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When I started this website, most of you use Japan Rail Pass for travelling in Japan. But I have received so many comments. Some of you don’t know which pass you should purchase. In this post, I would like to share some information about multiple days rail passes with you.

Japan Rail Pass (a.k.a. JR Pass)

This is most well known rail pass for travelling Japan. This pass cover most of areas throughout Japan. Only Okinawa cannot be accessed by this pass because Japan Railway do not have any line in Okinawa. Even if you have a round trip between Tokyo and Osaka, Japan Rail Pass is worth buying. Please get the details at the following links:

• How to buy and exchange
• Types and Prices
• Validity
• Tips for using Japan Rail PassWho is eligible?

Hokkaido Rail Pass

This pass is valid in Hokkaido only. If you enter Japan at New Chitose or other airport in Hokkaido and travel in Hokkaido only, this pass is suitable for you. If you stay in Tokyo and travel to Hokkaido by air, this pass may be suitable for you.
The price of this pass is starting from 15,000 yen for 3 days. However Hokkaido rail pass 7 days is sold at 22,000 yen. Japan Rail Pass 7 days is sold at 28,300 yen. If you pay another 6,300 yen, you can travel almost anywhere in Japan. Please see the details about Hokkaido Rail Pass at Hokkaido Rail Pass. The best deal for rail trip in Hokkaido for oversea visitors. or How to choose Rail Pass for trip in Hokkaido. Many choices for both visitors and residents in Japan.

JR East Pass

This pass is valid in JR East area, such as Kanto Area (Tokyo and surrounding area), Tohoku area and some part of Nagano Pref and Shizuoka Pref. You cannot use this pass to go to Hokkaido, Kyushu, Kyoto, and most of west part of Japan. If you have a plan to go to Osaka or Kyoto from Tokyo, do not think about this pass. This pass is suitable for the traveller who goes to Aomori, Sendai, Niigata, Nagara, Nikko, Izu and Greater Tokyo area.
The price of this pass is starting from 20,000 yen for 5 days. Once again, the difference between 5 days JR east pass and 7d days Japan Rail Pass in 8,300 yen. Make sure valid area and price before you decide the pass. Please check the details at JR East website.

JR Kanto Area Pass

This is the newest pass and valid in Tokyo and surrounding area only. But the price is only 8,000 yen for 3 days. It is very attractive. And this pass is very convenient to travel Mt. Fuji and Izu peninsula. I just wrote the post about this pass. Please check JR East Kanto Area Pass. Perfect choice for tourist who want to go to Fuji, Izu, Nikko from Tokyo.

Suica & N’ex, Suica & Monorail

If you go to Tokyo metro area from Narita or Haneda airport, Suica & N’ex / Monorail gives you transfer from the airport by Narita Express or Monoral and Suica e-money 1500 yen. You can use Suica for taking not only JR trains but also Tokyo subways and shopping too. Please see the details at Suica & N’ex at JR Eat official site or Suica & Monorail at JR Eat official site.

Other rail pass and discount ticket in Tokyo

I show you some of multiple days and single days rail pass to travel Tokyo in the following posts:

• Compare many discount tickets and passes for sightseeing Tokyo. How to choose the right tickets?
• Fast, economical and convenient for sightseeing in Tokyo. Learn about Tokyo Subways.

JR West Pass – Sanyo Area Pass

This pass is valid for Shinkansen between Shin-Osaka and Hakata, and conventional lines between Kansai airport and Osaka, Osaka loop line, Kyoto, Nara, between Osaka and Shimonoseki. This pass is valid for Miyajima ferry too. This pass can be used to go to Kyoto and Nara. But you cannot take Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka to the east.
The prices of this pass are 20,000 yen for 4 days and 30,000 yen for 8 days. Japan Rail Pass is sold at 28,300 yen for 7 days. I think the price of Sanyo Area Pass is not appropriate. You can get the details at this page on JR West website.

JR West Pass – Kansai Area Pass

This pass is valid for conventional lines in Kansai airport, Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto and Nara. This pass include unlimited travel on Kansai airport express “Haruka” non reserved ordinary seat and local trains. This is more useful than Sanyo Area Pass.
The price of this pass is starting from 2,000 yen for 1 day. Please check the details at this post, How to use JR West Kansai Area Pass. Compare pass and single fare..

JR West Pass – Kansai WIDE Area Pass

This is the newest pass of JR West. The pass cover not only Kansai area but also outside of Kansai, like Shingu, Shirahama, Okayama, Kinosaki. The price is 7,000 yen for 4 consecutive days. This is such a great deal. I wrote about the details about this pass. Please read my post, The newest JR West rail pass for Kansai and Okayama, Kurashiki, Kinosakai and Shingu area, Kansai WIDE Area Pass.

Kansai Thru Pass and other rail pass in Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe

Kansai Thru Pass may be more convenient and worthy than JR West Pass – Kansai Area Pass. This pass include most of private and subway lines in Kansai area. Especially when you go to Kyoto, major private lines, Hankyu and Keihan are more convenient than JR lines. I compare Kansai Thru Pass and Kansai Area Pass at the post, How to use Kansai Thru Pass. Compare pass and single fare..

ICOCA and Haruka

If you go to Shin-Osaka or Kyoto from Kansai airport, ICOCA and Haruka gives you transfer from Kansai airport by Limited Express Haruka and ICOCA e-money. You can use ICOCA for taking not only JR trains but also Osaka subways, Kyoto subways and other private railway trains, such as Hankyu, Kintetsu, Hanshin. In my opinion, this is the best deal for airport transfer. Please see the details at JR West official site.

Other deals in Kansai area

Please see the post, How to choose discount railway ticket and pass in Kansai (Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Nara) area. I show you some more rail passes, like Kyoto subway pass and Osaka subway pass on this post too.

JR Kyushu Pass

If you travel in Kyushu only, this pass gives you a great deal. There are two kind of passes, all Kyushu and northern Kyushu. Northern Kyushu Pass include the northern part of Kyushu, such as Hakata, Kumammoto, Oita, Beppu, Nagasaki, Yufuin. Northern Kyushu Pass do not include Miyazaki, Kirishima, Kagoshima and most of are in Southern part of Kyushu.
This pass include unlimited travel on Kyushu Shinkansen (Hakata-Kumamoto-Kagoshima), all limited express trains and local trains.
The price of these passes are starting from 7,000 yen for Northern 3 days. The price is very proper. If you fly in Japan at Kyushu, I strongly recommend you to use this pass. If you need more information about Kyushu Rail Pass, please read the post, Kyushu Rail Pass. The best deal for rail trip in Kyushu for oversea visitors. or How to choose Rail Pass for trip in Kyushu. Many choices for both visitors and residents in Japan.

JR Sanyo Shikoku Kyushu Rail Pass

If you have a plan to travel from Osaka to Kyushu or Shikoku, this pass may be suitable for you. This pass cover Kansai airport to Osaka, Sanyo Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka to Kyushu, all JR lines in Shikoku and Kyushu. So you can travel in Kyushu, Shikoku and any area along Sanyo Shinkansen, such as Okayama, Kurashiki, Hiroshima and Miyajima. Please get the detail at the post, The newest JR West rail pass for Sanyo, Kyushu and Shikoku, JR Sanyo Shikoku Kyushu Rail Pass.

You may also like these posts:

• The newest JR West rail pass for Sanyo, Kyushu and Shikoku, JR Sanyo Shikoku Kyushu Rail Pass
• Kyushu Rail Pass. The best deal for rail trip in Kyushu for oversea visitors.
• How to choose discount railway ticket and pass in Kansai (Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Nara) area
• The newest JR West rail pass for Kansai and Okayama, Kurashiki, Kinosakai and Shingu area, Kansai WIDE Area Pass
• How to use JR West Kansai Area Pass. Compare pass and single fare.

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57 Comments to “How to choose Rail Pass to travel Japan. Summary of most of rail passes in Japan”

1. Maru says:

   May 15, 2013 at 2:04 am

   Hi Takeshi

   Just want to update you that the Sanyo Area Pass now covers Nara and Kyoto. However the weird part is Nara and kyoto is not covered under shinkansen, only the other trains.

   I took them in feb and tried to took the shinkansen from Hiroshima to Kyoto only to have the officer at the station keep asking me to pay cos i thought kyoto is covered, why do i have to pay??? LOL

   Then at the end he pointed the map on the sanyo pass to me which denotes that the shinkansen service ended at shin-osaka (thick line), then to kyoto/nara on a thinner line.

   Marc

   Reply
   • JPRail says:

     May 15, 2013 at 1:00 pm

     Hi Marc,

     Thank you for letting me know about Sanyo Area Pass.

     The reason why this pass does not cover Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka to the east is that it is not owned by JR West. This pass is issued by JR West. But Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka to Tokyo belong to JR Central. Technically it is completely different company. JR West has a good relationship with JR Kyushu and JR Shikoku. That’s why there are some passes cover these destination. But JR Central does not seem to be interesting the tourist from overseas.

     Cheers,

     Takeshi / JP Rail

     Reply
2. Andy says:

   May 10, 2013 at 5:05 pm

   Oi Takeshi san,

   we’ll be honeymooning in Japan in September for 14 days, staying 10 days in Kyoto.
   I’m note sure if the 7-day or the 14-day rail pass would be best.
   Our itinerary will look like this:
   - Arrival Narita -> Tokyo -> Kyoto
   - Kyoto, staying 10 days, but we are planning several day-trips to MT. Fuji, Himeji Castle and Takayama so far.
   - Tokyo, staying the remaining 2 days
   - Departure Tokyo -> Narita

   Perhaps you could help us?

   Cheers,

   Andy

   Reply
   • JPRail says:

     May 10, 2013 at 10:00 pm

     Hi Andy,

     If you are sure that you go to Takayama when you stay in Kyoto and one more place other than Himeji, 14 days pass will work. Otherwise total fare is slightly cheaper than 14 days pass price.

     If you go for 7 days pass, you have to complete Tokyo-Kyoto, Kyoto-Takayama-Kyoto, and Kyoto-Himeji-Kyoto in 7 days. Otherwise single fare will be cheaper.

     At last, it does not make sense to go to Mt. Fuji from Kyoto. Tokyo is much closer than Kyoto.

     Cheers,

     Takeshi / JP Rail

     Reply
3. Andrea says:

   May 4, 2013 at 7:07 am

   Hi Takeshi san,

   I will be travelling Osaka (day trip to Kobe)-Hiroshima (day trip to Miyajima)-Kyoto (day trip to Nara)-Takayama-Kanazawa-Toyama (Tateyama Alpine Route)-Kyoto-Kinosaki Onsen-Osaka.

   Is any train pass recommended or should i just get single fare?

   Thanks for your help.

   Reply
   • JPRail says:

     May 4, 2013 at 11:04 am

     Hi Andrea san,

     If you can complete your trip in 7 days, Japan Rail Pass 7 days price is almost same as total single fare. If you can’t in 7 days, 14 days pass is much more expensive than total single fare. So single fare is better choice.

     If you can change your itinerary and do Hiroshima/Miyajima and Kinosaki in 3 days, you can use Kansai WIDE Area Pass.
     http://jprail.com/travel-informations/other-rail-passes/rail-pass-for-visitors/the-newest-jr-west-rail-pass-for-kansai-and-okayama-kurashiki-kinosakai-and-shingu-area-kansai-wide-area-pass.html
     This pass does not cover Hiroshima/Miyajima. But you can use it for the part of your trip to Hiroshima. (Osaka-Okayama). This pass is much cheaper than Osaka-Okayama and Osaka- Kinosaki total round trip fares.

     Cheers,

     Takeshi / JP Rail

     Reply
4. Jill says:

   May 1, 2013 at 6:37 am

   Hi Takeshi San,

   My flight arrives at takamatsu airport so my planned itinerary would be from takamatsu-okayama-hiroshima-miyajima-kobe-osaka-kyoto-nara-takamatsu(flight)
   Should I purchase both the JR sanyo pass and the KANSAI THRU PASS?
   Thank you!

   Reply
   • JPRail says:

     May 1, 2013 at 10:33 pm

     Hi Jill,

     Sanyo Area Pass will cover for all part of your trip.
     ex) Okayama-Hiroshima 2600 yen
     Hiroshima-Osaka 5300 yen
     Osaka-Okayama 3000 yen.
     So use single ticket for your trip except Kobe-Osaka-Kyoto-Nara. You can use local deals, like Kansai Thru Pass.

     When you go back to Takamatsu from Osaka, highway bus is cheaper and faster.
     http://www.onthestreet.jp/busride.php?od=1917osaka-takamatsu

     Cheers,

     Takeshi / JP Rail

     Reply
5. Sharon Khoo says:

   May 1, 2013 at 1:44 am

   Pls help.shld I buy Jr pass or wat choice base on this schedule.may16 ard. Nagoya.may18 go takayama.may21 go okuhida.may 23 go Matsumoto.may24 go alpine route n stay one nite midagahara.may25 go Kyoto.may 29 FM Kyoto to Nagoya.not sure what to buy.tks

   Reply
   • JPRail says:

     May 1, 2013 at 10:21 pm

     Hi Sharon,

     JR Pass will be more expensive than total single fares. Because many part of your trip won’t be covered by JR Pass, such as Takayama-Okuhida-Matsumoto Bus, Tateyama-Kurobe alpine route. Single fare is your choice.

     Cheers,

     Takeshi / JP Rail

     Reply