought other places wouldn’t be as amazing in winter.

    Thanks!

  6. Michelle says:

    Hi, I have bought K-H pass and I will use in November. May I ask does this pass cover the journey from JR Osaka station to JR Kyoto Station via Special Rapid service on JR Kyoto Line?

  7. jfong says:

    We’re thinking to go to FUSHIMIINARI and GION-SHIJO from Osaka as a day trip. Just wonder whether it’s covered by Kansai Hiroshima Area Pass as we’re going to Hiroshima after this day-trip. Thank you.

  8. Joe says:

    Hi Takeshi

    I have reserved the K-H pass and plan to use it for a day trip to Hiroshima from Osaka next week. My question is that if I want to upgrade to a reserved seat, how do I do it and will I just pay the difference between the non-reserved and reserved seat fare of the Ltd Express ticket, i.e. 4610 – 4090 = 520? Or will I have to pay for the full Ltd Express ticket for a reserved seat?

    Thanks
    Joe

  9. dhilah says:

    Hello Takeshi-san.

    This will be travel my first travel in Japan. I will be in Kansai area and Hiroshima for 8 days and 7 nights and using the pass for that.

    day 1 – arrive in kix around 8.30am. i’m staying around nipponbashi station and i plan to go sightseeing later on. i plan to use yokoso osaka pass as it covers the nankai rapi;t and has the eco card for subway

    day 2 – daytrip to nara. based on hyperdia, it seems that we can take train from nipponbashi station directly to nara. but our pass start on this day so i thought we use the jr train and pay for the subway

    day 3 – osaka to hiroshima and miyajima. we’ll be staying around hiroshima station for 1 night. we don’t take any pass here and pay the tram fare and use jr to miyajima.

    day 4 – go to kyoto. we plan to stop at himeji and kobe on the way to kyoto. we plan to take the loop city bus pass in kobe.

    day 5 – kyoto ; arashiyama, kinkakuji, ryoanji

    day 6 – nijo castle, nishiki market, fushimi inari and maybe uji.

    day 7 – ginkakuji, nanzenji, higashiyama. should we take 1 one day subway pass here since we do not have specific plan yet

    day 8 – go back to kix. we plan to use haruka and use the discount ticket. it is possible to buy discounted ticket at the counter without ICOCA. or should we just buy ICOCA as there are days that we don’t have city passes?

    Your thoughts and opinion on our travel plan is very much needed and appreciated. As i will be travelling with my mother, i hope the journey will be convenient as much as possible for her. Thank you so much for your help.

    • Hi dhilah san,

      You have researched very deeply. Your itinerary is very organized. I don’t have many things to tell you actually. 🙂
      I give you a few tips.

      You intend to start using Kansai Hiroshima Area Pass on day 2. But as you saw, Kintetsu railway connects Nipponbashi and Nara directly. I recommend you to start using Kansai Hiroshima Pass on day 3 and use single fare for trip to Nara. On day 6, Nijo castle, Fushimi and Uji are located on JR lines. So Kansai Hiroshima Pass is very useful to visit these places. Only Nishiki Market is not located on JR line. But you can combine Nishiki Market with other spots on day 7. This place is closed to Higashiyama area. Please find more info at the link below:
      https://jprail.com/destinations/kansai-area/guide-to-take-trains-in-kyoto-how-to-choose-the-best-route-by-train-to-get-the-major-spots.html

      By the way, Nipponbashi is one station away from Namba by subway. But Namba and Nipponbashi are connected by underground shopping arcade, “Namba Walk”. When you go shopping or dine to Namba from Nipponbashi, you can walk.

      At last, you can purchase Haruka discount ticket only at Kyoto station to KIX. You don’t need to purchase ICOCA.

      Cheers,

      Takeshi / JPRail.com

      • dhilah says:

        We actually spent days and days reading your site since I feel the train system there is so overwhelming. In fact, we refer to your site a lot to plan our trip this time, so thank you again for providing such a complete guide. It really helped us out.

        The namba walk arcade is a great info. We will definitely use that walk many times.

        Lastly, about the Haruka, if we do not have ICOCA, do we just have to show our passport to get the discout price? (sorry, this sounds silly but I just can’t ease my mind about this yet)

  10. Andy Bolton says:

    Hi Takeshi,

    Thanks for your advice. Nankai Electric Railway looks like it may be best way back to the airport if the hotel is in the Namba area.
    I presume the JR Kansai Hiroshima pass is not valid on subway/buses in Osaka or Hiroshima?

    best wishes

    Andy Bolton

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