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
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:

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:

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:

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.

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. Anne says:

    hi. could you please advise us most convenient & economical pass to get for the following tour itinerary of kansai :

    DAY 1 : Arrive Osaka/Kansai Airport and take train/subway to Namba
    DAY 2 : Free Day
    DAY 3 : Kobe
    DAY 4 : Narra
    DAY 5 : Osaka
    DAY 6 : Departure at Kansai/Osaka Airport

    Hope to hear from you soon.

    Thank you 🙂

    • JPRail says:

      Hi Anne,
      I usually recommend to use Kansai Thru Pass for the excursion in Kansai area. But the single fare may be cheaper than the pass for your schedule.
      If you travel to Kyoto on Day 3 or Day 5, I recommend you to use the pass for Nara and Kyoto. But in Kobe, you cannot have many chance to use the pass. As you saw in my post, a single fare to Kobe is only 310 yen. Even to Nara is 540 yen. But two day pass is sold at 3800 yen. It is very hard to get you money worth in your itinerary. If you use lots of local transportation in Kobe and Nara, maybe Kansai Thru Pass work. But it depends on your detailed itinerary and basically single fare is better.

      I recommend you to use Nankai railway between Kansai airport and Namba. This line is the best and the fastest.
      http://www.nankai.co.jp/global/english/index.html

      At last, if you use lots of subway or city bus on Day 5, you can consider about Osaka one day unlimited pass
      http://www.pia-kansai.ne.jp/osp/en/.

      Cheers,

      Takeshi / JP Rail

  2. Sara says:

    Dear Takeshi,

    Hi how are you?

    I’m traveling with my family, two adults two kids (10 years and 6 years) to Osaka in early December. We have decided to travel on our own and below is the itinerary for the time being :

    Day 1 – touch down at Kansai Airport around 4pm, strait to Kyoto
    Day 2 – Kyoto
    Day 3 – Kyoto till afternoon then go to Osaka
    Day 4 – Osaka
    Day 5 – Osaka
    Day 6 – leaving Osaka after lunch then to airport

    Can you advise what types of train tickets I should be buying?

    I’ve not confirmed which area we will be staying, but most likely will choose central location…

    Thanks in advance!

    • JPRail says:

      Hi Sara,

      My suggestion is the following:
      Day 1 – touch down at Kansai Airport around 4pm, strait to Kyoto -> Take Limited Express Train Haruka from KIX to Kyoto by JR West Kansai Area pass 1 day. It’s great deal.
      Day 2 – Kyoto -> Kyoto sightseeing 1 day pass or 2 days pass if you take a bus/subway lots on Day 3.
      Day 3 – Kyoto till afternoon then go to Osaka -> Single ticket
      Day 4 – Osaka -> One day unlimited pass or single ticket. It depends on how much train/bus you take.
      Day 5 – Osaka -> Same as Day 4
      Day 6 – leaving Osaka after lunch then to airport -> If you stay in Umeda or Shin-Osaka area, Limited Express Haruka to KIK by JR West Kansai area pass 1 days. If you stay in Namba area, use single ticket and take Nankai to KIX.

      Cheers,

      Takeshi / JP rail

      • Sara says:

        Hi Takeshi

        Many thanks for your advice, appreciate it.

        One more question, I’ll be staying at Royal Park the Kyoto, which train should I take to go to Osaka Namba station?

        Regards
        Sara

        • JPRail says:

          Hi Sara,

          Namba -> (Subway Midosuji line) -> Yodoyabashi -> (Keihan Railway) -> Sanjo

          This is the fastest and easiest way.

          Cheers,

          Takeshi / JP Rail

          • Sara says:

            Dear Takeshi

            Can I use ICOCA & Haruka to go to Kyoto from Kansai airport?
            Is it recommended to use this rather than JR west kansai area pass?

            I read through the website, but still can’t figure what how to use it 🙂

            Thanks!

            Sara

  3. Ron says:

    Hi JPrail!

    My wife and I will be travelling to Japan for 10 days this July. I would like to ask which rail pass is best for us. This is our itinerary:

    Day 1- 8 pm arrive at kansai airport. Travel to our hotel in Namba.
    Day 2- Explore Osaka
    Day 3- USJ (Universal Studios) then return to Namba
    Day 4- Day trip to kobe and return to Namba
    Day 5- Day trip to Nara then return to Namba
    Day 6- Travel to Takefu/Echizen, Fukui
    Day 7- Go around Fukui
    Day 8- Go Around Fukui
    Day 9- Travel to Kyoto for the day and return to Osaka at night.
    Day 10- 4pm travel to kansai airport

    I would gladly appreciate your suggestion. Thank you!

    • JPRail says:

      Hi Ron,

      Day1 Use Nankai by single ticket
      Day2,3 Osaka Unlimited pass
      Day4,5 Kansai Thru Pass 2 days
      Day6-9 to Fukui by single ticket
      Day9 Kyoto sightseeing card as you need
      Day10 Take Nankai by a single ticket

      We don’t have any pass to Fukui. If you take a train, you have to buy a single ticket.
      There is highway bus to Fukui from Osaka/Kyoto too. But they don’t have any English website. It is Japanese site. I put the link just in case.
      http://bus.keifuku.co.jp/hw/osaka.shtml

      Cheers,

      Takeshi / JP Rail

  4. Siobhan says:

    Dear JP Rail

    I am going to Japan from 8 Jul to 20 Jul and would like to seek for your advise on the types of passes that are suitable for my itinerary.

    Our itinerary is as follows:

    Day 1: 8 Jul – Reach Kansai Airport (ETA 9.20PM). Thereafter, we will travel to Shin-Osaka.

    Day 2: 9 Jul to 10 Jul – Explore Osaka

    Day 3: 11 Jul – Day trip to Kobe

    Day 4: 12 Jul – Day trip to Wakayama

    Day 5: 13 Jul – Day trip to Nara

    Day 6 – Day 10: 14 Jul – Move to Kyoto and stay there until 17 Jul (inclusive)

    Day 11: 18 Jul – Travel from Kyoto to Takayama via Nagoya
    – Day trip to Shiragawa-go

    Day 12 – 13: 19 Jul to 20 Jul: Explore Takayama and return to Kansai Airport via Osaka. Our return flight on 20 Jul is at 11PM.

    Could you advise if the following passes are feasible for our itinerary?

    Day 1 – Single trip ticket from Kansai Airport to Shin-Osaka

    Day 2 – Osaka Unlimited 1-day pass each for each day since 1-day covers both buses and subway

    Day 3 to 5 – 3-day Kansai Thru pass

    Day 6 – Purchase single ticket to travel from Shin-Osaka to Kyoto Station

    Day 6 to 10 – Kyoto Sightseeing 2-day pass

    Could you advise me if there any pass that is suitable for me to travel from Kyoto to Takayama and from Takayama to Kansai Airport? or it would be better to purchase single ticket?

    Appreciate it if you could advise me if my plan is feasible. I can change my itinerary from Day 2 to Day 5 in order to make full use of the passes.

    Thank you.

    • JPRail says:

      Hi Siobhan,

      I took a look your itinerary. You don’t take Limited Express Haruka from Kansai to Shin-Osaka? If so, purchase JR West Kansai one day pass, It is cheaper than regular fare. (Kansai pass one day 2000 yen / fare+surcharge almost 3000 yen)

      Actually you really did a good job! 🙂 I couldn’t find any other suggestion for Day2-10.

      Regarding last question about trip to Takayama, any rail passes are not available for Osaka/Kyoto to Takayama trip. If you take a rail, only regular ticket is your choice. However, if you don’t have any problem with highway bus, you can take direct access to Takayama from Kyoto station.
      http://www.nouhibus.co.jp/english/kyoto_osaka.html
      This is cheaper, faster and more convenient.

      You need to reserve before ride this bus. I don’t know they have any English speaking operator. But you can try when you stay in Osaka.

      Cheers,

      Takeshi / JP Rail

      • Siobhan says:

        Hi Takeshi

        Appreciate your advise 🙂

        I am trying to plan a day trip to Mt Koya. However, need your advise on a few questions:

        1) I will be using the 3-day Kansai Thru pass so I guess it is not necessary to buy the Koyasan-World Heritage Ticket that covers the round trip from Namba to Mt Koya?

        2) If I follow Route 1 as shown on the hyperdia, could you advise where and how I can purchase additional ticket for the reserved seat on top of the Kansai Thru pass I will be using?

        http://www.hyperdia.com/en/cgi/en/search.html?dep_node=SHIN-OSAKA&arv_node=GOKURAKUBASHI&via_node01=&via_node02=&via_node03=&year=2012&month=07&day=12&hour=09&minute=00&search_type=0&search_way=&transtime=undefined&sort=0&max_route=5&airplane=off&ship=off&sprexprs=off&sprnozomi=off&slputr=off&slpexprs=off&liner=off&bus=off&walk=off&jr=off&lmlimit=null&search_target=route&facility=reserved&sum_target=7

        3) There isn’t much difference between Route 1 and Route 2, therefore, could you advise which Route is better.

        4) May I also check if the Kansai Thru pass covers cable car to Mt Koya, bus ride into the town centre and also buses on Mt Koya?

        Thank you.

        • JPRail says:

          Hi Siobhan,

          1. Yes. It cover that. However if you take Limited Express Koya or Rinkan, you need pay surcharge.

          2/3. I cannot open the link. Can you describe your route. Sometimes Hyperdia link is expired.

          4. Cable car and most of bus at Mt. Koya are covered.

          Cheers,

          Takeshi / JP Rail

          • Siobhan says:

            Hi Takeshi

            The Route 1 from Shin-Osaka to Gokurakubashi is as follows:

            SHIN-OSAKA > DOBUTSUENMAE > TENGACHAYA > GOKURAKUBASHI

            Nankai Ltd Express Koya 3 is available from Tengachaya to Gokurakubashi with surcharge for Reserved Seat.

            Total time require: 110 mins.

            Route 2:

            SHIN-OSAKA > DOBUTSUENMAE > TENGACHAYA > HASHIMOTO (WAKAYAMA) > GOKURAKUBASHI

            Naikai Koya Line Exp is available from Tengachaya to Hashimoto, and Naikai Koya Line is available from Hashimoto to Gokurakubashi. No surcharge for reserved seat.

            Total Time: 116mins

            Could you advise if there’s any major difference between these 2 route besides transferring at Hashimoto Station and how can we pay for the surcharge if we follow Route 1?

            In addition, as we will be staying in Kyoto for 4 days, are we able to purchase multiple Kyoto Sightseeing pass or City bus pass for each person?

            Looking forward to your reply.

            • JPRail says:

              Hi Siobhan,

              The biggest difference between 1 and 2 is accommodation of the trains. Koya line express is a sort of commute train. But Ltd Exp Koya is like JR Ltd Exp trains. Please see the following post to get details about Koya.
              https://jprail.com/destinations/how-to-get-mt-koya.html

              If you want to take Ltd Exp Koya, you need to purchase reserved ticket at the station. So if the train is full, you cannot take ltd exp Koya.

              By the way, you can transfer from subway to Nankai at Namba too. When you check the timetable, you may see this transfer. However Namba is a big station and a bit complicated to transfer. Tengachaya is much smaller station and very easy to find the direction. Try to transfer at Tengachaya.

              You can purchase Kyoto pass as many as you can. But you can buy it anytime. So you don’t need to buy at once.

              Cheers,

              Takeshi / JP Rail

  5. Bart says:

    Hello,

    I’ll be traveling with my wife on a honeymoon in Japan in July. We’ve already purchased the 7-day JR Pass, but we’ll have one day in Osaka after we use it up. What is the best pass for one day travel PLUS airport transport to Osaka-Kansai?

    • JPRail says:

      Hi Bart,
      If you take Limited Express Haruka, buy 1 day JR West Kansai Area Pass. If you take a local train (Rapid train), buy a single ticket on the spot.
      Cheers,
      Takeshi / JP Rail

  6. Arianna says:

    Hi! First time with spouse to visit Japan for 9 days which includes 7 days of sightseeing and decided Kansai area would be the best. For 7 days, what itinerary would be best on a budget. I would love to visit Himeji, Kyoto, Nara, Mt. Koya, Osaka, Kobe but do not know how to fit them in our itinerary and what pass should be the most economical for these trips (including going around those areas) and what would be our homebase? We want to spend a couple of nights in Kyoto and maybe Osaka (again undecided if Namba or Umeda). Making the itinerary and choosing the right pass is quite overwhelming. We are using Kansai airport. Please help suggest. Appreciate it. This will be for Oct 25 to Nov 2. Thanks

    • JPRail says:

      Hi Arianna,
      First of all, you have to learn more about the point of interest in Kansai area. For example, there are many many place to see in Kyoto. What and where do you want to see? Before you make an itinerary, you need to make sure what you want to see and what you want to do.
      Please visit the following site:
      http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e623a.html
      There are tons of information about Japan. Please try to make a rough itinerary by yourself. And then I can suggest you about the pass and fix it.
      Cheers,
      Takeshi / JP Rail

  7. Emmy says:

    Hi,

    Im wondering if you can help me with finalizing my itinerary. It’s my first time going to Japan, so i am abit confused with all the transport options! we will be visiting 3 places: tokyo, kyoto and osaka. We will be in Japan 8 days in total

    day 1, 2 &3: arrive in Tokyo at 2pm. thinking of spending 3 days here.
    day 4, 5: kyoto
    day 6 , 7 & 8: Osaka
    Day 9: Our flight will leave on at 11am from Kansai airport.

    I will definately purchase JR pass, but i would like to know whether i should buy the 7 day JR pass then purchase a kansai pass for 2 days is the best way to make the most of the passes.

    From reading your articles, it seems i won’t be using the JR pass much in Kyoto. and because the JR pass is only 7 days consecutive, i won’t be able to use the JR pass to travel from osaka to Kansai airport, but will the Kansai pass cover my trip from osaka to airport?

    Thanks

  8. Masako says:

    Hello! I will be visting Osaka on June 10 & 11.

    I am trying to decide whether to buy a Osaka Unlimited 1 or 2 day pass.

    On day 1 we are arriving at Shin Osaka than meeting a friend at Namba station. I was wondering if the various sights around Namba station are all walking distance to each other (Dotombori, Amerikura, Tennoji, Shinsaibashi), or do people catch the subway within the Namba area to see the various sights. Not sure if we will be doing any of the attractions because our friend will not have a Osaka unlimited pass.

    On day two we are thinking about catching a train from Kyoto to Osaka station via a rail pass than planning on going to Umeda sky building, the Hep 5 ferris wheel, Osaka museum of Housing and living, cruise ship Santa Maria, Tempozon giant ferris wheel, and Sakishima observatory. Is this too much to attempt in one day?

    We have never been to Osaka before so we have no idea what to expect. Thanks!

    • JPRail says:

      Hi Masako,
      I don’t think you need to buy unlimited pass. As you mentioned, most of places can be accessed by walk around Namba area. Just buy a single ticket from Shin Osaka to Namba.
      On day 2, I think it is too much. If you rush, you may be able to do in one day. But it’s going to be very busy. I suggest you to divide Umeda area and Tenpozan area.
      Cheers,
      Takeshi / JP Rail

  9. Elsie says:

    My husband and I will be going to Japan (Kansai) area from 15 to 20 October, 2012. We will be traveling on our own trying to see as many places as we can around Kyoto, Nara, Kobe, Osaka. We r thinking of getting a 4 day JR West Pass which w r thinking of exchanging at the Kansai airport to use immediately to go to Kyoto the same day as we arrive( 15 Oct). We will be staying around Kyoto for at least three nights , then move to Kobe for another two nights. Is the 4 day JR West pass good for travel for 15 to 18 (Kobe). Any suggestion for the two days around Kobe. What train tickets should I purchase? If I purchase the JR West Pass, what other train / bus ticket can I purchase. What about the ride back to the Kansai airport from Kobe on the 20 Oct? Would b glad to receive any kind of suggestion for stay/ transportation and sightseeing spots worth seeing. Thank you.

    • JPRail says:

      Hi Elsie,
      First of all, don’t buy 4 days west pass. Buy one day pass to get Kyoto. Please see the following post:
      https://jprail.com/destinations/how-to-use-japan-rail-pass-in-kyoto.html
      JR lines are not useful in Kyoto. West pass do not cover any subway and city bus. Please buy Kyoto one day or two days pass for your needs when you stay in Kyoto.
      When you go to Kobe from Kyoto, buy regular ticket at the station. You cannot get your money worth.
      At last, buy another one day JR West pass to go to Kansai airport from Kobe.
      I think this is the most affordable price.
      Cheers,
      Takeshi / JP Rail

  10. Elvie says:

    Dear Takeshi,

    Hi there,

    You have given very good pieces of advice and so I was wondering if you could help me with some of the questions that I have.

    I’m going to Japan next week but I have not decided on what pass to get. Below is my itinerary:

    Day 1: Arrive in Osaka via KIX
    Day 2&3: Osaka
    Day 4,5&6: Kyoto
    Day 7: Nara
    Day 8: KIX from Osaka

    I plan to go to as many attractions as possible so I was thinking of getting these passes:

    1 Kansai Thru Pass 3-Day Ticket – 5000 yen (for Day 1,7&8)
    1 Osaka 2-Day Unlimited Pass – 2700 yen (for Day 2&3)
    1 Kyoto 2-Day Pass – 2000 yen (for Day 4,5&6) – is it better to buy the city bus all day pass?

    Please let me know what you think of my plan. Thank you so much and keep up your wonderful job! 🙂

    • JPRail says:

      Hi Elvie,
      Thanks for your comment.
      I checked your itinerary, First of all you cannot use Kansai Thru Pass for Day 1, 7 and 8. You need to use 3 consecutive days. My suggestion is the following:

      Day 1 – Regular ticket or JR West Kansai area pass 1 day if you take Limited express Haruka.
      Day 2 and 3 – 2 days Unlimited pass (same as your idea)
      Day 4 and 5 – Single ticket to Kyoto and Kyoto 2 days pass
      Day 6, 7 and 8 – Kansai Thru Pass 3 days

      I’m not sure about Day 4. It depends on how long you stay and your itinerary. Single ticket may be cheaper than the pass if you go to Arashiyama on Day 4. Because Arashiyama is on the way to Kyoto. You can access there by Hankyu Railway directly before you reach Kyoto. Once you reach Arashiyama, you don’t have many chances to get local transportation. Walk or rental bike are more convenient there.

      There are many places in Osaka and Kyoto. I understand you want to see as much as you can. But before you depart, make sure which one you really want to visit. If it is hard to decide it, go for purchasing the pass. As far as you have pass, you can change your plan easily. Even if you want to go to different places, like Kobe, you can go by Kansai Thru Pass.

      Cheers,

      Takeshi / JP Rail

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