Kintetsu Rail Pass, Most affordable deal for Osaka/Kyoto-Nagoya and access to Ise.

kintetsu railway limited expressRail pass for visitors
Kintetsu Railway has the biggest limited express train network in all private railway companies.
Kintetsu Railway has the biggest limited express train network in all private railway companies.

I have received many inquiries about Nagoya-Osaka or Kyoto trip. There are lots of travellers who arrive in Chubu (Nagoya) airport and depart from Kansai (Osaka) airport or reverse or arrive in/depart from Chubu. Even if you have round trip between Nagoya and Osaka, JR Pass is too expensive choice. And there is no options to cover both Nagoya and Osaka/Kyoto by JR. One way ticket from Nagoya to Osaka or Kyoto by Shinkansen is very common choice. However JR is not only railway that connect Nagoya, Osaka and Kyoto. Kintetsu Railway that is the biggest private railway company operates many trains among these three cities, Nara, Ise and Yoshino. Kintetsu Railway has very useful deal for the travellers who want to travel in this area.

In this post, I would like to show you Kintetsu Rail Pass and Kintetsu Rail Pass Wide.

What is Kintetsu Railway?

In Japan, there are many railway services. This is the biggest reason why you are very confused. Kintetsu Railway is NON JR and the biggest private railway company in Japan. Of course this railway service is not covered by any JR deals, such as JR Pass, Kansai Area Pass. Please see the map below to find Kintetsu Railway network.

Kintetsu Railway lines are shown in bold navy blue line. Other railways are shown in this map for your convenience. (C) JP Rail
Kintetsu Railway lines are shown in bold navy blue line. Other railways are shown in this map for your convenience. (C) JP Rail

Kintetsu Rail Pass covers all part of this network. As you see the map above, you can use this railway to get Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka (Namba, Uehonmachi, Tsuruhashi), Nara, Yoshino and Ise. And this pass includes three vouchers to take Kintetsu Railway Limited Express. Kintetsu Railway Limited Express has very nice accommodation and have same level service as JR’s limited express train. I tell you about detail of this limited express train and coverage below.

You may know about Kansai Thru Pass. This pass covers Kintetsu Railway and other major private railways in Kansai area. But this pass does not include Nagoya and Ise. And it does not include Kintetsu Railway Limited Express train voucher. As long as you travel both Nagoya and Osaka/Kyoto, Kansai Thru Pass is not your first choice. Please find the detailed about Kansai Thru Pass at the link below:

How to use Kansai Thru Pass. Compare pass and single fare.

How good is Kintetsu Railway Limited Express?

Ise-Shima Liner 23000 series is used for limited express to Ise area.
Ise-Shima Liner 23000 series is used for limited express to Ise area.

Some of major private railway companies operate limited express as commute train without extra charge, such as Hankyu, Keihan and Hanshin. But Kintetsu operates limited express as special train. It has reserved seat only. You have to pay limited express surcharge on top of base fare and this limited express train has same level of interior as JR’s limited express train.

There are many kinds of fleets for limited express trains. But all fleets have 2+2 seat configuration and seat pitch is 1000 to 1050 mm. It is spacious and comfortable.

Regular seat car interior of 21000 series, Urban Liner. Most of Kintetsu Railway Limited Express has like this interior. (C) By 2013.1.28 (Own work)
Regular seat car interior of 21000 series, Urban Liner. Most of Kintetsu Railway Limited Express has like this interior. (C) By 2013.1.28 (Own work)
The regular seat of 22600 series. This fleet is used for most of limited express trains.
The regular seat of 22600 series. This fleet is used for most of limited express trains.

Especially if you travel between Nagoya and Osaka, trip time is more than 2 hours. The seat and interior are very important factor.

You can take limited express train up to three times by Kintetsu Rail Pass if you use it until the end of September, 2016. After 1st of October, 2016, you have to purchase a separate ticket to take limited express train.

Who is eligible

Visitors who land as “Temporary Visitor” status can purchase this pass. And Japanese who live in foreign country as permanent resident or who are married to a foreigner residing outside of Japan can purchase this deal as well.

Types and prices

A few types of pass, Kintetsu Rail Pass and Kintetsu Rail Pass wide are available.

TypesPurchase outside JapanPurchase in Japan
Kintetsu Rail Pass
5-day
3,700 yen3,900 yen
Kintetsu Rail Pass Plus
5-day
4,900 yen5,100 yen

Child price is half amount of the adult price. It applies to child who is 6 to 11 years old. Adult price is applied to 12 years old and up.

5 year old or younger child is free. But when you take Limited Express train, all seats are reserved. You have to share your seat with your child. If you want to have a seat for your child, please purchase child pass for even 5 years old or younger child.

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

e.g.
If you start to use 5 days pass on May 1, the pass is expired at 23:59 on May 5.

Sales location

If you want to purchase an exchange order before you leave, you can find the authorized travel agent list at the link below:

Kintetsu Rail Pass official site

They may ship the exchange order to you by mail. Please contact the nearest vendor. Kintetsu Rail Pass Wide can be purchased at both Chubu airport and Kansai airport. But Kintetsu Rail Pass can be purchased at Kansai airport only. You can find the sales location in the airport at the link above as well.

Coverage area and valid transportation

Both Kintetsu Rail Pass and Kintetsu Rail Pass Wide covers all part of Kintetsu Railway network and include three limited express vouchers.

Kintetsu Rail Pass does not include limited express voucher. The separate ticket for taking limited express train is required.

Sightseeing Limited Express Shimakaze is not covered by this pass. This is one of most difficult trains to book in Japan now. (C) Oka21000
Sightseeing Limited Express Shimakaze is not covered by this pass. This is one of most difficult trains to book in Japan now. (C) Oka21000

Some of Kintetsu Railway Limited Express trains have upper class seat. But this pass covers ordinary reserved seat only. And Kintetsu Railway operates Sightseeing Limited Express “Shimakaze”. This train is not covered by this pass either.

If you do not want to pay any extra, you can take rapid express, express, semi express and local trains. These are commute trains. The interior is totally different from the limited express train.

The exterior of Kintetsu Railway commute trains
The exterior of Kintetsu Railway commute trains
Interior is nothing special. (C) ちょろ
Interior is nothing special. (C) ちょろ

When you take a train among Kyoto, Osaka and Nara, you can use these trains because of the short distance transfer.

Compare the pass and single fare

I would like to show you the fare table. Upper fare is base fare and lower is limited express surcharge.

stationOsaka
(Namba)
KyotoNaraNagoyaIse
(Toba)
Osaka
(Namba)
940
900
560
510
2360
1900
2040
1610
Kyoto940
900
620
510
2590
1900
2280
1610
Nara560
510
620
510
2250
1610
1940
1610
Nagoya2360
1900
2590
1900
2250
1610
1710
1320
Ise
(Toba)
2040
1610
2280
1610
1940
1610
1710
1320
stationOsaka
(Osaka-Abenobashi)
KyotoNaraNagoya
Yoshino970
510
1230
900
850
900
2390
2120

If you travel from Nagoya to Osaka or Kyoto by limited express by 30th of September, it is higher than Kintetsu Rail Pass at 3800 yen. It is really good deal for the traveller who wants to travel from Nagoya to Kyoto or Osaka. If you go to Ise from Kyoto, Osaka or Nara, it is better deal than single fare too. But if you visit Ise, Kintetsu Rail Pass Wide may be better deal for you. Please see next chapter.

If you travel after 1st of October, limited express voucher will not be included. You must have at least one round trip between Kansai area (Osaka, Nara and Kyoto) and Nagoya or Ise.

Compare cost and trip time between the Shinkansen fare and Kintetsu Rail Pass

Shinkansen is most common way to get Kyoto and Osaka from Nagoya. It is much faster than Kintetsu Railway Limited Express trains. But Shinkansen is much more expensive too. Before you decide to go for Kintetsu Rail Pass, you should compare these trains by cost and time.

Nagoya – Namba

TrainsTrip timeFare
Kintetsu Railway
Limited Express
2 hrs 30 mins3800 yen
+ Limited express surcharge
Shinkansen (Nozomi)
and Subway
1 hr 20 mins6840 yen

Shinkansen and subway combination is much faster but the cost is almost double. And Kintetsu Railway is direct access without any transfer. This is the strongest point.

Nagoya – Osaka (Umeda)

TrainsTrip timeFare
Kintetsu Railway
Limited Express
and JR local train
2 hrs 45 mins3800 yen
+ Limited express surcharge
+ 180 yen (JR)
Shinkansen (Nozomi)
and JR local train
1 hr 10 mins6560 yen

You have to transfer at Shin-Osaka to get Osaka by the Shinkansen. But it is same station and very easy to transfer from the Shinkansen to JR local train. If you take Kintetsu Railway, you can transfer at Tsuruhashi to JR Osaka Kanjo line. It is much easier than transfer at Namba to subway. Tsuruhashi station is much smaller than Namba. JR and Kintetsu stations are connected directly.

Nagoya – Shin-Osaka

TrainsTrip timeFare
Kintetsu Railway
Limited Express
and Subway
3 hrs3800 yen
+ Limited express surcharge
+ 280 yen (subway)
Shinkansen (Nozomi)50 mins6560 yen

Shin-Osaka is Shinkansen’s terminal station. Shinkansen is much more accessible than Kintetsu Railway. If you take Kintetsu Railway, you have to transfer at Namba to get subway. And subway fare is extra.

Nagoya – Kyoto

TrainsTrip timeFare
Kintetsu Railway
Limited Express
Need to transfer at Yamato-Yagi
2 hrs 35 mins3800 yen
+ Limited express surcharge
Shinkansen (Nozomi)36 mins5800 yen

Both Kintetsu Railway and Shinkansen are direct access to Kyoto. Shinkansen is 2 hours faster than Kintetsu Railway Limited Express.

Nagoya – Nara

TrainsTrip timeFare
Kintetsu Railway
Limited Express
and Kintetsu local train
Need to transfer at Yamato-Yagi
2 hrs 15 mins3800 yen
+ Limited express surcharge
Shinkansen (Nozomi)
JR local train
1 hr 30 mins6560 yen

Shinkansen and JR trains are still faster than Kintetsu Railway. But the difference is smallest in all above cases.

Assessment

If you are really sensitive with cost, Kintetsu Rail Pass is a good choice for even Nagoya to Osaka or reverse one way trip. If you travel from Nagoya to Osaka and visit Nara and Kyoto, this pass gives you a huge savings.

Even though the Shinkansen is much faster, this pass is one of my most recommended deals.

Comments

  1. arlene says:

    hi takeshi san, we will arrive in nagoya airport on december 24, 2016. a family of 4, from december 25th to 28th we plan to visit osaka, on the 29th to 30th to kobe & back to nagoya on the 31st for our departure on january 1, 2017, can i use the kintetsu regular pass? waiting for your response. thank you very much!

  2. Tina says:

    Hi there,

    I am flying into Osaka and flying out from Nagoya will have 6 days 5 nights in between. Do you think the Kintetsu Rail Wide pass will be suitable for me? In and out of the airport and for local tourist traveling as well. I also have a friend in Kobe who asked me to go down for a visit for a day trip – kind of pending.

    And so I am really wondering which pass will be the best option. Thank you and appreciate your answer.

    Regards,

    Tina

    • Hi Tina,

      Kintetsu rail pass is recommended but don’t use “Wide”. Ordinary Kintetsu rail pass + single fare between Osaka/Nagoya and airport are actually cheaper than Wide pass. If you go to Ise area, wide pass is recommended, otherwise ordinary pass is okay.

      This pass does not cover Kobe. You need to add single fare between Osaka and Kobe. You also may need to add pass or single fare in your trip. Because it does not cover subway, local bus and other than Kintetsu railway in Osaka, Kyoto and Nagoya.

      Cheers,

      Takeshi / JPRail.com

  3. Kay says:

    Hi Takeshi San,
    I will be visiting Kyoto, Nara and Osaka area this October for 5 days not necessary in that order. I will arrive in Tokyo and have not decided to take a train or fly to the Kansai area yet. If I fly in and out of Osaka, would a 5 day Kintetsu rail pass @ ¥3800 be the best for me? I hope stay either in Osaka or Kyoto as my base and make day trips to see Nara, Osaka or Kyoto. Appreciate your advice.
    Thank you!
    Kay

  4. Shannon says:

    Hi there,
    I am in Nagoya with two kids age 10 and 12. I would like to take them to Kyoto for a day trip and wondering what the best option is. Can I just go to Nagoya station and purchase return trip tickets?
    Thank you,
    Shannon

  5. Vanessa Yabut says:

    Hi Takeshi!
    Your article is very helpful. I am from Philippines and will be travelling with my daughter on May 21-26.
    We will enter and exit Japan via Chubu Airport (Nagoya). I would like to ask few things:
    1. If I buy my Kintetsu Rail Pass on the 21st but use it on the 23rd going to Osaka, will the first day of use be on the 23rd and not 21st?
    2. Can you also help me which ticket to use from Chubu airport to Nagoya station?

    Looking forward to hear from you.

    Thank you,
    Vanessa

    • Hi Vanessa,

      1. You can purchase it on 21st ans start using it on 23rd.
      2. There is no deals available. Only single ticket is your choice.
      So don’t purchase “wide”. Regular Kintetsu Rail Pass and single fare between airport and Nagoya is cheaper than Kintetsu rail pass wide.

      Cheers,

      Takeshi / JPRail.com

  6. Fung says:

    Hi Takeshi-san
    Could you advise if the Kintetsu Rail or Kintetsu Rail Wide Pass is better for the following route? Thank you very much!

    Day 1 : Osaka Kansai Airport – Kyoto (Kawaramachi Station)
    Day 2-3 : Kyoto
    Day 4-6 : Ise-Shima region
    Day 7 : Kashikojima – Osaka Kansai Airport

  7. Mary Chan-Ang says:

    Dear Takahashi

    I will arrive in Nagoya Airport on 29 May 2016. Thereafter I would like to travel to the following address:
    7-11-5 Ao-Madani-Higashi Mino-shi Osakafu 562-002 Japan to look for my engineering teacher of 33 years.

    I do not mind to have a slower train as I would like to enjoy the train ride

    Then back to Nagoya airport for departure to my country.

    Thanking in advance for your kind advice.
    Cheers
    Mary

    • Hi Mary,

      You can use this pass from Nagoya to Osaka-Namba. Your route is the following:

      Chubu airport -(Meitetsu railway)- Nagoya -(Kintetsu railway)- Namba -(subway)- Uemda -(Hankyu railway)- Mino

      You may use Kintetsu rail pass regular type, not “Wide”. Just add single fare for airport to/from Nagoya and it’s cheaper.
      Single fare is okay as well for Osaka subway and Hankyu.

      Cheers,

      Takeshi / JPRail.com

  8. Tamara says:

    Is this pass valid for exchange students? If not, can you recommend any other railway pass for this area? Thank you.

  9. YuMee says:

    Hi Takeshi,

    Would the whole journey from Nagoya to Kyoto by limited express train be considered as 1 single voucher or would it required 2 separate vouchers?

    Hyperdia shows that I would need to make a transfer at Yamato-Yagi, not sure if that would need another voucher to get on with the remaining journey to Kyoto.

    KINTETSUNAGOYA (Kintetsu Ltd. Exp.) -> YAMATOYAGI (Kintetsu Ltd. Exp.) -> KYOTO

    Then same for Kyoto to Osaka as well.
    KYOTO (Kintetsu Ltd. Exp.) -> YAMATOSAIDAIJI (Kintetsu Ltd. Exp.) -> OSAKA-NAMBA

  10. Ling says:

    Hi Takeshi-san,

    We’re going to Nagoya in Dec n plan to buy the Kintetsu Rail Wide pass.
    Like to know if they will sell the pass after 31 Oct 2016 since it’s mentioned the current pass is valid only till 31 Oct 2016.

    Appreciate your advice.
    Thanks,
    Ai Ling

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