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
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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. Peggy Khoo says:
    December 3, 2017 at 8:35 am

    Hi Takeshi,
    I will be travelling to Osaka & Kyoto as follows.
    I seek your advice on the what pass is best for my travel,

    9-16 December
    I will arrive on 9 Dec from Kansai Airpot and will stay in Osaka Cty till 16 Dec,

    16-24 Dec
    On 16
    dec will depart from Osaka to Kyoto and on 24 Dec will take train to the Kansai Airport from Kyoto

    Looking forward to your reply

  2. Mike says:
    December 3, 2017 at 12:03 am

    Hi,

    Your post has a lot of great information but I’m hoping you can provide me with additional guidance for my trip to Osaka and Kyoto. My rough schedule is as follows:

    Day 1: Travel from KIX to Kyoto.

    Days 2-4: Sightsee around Kyoto

    Day 5: Travel from Kyoto to Osaka (staying near Dotonburi

    Days 6-11 Sightsee around Osaka with possible day trip to Nara.

    Day 12–travel from Osaka to KIX

  3. cn says:
    November 29, 2017 at 6:29 pm

    Hi Takeshi,

    Thanks for your reply!

    Recently I read about the Kintetsu 1 day rail pass and I thought that would save me more time for my 4th day itinerary. I plan to use this pass to travel from Kyoto to Nara (drop luggage in locker) and return to Osaka-Namba at night. They cost almost the same compared to my initial plan of going to Osaka-Namba and then only to Nara.

    Will I need to stop at Yamato-Saidaiji station (from Kyoto) and get on the Namba line to get to Nara?

    I am also worry I might get confused on which train to get board on as I also understand Kyoto station is very huge and with many lines.

    Thank you.

  4. cn says:
    November 23, 2017 at 12:54 am

    Hi Takeshi,

    Thank you for your reply!

    Please see my travel plan below and hope you could give any comments if you have. Trying to save cost 🙂

    Day 1
    From KNX to Kyoto Station via Haruka discounted ticket (I have ICOCA)

    Day 2 & 3
    Travel around Kyoto using 1 day bus pass each day

    Day 4
    I need to drop my luggage near my stay at Shinsaibashi station and travel to Nara, so from Kyoto Station to Osaka Namba via JR Special Rapid Service and change to Midosuji Subway line from Osaka Namba to Shinsaibashi. To travel to Nara, from Shinsaibashi station to Osaka Namba and change to Kintetsu line to Nara and return using the same. I will use ICOCA card for all travelling here?

    Day 5
    Osaka Amazing day pass

    Day 6
    Minimum traveling around Osaka using ICOCA
    especially on day 4 (from Kyoto to Osaka to Nara and return to Osaka)

    Day 7
    Travel to KIX using Nankai Airport Express Rapi:t via Osaka Namba station.

    Please comment if there any better cheaper or efficient way of travelling especially on day 4 (from Kyoto to Osaka to Nara and back to Osaka).

    Thank you so much!

  5. cn says:
    November 20, 2017 at 6:09 pm

    Hi Takeshi,

    Thank you for your prompt reply!

    As suggested by you, I have decided to use Limited Express Rapi:t from Nankai railway to KIX. I can only buy this at the Nankai Namba Station Service Center at 2F ? Can I buy it and collect prior to my departure date?

    You mentioned that I could take the ordinary rapid train using ICOCA, may I know which is the ordinary rapid train that you mentioned? Where can I check the fares for this train? (just for my personal understanding) I tried to google and I only found that there are two trains (1) Airport Express and (2) Rapi:t Airport Express as suggested by you.

  6. cn says:
    November 20, 2017 at 1:02 am

    Hi Takeshi,

    Would like to firstly thank you as I am returning to this site seeking for your advice again (after my first visit to Japan 4 years back then)!

    This time I will be travelling to Osaka and Kyoto and would like to seek your advice on the transport.

    I will be heading to Kyoto right after touching down at Kansai Airport and plan to go to Osaka for the next fews days before returning to Kansai Airport, at such I have decided to buy the discounted Haruko tickets (I already have ICOCA) straight from Kansai to Kyoto (I cant buy returns ticket as I will be departing from Osaka to Airport and not Kyoto) and buy a return ticket from Kyoto to Osaka. I am planning to stay around Dotonbori area and according to the Haruko website, their station back to the airport from Osaka will be only from Shin-Osaka and Tennoji, does this mean I will need to travel from Kyoto to Tennoji to Namba (Dotonbori) and from Namba to Tennoji to Kansai (via Haruko)?

  7. Claudine Forsyth says:
    November 14, 2017 at 5:28 am

    Hi! Can you recommend which pass best suits our itinerary?
    Day 1 KIX to Osaka Namba
    Day 2&3 Osaka (incl USJ)
    Day 4 travel Osaka to Kyoto
    Day 5, 6 & 7 Kyoto including arashiyama & kyoto illumiere site
    Day 8 travel Kyoto to Nara
    Day 9 travel Nara to KIX

    Many thanks.
    Claud

  8. Vera Kwa says:
    November 5, 2017 at 5:38 am

    Hi Takeshi,
    We will be travelling to these areas : Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Nara and Himeiji in Nov. Here’s our itinerary . Appreciate if you could advise whether we’ve selected the right pass :

    Day 1 : Arrival in Osaka ( KIX) Hotel (staying overnight)
    Day 2: Travel to Kyoto using express haruka train with icoca and haruka discount set of icoca prepaid rail card . Stay in Shimogyoku region.
    Day 3 : Kyoto
    Days 2 & 3 : Kansai thru pass
    Day 4 : Kyoto – Osaka
    Special Rapid Service ?
    Day 5 : Osaka
    Day 6 : Osaka
    Days 5 & 6 : Either Osaka amazing pass / Osaka Visitors Ticket
    Day 7 : Day to trip Kobe & Himeiji from Osaka
    -Kansai Area Pass one day
    Day 8 : Day trip to Nara from Osaka
    Kansai Thru Pass
    Day 9 : Home

    Thank you so much!

  9. Pamella says:
    October 28, 2017 at 10:06 am

    Hi,
    I need some help on the affordable pass for my itinerary below.
    Day 1 – Arrive at KIX airport late night
    Day 2 – Osaka area
    Day 3 – Kyoto day trip, back to Osaka
    Day 4 – Kobe half day, adjourn to Nara, back to Osaka
    Day 5 – USJ
    Day 6 – Osaka to Hakone
    Day 7 – Hakone
    Day 8 – Hakone to Tokyo

    Thank you for you kind assistance

  10. Diane says:
    October 21, 2017 at 2:54 pm

    Hi!
    Could you please help me with choosing the best pass options for the below itinerary.
    We are a family of 5- 3 children under 10.
    16 days/ 15 nights
    1: arrive Narita airport late night. Overnight there.
    2-4: Gunma with Nikko day trip. Hiring car (what pass would be suitable if car hire doesn’t work out)
    5-9: Osaka base. Traveling to Kyoto and Nara.
    10-13: Tokyo
    14-15: Disney
    16- home

    I was wondering if the 7 day pass would benefit us, or do you think getting a Kansai area pass would be more beneficial, as jr is limited use in Osaka/Kyoto.
    Was thinking of picking to a 3 day travelers pass for Tokyo stay.
    Am I on the right track?
    Thank you so much in advance!

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