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
- JR West Rail Pass – Kansai Area Pass
- Hankyu Tourist Pass one day and two days
- Kyoto-Osaka Sightseeing Pass one day and two days
- Kintetsu Rail Pass one day and two days
- Hanshin Tourist Pass
- Kansai Wide Area Pass
- ICOCA and Kansai One Pass
- For traveler who use national or regional pass
- For the traveler who stay in Kyoto or Osaka and visit inside city only
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)
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
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](https://i0.wp.com/blue-works.com/jprail/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/ICOCA_NEW_CARD-600x387.jpg?resize=600%2C387)
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.
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
Hi Takeshi,
I would appreciate your advice on the best way to arrange the transport for my trip to Kyoto in December.
I imagine we would take the Haruka train to Kyoto (probably the 8.16pm).
Then the next 3 days we want to use a mix of subway train bus and taxi all in Kyoto, the usual sightseeing routes.
Day 5 we need to travel from Fushimi to Namba for dinner then onto the airport to stay for our early flight to Okinawa.
Would the ICOCA Haruka pass let us break our return trip at Namba?
thanks very much for your help
Leah
Hi Leah,
You can use your ICOCA for the trip to Namba. The best way from Fushimi to Namba is Keihan Railway (Fushimi to Yodoyabashi) and Osaka Subway Midousuji line (Yodoyabashi to Namba). If you go to Kansai Airport, you can use it to take Nankai railway. But if you go to Itami Airport, you have to take Limousine bus. It is not supported by ICOCA.
http://www.jr-odekake.net/en/icoca-haruka/pdf/ICOCA_en.pdf
Cheers,
Takeshi / JP Rail
Hi Takeshi,
May I seek your advice on railway passes (or a combination of passes) for a 4-day trip with itinerary as follow:
– 1st day: arrive Kansai Airport early morning and take train to Kyoto, explore Kyoto
– 2nd day: continue to explore Kyoto then go to Kobe (just to enjoy Kobe cuisine) in the afternoon and back to Osaka at night, might wander round if still have some time left!
– 3rd day: explore Osaka
– 4th day: take the early train back to Kansai Airport and say goodbye Japan!
We intended to either:
– take a Thru Pass + 1 way ticket back to the Airport the last day
– take Hakura + ICOCA 2 way + topup ICOCA on the way
They seem to cost comparable fee, but still we are not clear about time consuming and convenience (for ex, the hassle to refill/purchase the ticket on the way)! You may even suggest another better combination, thanks a million!
Dale
Hi Dale,
I recommend you to use ICOCA and Haruka round trip. It is very complicated from KIX to Kyoto by Kansai Thru Pass.
https://jprail.com/travel-informations/other-rail-passes/rail-pass-for-residents/how-to-use-kansai-thru-pass-compare-pass-and-single-fare.html
You may purchase Kyoto city pass 1 day for day 2. You can use ICOCA e-money for transfer to Osaka and Osaka subway.
Cheers,
Takeshi / JP Rail
Hi Takeshi San,
I saw your advise from this web and i wonder you can advise me too, I’ll be travelling to kyoto next month and my itenary is as follow.
Day 1. Osaka (Kansai airport) to Kyoto
Day 2 kyoto
Day 3. Kyoto
Day 4. Kyoto to Okayama
Day 5 . Okayama
Day 6. Okayama
Day 7 Okayama
Day 8 . Okayama to Hiroshima (Miyajima)
Day 9. Hirshina to okayama
Day 10 . Okayama
Day 11. Okayama to Osaka (Kansai Airport)
My friends suggested me to buy JR line for 7 days and 4days for kansai pass. It this the best way to travel? or is there any better alternative.way? There are so many choices and even my friend got confused which is the best way, i hope you can enlightened me.
Ariigato Gozaimasu
Amara
Hi Amara,
I don’t think Japan Rail Pass 7 days is a good choice. It is very hard to put 7 days pass into your itinerary. If you use 7 days pass, you have two choices. If you use it for Day1-7, it does not cover Okayama-Hiroshima/Miyajima-Okayama-Kansai. It is not a good way. On the other hand, If you use it for Day5-11, it does not cover Kyoto-Okayama. And also, single fare for Day5-11 will be cheaper than 7 days pass.
My choice is the following:
Day 1 ICOCA and Haruka one way type @ 3,000 yen
https://jprail.com/trains/sort-by-type/limited-express/kansai-airport-limited-express-haruka.html
http://www.jr-odekake.net/en/icoca-haruka/
Day 2-3 Kyoto city pass (Subway and city bus pass)
1 day pass may be fine. Because you can use ICOCA e-money for Kyoto sightseeing.
Day 4-7 Kansai WIDE Area Pass @ 7,000 yen
https://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
Even if you use this pass for Kyoto-Okayama transfer by Shinkansen only, the price of this pass is still cheaper than single fare. You can start to use this pass on Day 2 or 3 if you want. You can go to Osaka, Nara or other area in Kansai by this pass when you stay in Kyoto.
Day 8-11 Sanyo Area Pass 4 days @ 20,000 yen
http://www.jr-odekake.net/en/jwrp/sanyo.html
This pass cover all trips for Day 8 to 11. Single fare of all trips for these 4 days is almost same amount as this price, 20,000 yen. But if you have a pass, you don’t need to purchase a ticket one by one. It will be more convenient.
Cheers,
Takeshi / JP rail
Hi Takeshi
Thanks for reminding me about the JR 7 day pass. I actually do not need 8 days. The 7 day pass may just be nice. Below is my itinerary:
Day1: Osaka
Day2: Osaka
Day3: Osaka
Day4: Kyoto
Day5: Kyoto
Day6: Miyajima/Hiroshima [start using JR 7-day Pass]
Day7: Hiroshima/Iwakuni, sleep @ Fukuyama
Day8: Onomichi/Okayama
Day9: Okayama/Kurashiki
Day10: Kobe
Day11: Osaka (Rinku Town Station)
Day12: Fly home
Can I confirm the JR 7-day Pass covers all the above locations? I was thinking of taking a day trip to Naruto Whirlpool on Day 11, will the JR Pass cover the Bus journey from Kobe to Naruto?
Thank you in advance for your feedback
Regards
Leong
Hi Leong,
I thought you would go to some more places where is far from Hiroshima/Miyajima. But you will go to Iwakuni, Kurashiki and Hiroshima. As long as I check your itinerary, single ticket round trip fare between Osaka and Iwakuni is more expensive than Sanyo Area 4 days pass at 20,000 yen a little bit. Don’t purchase JR Pass 7 days or Sanyo Area 8 days. You cannot get the worth.
I recommend you to purchase Sanyo area 4 days for your trip Day 6 to Day 9. I think you depart from Kyoto on Day 6. If you come back to Kobe on Day 9, it is perfect. If you will still stay in Okayama on Day 8, it is still okay. Single ticket between Shin-Osaka and Iwakuni may be cheaper than Sanyo 4days Pass. It is not so much different. Especially you will have multiple trip between Hiroshima and Miyajima/Iwakuni. Rail pass is much easier to use than single ticket.
Regarding Naruto, neither JR Pass nor Sanyo Area Pass cover it. Any JR Rail Passes do not cover it. If you can go to Naruto from Okayama, you can take JR trains to Naruto via Seto Ohashi bridge. But you need to change your itinerary. In this case, you can use some more JR trains. But JR Pass 7 days is still more expensive. JR Sanyo Area Pass do not cover this area.
Cheers,
Takeshi / JP Rail
Hi Takeshi
I plan to buy the Sanyo Area Pass 8 day, beginning when I travel from Kyoto to Hiroshima.I believe Sanyo Area Pass does not cover Kyoto right? If yes, should I buy a separate ticket from Kyoto to Shin-Osaka and use the Pass from there, or should I buy the ticket to Osaka and travel from there to Hiroshima?
Thanks a lot
Leong
Hi Leong,
Kyoto is not included in Sanyo Area Pass. If you take Shinkansen from Kyoto, I believe you can purchase basic fare ticket and Shinkansen surcharge ticket for Kyoto to Shin-Osaka. And you can show these ticket and Sanyo Area Pass when you go through the manned gate.
If you take local train from Kyoto to Shin-Osaka, purchase basic fare ticket for Kyoto to Shin-Osaka. You can show this basic fare ticket and Sanyo Area Pass when you go through Shinkansen transfer gate at Shin-Osaka.
I think these ways will work.
By the way, do you need 8 days pass? Because Japan Rail Pass 7 days is cheaper and cover Kyoto as well. Mizuho and Nozomi are not covered by Japan Rail Pass. (Sanyo Area Pass does) But you can save around 2000 yen if you use Japan Rail Pass.
Cheers,
Takeshi / JP Rail
hi, Takeshi, need yr assistance for my trip to osaka next year. i will arrive in Kansai Airport on 25th morning 8.30am, and leaving to malaysia on 29/5/12. that means i only have 25 to 28 (4 days) to go around osaka, kobe, kyoto, nara and wakayama. need your advice which place to go on the first day, 2nd day and so on…..and also the transportation for bus or train. thank you and hope you could help me to give a memorable trip to my mum. thank you
Hi Gillian,
You can go anywhere in Kansai area if you arrive at 8:30 in the morning. I think you can go to Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe in 4 days easily.
So please make sure where you want to see at the first and what you want to do at the first. And then you can make a schedule and choose your pass or single ticket.
Cheers,
Takeshi / JP Rail
Hi Takeshi,
Thanks for the answer. Hope you don’t mind a follow-up question on the Kanku Chikatoku Rail Ticket. When it is mentioned that the ticket is valid from KIX to any Osaka municipal subway station, can it be used for going out and in for more than one station in Osaka?
As always, thank you for your kindness and patience,
hoh
Hi Hon,
You can use for reverse way and go to any station on Subway and Tramway.
Cheers,
Takeshi / JP Rail
Hi Takeshi/ JP Rail,
I picked a magazine (called Good Luck Trip Kansai) at a recent Travel Fair and in it, I saw a ‘Kanku Chikatoku Rail Ticket stating that for a flat fare of 980 Yen, it will take the ticket holder from KIX to all Osaka municipal subway stations.
Can you kindly tell me more about this ticket, for example,
1. which company is behind the pass?
2. is it a basic fare for the slow ride train?
3. do I have to pay a surcharge for a limited express ride?
4. where can I purchase the ticket at KIX airport?
Thank you again for taking time to answer this query.
Hoh
Hi Hoh,
First of all, please refer this PDF. This PDF answer your questions 1, 2 and 4.
http://www.nankai.co.jp/global/english/traffic/ticket/pdf/chikatoku.pdf
It doesn’t mention anything about limited express. But it does not include it. I am not sure it cover basic fare when you take limited express or have to pay full charge. Ask station staff when you purchase it.
Cheers,
Takeshi / JP Rail
Hi,
Appreciate your comment on which pass is suitable for my itinerary.
Arriving in Osaka on 12th Nov. Stay here till 15th and move on to Kyoto for the next 3days. Then on 19th will travel to Kinosaki and back in Osaka on 20th. Stay in Osaka for another 3nights.
Do I buy the Kansai WIDE area pass for the trip to Kinosaki (4days pass)? Is this pass useful when i’m staying in Osaka area for the next4days? Or should I also get the Kansai Thru Pass ?
My plan is to get one Kansai Thru Pass (3days) from 12 to 15th Nov, then with the Kansai WIDE area pass I can go to Kinosaki and back to Osaka. But I’m not sure if this pass is good for me to move around in Osaka later?
And also while I’m in Kyoto, should I get the Kyoto 2days pass as well?
Really appreciate your advise and comment as this is my first visit to Japan and I got all confused with so many rail lines available.
Thank you and cheers,
Charlize
Hi Charlize,
First of all, as long as you travel to Kinosaki, Kansai WIDE Area Pass is cheaper than regular ticket.
Regarding trip in Osaka, please see the following post:
https://jprail.com/travel-informations/how-to-use-japan-rail-pass-in-downtown-osaka.html
I talk about JR Pass on the above post. But it is same as Wide Area Pass. If you travel around Namba area, JR line is not the best choice.
Regrading Kyoto, it depends on how much you get on the bus or subway. As I mentioned on the post, you need to get on it more than 5 times a day. Otherwise single ticket may be cheaper. And JR lines are not useful in Kyoto either.
I don’t know where you will go by Kansai Thru Pass. But you need to take a lots of train. Otherwise you cannot get your money worth. You cannot have many chances to use this pass in Nara and Kobe. Because you can walk to access many places in Nara and Kobe. I think Kyoto and Mt. Koya are the best places to use Kansai Thru Pass.
Cheers,
Takeshi / JP Rail
Hi Takeshi San,
I’d like to get your advise on which tickets are most convenient and cost savvy day for my trip. Below is my itinerary to Japan in decemeber.
Day 1: Kansai airport > Rinku Town outlet > Nara > Kyoto
Day 2: Kyoto
Day 3: Kyoto
Day 5: Kyoto > Osaka
Day 6: Osaka
Day 7: Osaka
Day 8: Osaka
Day 9: Osaka > Kansai airport
Thank you for your attention.
Hi Jasmine,
First of all, even though I don’t know what time you will arrive in KIX, Rinku Town, Nara and Kyoto in one day is too much. You should go to Nara when you stay in Kyoto or Osaka. If you go to Kyoto via Rinku Town, ICOCA and Haruka is the best choice.
https://jprail.com/trains/sort-by-type/limited-express/kansai-airport-limited-express-haruka.html
If you really want to go to Rinku town and Nara in same day, Kansai Rail Pass 1 day is the best. I really don’t recommend this. Nara has too many places to see.
When you stay in Kyoto, you may need to purchase Kyoto city pass. But it depends on your plan. It is same story for staying in Osaka. You may purchase one day pass. But single ticket will be fine.
If you take Haruka on the last day, you should purchase ICOCA and Haruka round trip ticket when you arrive on the first day. But it depends on where you stay.
Cheers,
Takeshi / JP Rail