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. chin siew lee says:
    June 28, 2016 at 8:01 am

    Hi Takeshi,

    Thank you for your valuable information. Below is my itinerary. Hope you can advise on which are the passes that best suit my plan.

    Day 1 – from kansai international airport to kyoto station
    Day 2- sightseeing and visit to places of interest in kyoto
    Day 3 -5 package tour therefore do not required any pass
    Day 5 to 9 – Sightseeing and visit to places of interest in Osaka
    Day 10 -from osaka Umeda to kansai international airport

    Hope to hear from you. Thank you.

    Rgs, SL

  2. eric seet says:
    June 6, 2016 at 12:12 am

    Hi Takeshi san,

    I plan to do 1 day visit at Kyoto ..covering Gion, maruyama park, kyoto international muzeum, nijo castle n mayb imperial palace. May i know what are d buses i should take to go by the most efficient route? Tq

  3. Albert says:
    May 28, 2016 at 11:25 pm

    Hi Takeshi,

    Your site and posts are super resourceful. Hope to get some advice here – going to be my first time to the Kansai region and will visit for 12D11N, super excited! Will spend 6D6N in Kyoto and 5D5N in Osaka. Will do day trips to nearby places like Nara, Kobe etc when in Kyoto and/or Osaka.

    Started reading about the transport options and expectedly slightly confused!

    Which train pass would you recommend I get? From my readings, I’ve gathered that the popular choices are Kansai Thru Pass, Kansai Wide Area Pass, and Kansai Area Pass.

    If I’m not wrong – Kansai Thru Pass might be best as I will do lots of sightseeing in city, making use of buses and local trains. I understand Kansai Thru Pass does not include the JR trains, so the only inconvenience for my trains to/from Osaka/Kyoto at most?

    I understand each pass has pros and cons that depends on my itinerary – but let’s say I’ll be doing the major sight-seeing spots in Kyoto and Osaka, while planning simple day trips to other popular cities like Nara, Kobe.

    Here’s also a draft schedule:
    Day 1 – Arrive KIX in afternoon, spend night in Osaka (Hotel right next to Osaka station in Umeda)
    Day 2 – Head to Kyoto from Osaka (Day 2 to Day 8 morning stay in Kyoto)
    Day 8 – Head to Osaka from Kyoto (Day 8 afternoon to Day 12 stay in Osaka)
    Will probably do maybe 2 day trips out from Kyoto (eg. visit Nara).

    Thanks,
    Albert

    • Takeshi / JPRail.com says:
      May 29, 2016 at 12:13 am

      Hi Albert,

      Kansai thru pass is convenient but it’s not the right choice to use in the cities. Basically it costs 2000 yen per day because 2 days pass is 4000 yen. If you spend 2000 yen worth per day, it’s quite hard. In Kyoto, bus fare is 230 yen. So you have to take bus more than 9 rides. Even if you take subway, the fare is not much different. If you go for 3 days pass at 5200 yen, one day cost is lower. But it’s still hard to get the worth.

      On the other hand, Kyoto sightseeing card is sold at 2000 yen for 2 days. It covers subway and bus in Kyoto. I think this is enough for sightseeing in Kyoto.

      If you have round trip between Kyoto and Nara by Kintetsu railway, round trip fare is less than 2000 yen. If you take subway and bus in Kyoto after trip to Nara, it works. But you have to find one more day to use this pass. Probably you may use it for Osaka to Kyoto or Kyoto to Osaka. You may take subway or bus in both end at Osaka or Kyoto on these transfer days.

      In Osaka, it’s same situation. Subway pass, Amazing pass or Kaiyu ticket is available.
      https://jprail.com/travel-informations/other-rail-passes/rail-pass-for-visitors/how-to-choose-discount-railway-ticket-and-pass-in-kansai-area.html

      At last, there are many deals available between Osaka and KIX.
      https://jprail.com/sample-itineraries/airport-access/kansai-kix/how-to-choose-the-deals-for-access-tofrom-kansai-airport.html

      Cheers,

      Takeshi / JPRail.com

      • Albert says:
        May 29, 2016 at 3:27 am

        Hi Takeshi,

        Thank you so much for the quick, warm, and helpful response! Really clarified the decision for me – sounds like the JR passes don’t make sense unless I have a short visit with packed itinerary to see multiple spots. I will look into the separate city passes and individual city-to-city deals you recommended – Thanks again!

        Regards,
        Albert

  4. Elaine says:
    May 25, 2016 at 12:56 am

    Hi Takeshi San,

    Thanks for the itinerary and yet I still cannot understand which train pass suits the most. We are staying in Osaka and our hotel is at Best Western Fino Osaka Shinsaibashi. Guess is between namba and umeda. Here goes the summary of my 7 days trip and hope you can advice me further.
    Day 1 Arrive Kix at 7am, will go to hotel via airport transfer because there 11 of us (include 2 child below 12 years). Will move around in Osaka.
    Day 2 To Kyoto visit West Central and East as per your suggestion. Can we add Gion District?
    Day 3 To Kyoto for the South and combine with Nara
    Day 4 To Universal Studio for whole day for 6 of us. The rest will visit wakayama
    Day 5 To Kobe
    Day 6 In Osaka
    Day 7 Back home

    If we would use ICOCA for all my trip is that ok? If you can just write beside my itinerary which card to purchase.

    Thank you for your help.

    Regards
    Elaine

  5. Lee says:
    May 11, 2016 at 6:29 pm

    Hi Takeshi-san,

    Thank you so much for this article. As a first time visitor to Japan, all the passes seem confusing. I wonder whether you can help us (party of 4) in our travel and see if any of the passes will be of benefit to us:

    Day 1-7: arriving in Tokyo, and staying at Tsukiji area and mainly staying in Ginza area with each day spending at different areas mostly by subway. I don’t think there is any pass that would help here.

    Day 7: traveling from Tokyo to Osaka. We will go to Shinagawa station from Tsukiji area by subway then take the Shinkansen from Shinagawa station to Shin-Osaka station. This is when I need some help on all the passes. We will then go to Shinsaibashi subway station to get to our apartment. We will spend the rest of the day mostly walking to different places in that area.

    Day 8: First thing in the morning visiting Osaka Castle from Nagahoribashi subway station, then visiting Umeda area for the rest of the day. We will return to Shinsaibashi area apartment in the evening.

    Day 9: Visiting Shinsaibashi Shopping street area for the day so mostly walking around.

    Day 10: Traveling from Shinsaibashi station to Osaka station by subway, then to Kyoto by train. If I am correct, taking the JR Special Rapid Service train from Osaka station to Kyoto station only cost ¥560 and 28 minutes. We will spend the rest of the day around Kyoto station.

    Day 11: Visiting around Higashiyama Area mostly with taxi since we are a party of 4.

    Day 12: Visiting Kyoto downtown area mostly and will probably take a bus here and there.

    Day 13: Visiting first Uji then to Nara and back to Kyoto for the day using JR Nara first then returning using Kintetsu Ltd. back to Kyoto.

    Day 14: Visiting Arashiyama Area. First going to Bamboo Forest by San-In Line then visiting different areas around Arashiyama by bus.

    Day 15: Probably downtown again.

    Day 16: returning from Kyoto station to Shinagawa station in Tokyo then either take the Narita Express to Narita Airport or take The Access Narita bus to Narita Airport.

    I am sorry that it is a long itinery and probably confusing. I want to thank you in advance for your help.
    I am thinking that I will get the Suica card at Tokyo and use that throughout. I don’t really see any other cards or passes that will benefit except maybe the Kyoto City Bus All-Day Pass on Day 14 when we will visit the Arashiyama area.

    Much appreciate your input.

    • Takeshi / JPRail.com says:
      May 11, 2016 at 10:40 pm

      Hi Lee san,

      As you think, you will use Suica mostly in your trip. But you need to purchase single ticket for Shinagawa to Osaka and Kyoto to Tokyo (or Narita airport). You cannot use Suica for long transfer.

      You may be able to use Tokyo Subway Ticket.
      http://www.tokyometro.jp/en/ticket/value/travel/index.html

      One day pass is 800 yen and the price is very affordable. And also this pass can be used for actual 24 hours. If you start using it at 9:00 am, it will be expired at 8:59 am on next day. If you take subway 4 or 5 rides, it will be paid off.

      Suica is okay for Osaka and Kyoto too. You can get Arashiyama by JR train from Kyoto station. You don’t need to have the pass for access to Arashiyama. Most of places in Arashiyama can be accessed by walk. So you can use Suica too.
      All day bus pass in Kyoto may be good choice for day 12. The price is 500 yen and if you take 4 rides, it will be paid off.
      http://www.insidekyoto.com/special-kyoto-bus-train-subway-passes

      Cheers,

      Takeshi / JPRail.com

  6. ken says:
    April 29, 2016 at 7:47 am

    Hi Takeshi-san,
    this helped me understand a bit more about the passes to use in Kansai area. We plan to tour for about 10-12 days to osaka,kyoto,nara,kobe,himeji and roundtrip to kansai airport. what woukd you suggest we buy?

    is the kansai thru pass unlimited rides for the days stipulated?

    thanks,
    ken

  7. wyen says:
    April 22, 2016 at 5:50 pm

    hi, i would like to ask is hankyu tourist pass must be used 2 days consecutively if i buy 2 day pass? can i use it on monday and another day on wednesday instead?

  8. christine wong says:
    April 8, 2016 at 5:35 am

    Hi, Takeshi san,

    Can you help me which tickets should I use for our itinerary? Thanks in advance

    Apr 25 – Arrival Kansai Terminal 1 at 7:30pm
    Dinner at the airport and leave at 8:30pm
    to Nankai Namba

    Apr 26 – Nankai Namba to Umeda back to Nankai

    Apr 27 – Nankai Namba to Kyoto
    (Hire a private car tour for the day)
    Then Kyoto go back to Nankai Namba

    Apr 28 – Nankai Namba to Arima Onsen
    Arima Onsen to Sannomiya to Nankai Namba

    Apr 29 – Nankai Namba to Inari
    Inari to Nara
    Nara to Nankai Namba

    Apr 30 – Osaka Free Day
    Go to Yamazaki Distillery

    May 1 – Nankai Namba to Kansai Terminal 1

    Hope I made sense. Thank you!

  9. Khanh says:
    March 31, 2016 at 8:15 am

    Hi Takeshi-san,
    I and my mom are going to have 1 week trip to Osaka-Nara-Kyoto. I’m trying to figure out what is the best deal to move around Kansai area. I have my schedule and plan to purchase different types of Pass, can I get your help a bit to check if it is worth or not.

    Day 1: 5PM arrived at Kansai Airport and go to Tennoji)
    Day 2: 1 day trip to Nara
    Day 3-4: Around OSAKA
    Day 5: I have a conference near Osaka Station so I and my mom have to separate. I try to figure out what is the best ticket to use on this day because I stay at the conference area all day and just go from Tennoji-Osaka-tennoji. Should I buy a single fare ticket?
    Day 6-7: 2 days trip to Kyoto ( from Tennoji Station)
    Day 8: Kyoto – Kansai Airport

    For day 1 and 2: I dont know if I should buy JR west pass 2 days or should I buy ICOCA round trip card to Nara. If I buy ICOCA, I can use the ICOCA card on day 5 also right?
    For day 3-4: I tend to buy Amazing Pass
    For Day 5: I tend to buy single fare ticket from tennoji to osaka and back to tennoji only.
    And from day 6-8, I dont know what pass should I get to Kyoto, around Kyoto and back to Kansai Airport.

    I read your post and get a lot of useful tips to travel around Kansai area but it still difficult for me to plan how to travel around in easy and inexpensive way. It will be great if I can get your advice for my schedule above. Thank you so much in advance.

  10. Fong says:
    March 29, 2016 at 6:49 am

    Hi Takeshi-San,

    Thanks for all your information provided. May I seek your help on my itinerary below? I have checked Hyperdia but it seems like the 7-day JR Pass will not be cost-effective for my trip. Could you advise on which passes would be helpful for my travel plan below or how I may save costs? Thanks so much!

    Day 1: Arrive Tokyo Narita Airport (considering whether to take overnight bus to Kyoto or to take train to Kyoto the next day)
    Day 2 – 4: Kyoto
    Day 5: Kyoto –> Kanazawa –> Shirakawa-go –> Toyama (just for the accommodation at night)
    Day 6: Toyama –> Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route (staying at ryokan in Murodo)
    Day 7: Complete Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route –> Matsumoto
    Day 8: Day trip to Kamikochi
    Day 9: Matsumoto –> Mt Fuji
    Day 10: Mt Fuji –> Tokyo
    Day 11 – 12: Tokyo

    • Takeshi / JPRail.com says:
      March 29, 2016 at 4:12 pm

      Hi Fong san,

      If you take overnight bus, there is no deals. Single ticket is only choice.
      On the other hand, if you take a train to Kyoto, JR pass may work from day 1 to 7. You can take Narita Express from Narita to Tokyo, Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto. limited express Thunderbird from Kyoto to Kanazawa, train from Shinano-Omachi (or Nagano) to Matsumoto. Single ticket may be slightly cheaper than JR pass. But you will get convenience and flexibility. You may get other place when you are Kyoto in case of changing your mind.

      Tateyama Kurobe option ticket is recommended anyway.
      http://www.jrtateyama.com/e/

      If you don’t use JR pass, you may have round trip deal + subway pass combo.
      http://www.tokyometro.jp/en/ticket/value/airport_bus/index.html

      There is no deals for Kamikochi and Fuji anyway.

      Cheers,

      Takeshi / JPRail.com

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