How to use JR West Kansai Area Pass. Compare pass and single fare.

Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe and Nara
Osaka castle is one of popular spot to see cherry blossom in Osaka. ©Osaka Government Tourism Bureau/©JNTO
Limited Express Haruka from KIX is covered by this pass.
The limited express Haruka from KIX is covered by this pass.

JR West Kansai Area Pass is one of the choices for the traveler who stays in Osaka and make some day trips to the surrounding places, such as Kyoto, Kobe, Nara, Himeji and Wakayama.

In this post, I would like to share the information about JR West Kansai Area Pass with you. And I will compare the price of the pass and the regular fare. You can find that you can get the worth by your trip or not.

Coverage area

Kansai Area pass map
Only major stations are shown in the map.

Please refer the map in JR West Kansai Area Pass official site as well to get the detailed map.

The pass covers most of points of interest, such as Osaka (Umeda), Namba, Universal Studio Japan, Kobe, Kyoto, Nara, Wakayama, Kansai airport, Himeji.

Expansion of the coverage area in Kyoto

And also Kansai Area Pass includes the following exchange vouchers:

  • Keihan Railways Kyoto Sightseeing Pass 1-day
  • Kyoto City Subway 1-day pass

These passes expand the coverage in Kyoto so much:

Green line (subway) and red line (Keihan railway) are additional coverage. (click to view large)

Kansai Area Pass did not cover Keihan and subway in Kyoto. These lines cover eastern part of Kyoto, such as Gion, Kiyomizudera.

You may exchange the vouchers in the designated stations. Please find the detailed information in the official press release:

JR West official press release

You can use these passes separately.

e.g.
You have Kansai Area Pass 2-day
Day 1 trip to Kyoto and exchange Kyoto city subway pass only
Day 2 trio to Kyoto and exchange Keihan Railway Kyoto sightseeing pass

But in my opinion, you should use these two passes in same day. If you use only JR line and Kyoto city subway line, the coverage are limited.

The places where you cannot go by Kansai Area Pass

Major spots that are not covered by this pass is Mt. Koya. But if you want to go to Mt. Koya, Nankai Railway is the best way. Nankai Railway is not covered by JR West Kansai Area Pass anyway. Nankai Railway’s Koyasan World Heritage Ticket or Kansai Thru Pass is a right choice for trip to Mt. Koya.

Nankai Railway Koyasan World Heritage Ticket
How to use Kansai Thru Pass. Compare pass and single fare.

Who is eligible

Visitors who land as “Temporary Visitor” status can purchase this pass.

Types and prices

Purchasing from
the travel agent
overseas
(Before arrival)
Purchasing from
JR West online
(Before arrival)
Purchasing from
JR West station
(After arrival)
1-day2,400 yen2,4000 yen2,400 yen
2-day4,600 yen4,600 yen4,600 yen
3-day5,600 yen5,600 yen5,600 yen
4-day6,800 yen6,800 yen6,800 yen

*Child rate is half of the adult prices above.
*5 year old or younger child is free. Maximum 2 children per one adult.

The pass must be used in consecutive days. The validity of a rail pass starts from 12 O’clock at night (midnight to midnight).

e.g.
If you start to use 3 days pass on May 1, the pass is expired at 23:59 on May 3. The time when you start using does not matter.

If you want to purchase this at the lower price, you can purchase it at authorized travel agents. You can find the dealers list and exchange location at the link below:

JR West Rail Pass Dealer’s list

You also can purchase this pass online through JR West official site. But the price is not much cheaper than the price which is sold at the station.

Valid trains and bus lines

This pass covers all JR local trains and non reserved seat of Limited Express Haruka. You CANNOT ride any other express trains, such as the Tokaido Shinkansen the Sanyo Shinkansen, the limited express Thunderbird. But as long as you travel in Kansai area, Rapid Services Network is enough to cover your trip. It is actually crowded because these trains are the commuters one. But these are fast and frequent. The following list shows you trains that you can ride by JR West Kansai Area Pass.

Of course, you can ride any local trains that are not shown on above list.

Find your hotels in 400 cities throughout Japan!!!

Hotels and Ryokans in Nara
Hotels in Himeji
Hotels in Kobe
Hotels in Himeji
Hotels in Kansai Airport

On the other hand, JR West Kansai Area Pass does not cover any private railway lines, subway lines and the bus lines. Most of major private railway companies and subway lines are shown on the following list:

  • Osaka Metro (Subway)
  • Kyoto Municipal Transportation (Subway and city bus)
  • Nankai Railway (Namba-Kansai airport, Namba-Mt.Koya)
  • Kintetsu Railway (Namba-Nara, Kyoto-Nara)
  • Hankyu Railway (Sannomiya-Umeda-Kawaramachi)
  • Keihan Railway (Yodoyabashi-Kyobashi-Shijo-Sanjo)
  • Hanshin Railway (Namba-Sannomiya, Umeda-Sannomiya-Himeji)
  • Sanyo Railway (Umeda-Sannomiya-Akashi-Himeji)

These above railways and bus lines are NOT covered. When you are in Osaka or Kyoto, subway trains and city bus services are very convenient. So you may have to pay a single fare or purchase other pass. This is the biggest disadvantage of JR West Kansai Area Pass. You can find the coverage of this pass in these posts:

Compare cost between pass and single fare. Best way to use.

First of all, please see the fare table for major sections below:

StationsOsakaShin
Osaka
KyotoKansai
airport
Sannomiya
(Kobe)
NaraHimehjiJR Namba
Osaka1605401160
1150
3907801450190
Shin
Osaka
1605401330
1150
5408901450210
Kyoto5405401830
1150
10506902210890
Kansai
airport
1160
1150
1330
1150
1830
1150
1660
1150
1660
730
2730
1150
1030
730
Sannomiya
(Kobe)
39054010501660
1150
1210950690
Nara7808906901660
730
12102210540
Himeji1450145022102730
1150
95022101620
JR Namba1902108901030
730
6905401620

*If there are two fares, basic fare is shown at the top and limited express surcharge at the bottom. For example, if you travel from Kansai airport to Shin-Osaka, basic fare is 1330 yen and surcharge is 1150 yen.

As you saw the fare table above, most of trips from Kansai airport is very efficient because of limited express Haruka. If you travel to Osaka, Kansai airport rapid may be better than Haruka because Haruka do not stop at Osaka. But if you think about getting on Haruka, Kansai Area Pass is considerable. Even one day pass is cheaper than basic fare + surcharge. If you go to Namba, you can access there by JR trains. But Nankai Railway gives you much better access to Namba. Especially if you think about transfer to subway at Namba, Nankai Railway Namba station is much easier to transfer to most of subway lines. Please see the details at the post, How to access from Kansai airport to downtown Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe.

Next, I recommend you to use this pass for the trip to Himeji. Special Rapid Service connects Osaka with Himeji in 62 minutes. This train is the fastest and most frequent service. If you think about Kansai Thru Pass, this pass do not cover JR trains. If you go to Himeji by Kansai Thru Pass, the pass cover all part of your trip to Himeji. But you will spend more than 90 minutes. Kansai Thru Pass is very efficient for the trip to Kyoto or Mt. Koya. But if you go to Himeji, I recommend you to use JR West Kansai Area Pass.

If you go to Kyoto, Nara or Kobe from Osaka, it may not be very efficient. The fare range is between 500 and 1,000 yen. The difference between 1 day pass and 2 days pass is 2,000 yen. If you will purchase 3 days or 4 days, the price difference is 1,000 yen. If you have two trips, from Kansai airport by Haruka and trip to Himeji, you will already make more than 4,000 yen worth. You can use the pass to Kyoto, Kobe or Nara. But if you use 2 days pass for trip from Kansai airport and trip to Kyoto, Nara or Kobe, you may not be able to make more than 4,000 yen worth.

JR West also sell ICOCA and Haruka. This discount ticket include trip from Kansai airport by Haruka and 1,500 yen value e-money in ICOCA prepaid card. If JR West Kansai Area Pass is too expensive for your trip, ICOCA and Haruka may be suitable for your trip. ICOCA can be used for not only JR trains but also Kyoto subway, Osaka subway and other major private railway companies. ICOCA is more flexible than JR West Kansai Area Pass. Please see the details about ICOCA at the post, ICOCA and Haruka ticket. Very flexible and good deal for tourist who stay in Kansai..

At last, if you want to explore some more places, I strongly recommend you JR West Kansai WIDE Area Pass. This pass is available in 4 days pass only. But the area where is covered is much bigger. And limited express train and Shinkansen between Shin-Osaka and Okayama are covered by this pass. And the price is only 1,000 yen higher than Kansai Area Pass 4 days. I am very happy if you are interested in other places outside of Kansai area.

Comments

  1. Ava D. says:

    Hi Takeshi-san,

    I’m so glad I found your site. Be travelling to Osaka 2nd week of March. Skipping the Osaka Amazing Pass the only place we plan to go is Nishinomaru garden and Osaka Castle Park (not going inside castle), Abeno Harukas, USJ and the rest is just roaming around Minami area. For Kyoto, just the usual Bamboo Grove, Inari Shrine, Kiyomizu-dera Temple, Gion and a place to eat near Karasumaoike station.. Would you recommend the JR West Kansai Rail Pass + ICOCA for this itinerary, or there’s another pass that is more suitable?

    Day 1 – Kansai airport—Hotel near Nishikujo Stn. (late afternoon arrival)
    – Hotel—Namba/Dotonbori/Shinsaibashi

    Day 2 – Osaka/ Umeda

    Day 3 – Osaka—Kyoto—Osaka

    Day 4 – USJ

    Day 5 – Nishikujo Stn.–Kansai Airport

    Really appreciate your advise.

    -Ava

  2. Tony Chiao says:

    Hi,

    Thanks for your information it really helps a lot when planning the Japan trip. Here’s my short itinerary:

    DAY 1: Domestic landed at Nagoya then to Kyoto
    DAY 2: Kyoto
    DAY 3: Kyoto to Osaka
    DAY 4: Domestic flight leaving from Osaka (Kansai airport)

    My questions simply are about the transportation from Nagoya to Kyoto on Day 1 and Kyoto to Osaka on Day 3. I read your previous post and thinking about the Platt Kodama but then it will be the same day travel since I arrive on 2/13/2019 and will be going to Kyoto on that same day. Is it allowing me to still purchase the Platt Kodama or I just need to simply purchase the Shinkansen Tokaido from Nagoya to Kyoto. I also considered Kintetsu rail pass 5 days but it seems like a long trip from Nagoya to Kyoto. which option would you recommend. the second question is from Kyoto to Osaka, it looks like the Kansai Thru Pass will not be selling during my travel period (2/13/2019-2/17/2019) should I consider JR West pass from Kyoto to Osaka? thanks !

    • Hi Tony,

      Platt Kodama is not available on travel day. You have to purchase a regular ticket as you think. Kintetsu Rail Pass and Kansai area pass do not work either because you cannot get the worth of it.

      You may be able to use Kansai thru pass 3 days. It is sold all season for overseas travelers. But If you use Kansai thru pass, you have to do the following things:
      1. Take subway or train in Kyoto on day 2 as much as you can. It covers city bus too. Try to visit the places as many as you can.
      2. Make lots of trips by train or subway before/after Kyoto to Osaka. It covers subway and private railways and city bus in both Osaka and Kyoto.
      3. Try to make lots of train trips before going to Kansai.

      You cannot get the worth of 2 days pass. You should go for 3 days but you have to make 1700 yen value everyday. Regular fare ticket may be cheaper.

      Cheers,

      Takeshi / JPRail.com

  3. Jenn says:

    Hello!
    I will be visiting Japan in two weeks time! Hope to get some advice regarding the purchase of passes 🙂

    This is my rough itinerary:

    Day 1: Kansai Airport to Esaka (where our hotel is at)
    Day 2: Day trip to Nara Park > Dotonburi > Shinsaibashi
    Day 3: Osaka Castle > Umeda > Asahi Beer Museum > Pokemon Centre
    Day 4: Day trip to Kyoto (Fushimi Inari Shrine > Kinkakuji > Arashiyama Bamboo Forest) > Back to Osaka
    Day 5: Nissin Museum > Kuromon Market > Shitennoji Temple
    Day 6 – 9: Off to Kanazawa
    Day 10: Kanazawa > Osaka > Kansai Airport

    Is it recommended to get the Osaka/Kyoto Amazing Pass in this case? Should I put my day trip to Nara and Kyoto on two consecutive days (so I can get the pass)?
    Thanks in advance! & Happy New Year!

  4. Jieha says:

    Hi, my itinerary is as below;

    day 1- staying in hotel in KIX
    day 2 – to kyoto, exploring gion
    day 3 – arashiyama bamboo forest, fushimi inari
    day 4 – mount hiei (if weather permits), alternatives would be Nara then head to next hotel in
    osaka
    day 5 – USJ
    day 6 – osaka castle, umeda skybuilding, tempozan ferris wheel etc ( I bought 2 day Osaka
    amazing pass)
    day 7 – cruise, dotonbori, exploring osaka
    day 8 – return home

    what pass would you recommend for my trip? I’ve already reserved ICOCA & HARUKA as i’ll be using it to go to kyoto from airport. After reading through all the blog post I’m considering to buy the JR kansai area pass or kansai thru pass. Would it be worth it?

  5. Jessi says:

    Hi we are going to visit Japan in April of next year! Which pass will be recommend if these are the places I plan to visit? Thanks!

    Day 1: arriving Osaka

    Day 2 and 3: touring Osaka city

    Day 4: Himeji caste (Hyogo perfecture) –> traveling back to Osaka at evening

    Day 5: Nara park/deer park (Nara perfecture) —> traveling back to Osaka at evening

    Day 6: Osaka –> Kumodo Kodo (Wakayama perfecture) Kii-Tanabe station (hiking)

    Day 7: Kumodo Kodo (hiking)

    Day 8: Kumodo Kodo (end of hiking) at Kii-Katsuura (staying overnight)

    Day 9: Kii-Katsuura–> Mt. Koya (Buddhist temple lodging) still in Wakayama Perfecture

    Day 10: Mt. Koya –> Kyoto

    Day 11 to 16: Kyoto (temples, shirines, Lake Biwa, Kurama and Kibune hike, Arashiyama “bamboo forest”, SHOPPING, etc), possibly include Mt Hiei.

    Day 18: back to Osaka

  6. Jie En says:

    Hi! Do you recommend I buy the JR West Kansai Area Pass if I am on the following itinerary?

    Day 1 KIX > Himeiji
    Day 2 Himeiji
    Day 3 Himeiji > Kobe (staying around Sannomiya Hanadokeimae Subway Station)
    Day 4 Kobe
    Day 5 Kobe > Osaka (staying around Shin Osaka)
    Day 6 Osaka

    Thank you!

  7. fong says:

    Hi, I have question regarding to kansai days pass (1 day pass), i’m wondering which is better ICOCA Haruka ticket or buying 1 day Kansai day pass. The reason for this is we will be staying at hotel aroung tennoji area, and since my JR Pass expired a day before we leave Japan. I am considering to ride Haruka direct from Tennoji Station. I checked and it cost around 2000 yen for one way to KIX and for unreserved seat. So i’m wondring for the 1 day Kansai pass, if i get this pass, what seat will we get for booking Haruka’s. Thanks

  8. Jacqueline says:

    Hi,

    I will be traveling with my family of 8 to Osaka at the end of Nov. I have an elderly on wheelchair.

    Please advise on my itinerary below:

    Day 1: Kansai Airport to Namba / Shop at Dontonbori & Shinsaibashi Area
    Day 2: Namba to Nara Park
    Day 3: Namba to Kyoto  Nijo Castle / Toei Uzumasa Eigamura / Kyoto Sagano Romantic Train / Nishik Food Market
    Day 4: Namba to Osaka Castle
    Day 5: Namba to Umeda  Umeda Sky Building / HEP Five / Tenjibashisuji Shopping Arcade
    Day 6: Namba to Bay Area  Universal Studio / Tempozan Harbor Vllage
    Day 7: Namba to Kuromon Iciba Market / Shisekai
    Day 8: Namba to Kansai Airport (Might consider airport transfer)

    Which rail passes would you recommend?

    Thanks!

    Warmest regards
    Jacqueline

  9. Steven says:

    Hi Takeshi-san,

    May i have your advice on my below schedule?
    Which rail passes that you would recommend?
    Day 1: Kansai Airport at 2100hrs to Nagahoribashi Station for stay
    Day 2: Wondering around in Namba & Shinsaibashi
    Day 3: Wondering around in Osaka Castle & Umeda area
    Day 4 : visit Himeji Castle day trip back to Nagahoribashi Station for stay
    Day 5: Universal Studio Osaka
    Day 6: Kyoto day trip back to Nagahoribashi Station for stay
    Day 7: Kyoto or Nara day trip back to Nagahoribashi Station for stay
    Day 8 Osaka to Fujikawaguchiko for a stay
    Day 9 Fujikawaguchiko to Tokyo Ougioohashi Station for stay
    Day 10: Chilling around in tokyo
    Day 11: Chilling around in tokyo
    Day 12: Tokyo Disneyland
    Day 13: Noon ahead to Narita Airport for end of the trip

  10. Vanessa says:

    Hi,
    My itinerary is as follow:
    Day 1: Land at Nagoya–>Osaka
    Day 2: Osaka
    Day 3: Osaka–>Kyoto
    Day 4: Kyoto
    Day 5: Kyoto
    Day 6: Kyoto–>Nagoya
    Day 7: Nagoya

    Which rail passes would you recommend while travelling to these cities and within the city itself? Thanks!

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