Everything you need to know about the JR Kansai Area Pass
What is the JR Kansai Area Pass?
The JR Kansai Area Pass offers foreign tourists unlimited travel on local trains and buses for 1, 2, 3 or 4 consecutive days within the designated area.
It allows you to explore the Kansai area including the cities of Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, iImeji and Nara.
How much does it cost?
- 1-day pass:
- Adult: 2,800 yen
- Child: 1,400 yen
- 2-day pass:
- Adult: 4,800 yen
- Child: 2,400 yen
- 3-day pass:
- Adult: 5,800 yen
- Child: 2,900 yen
- 4-day pass:
- Adult: 7,000 yen
- Child: 3,500 yen
Child passes are only available for those between 6 and 11 years old.
Where can it be used?
- JR-WEST special rapid, rapid and local trains within the pass area.
- Reserved seats on Kansai-airport Express HARUKA.
- West Japan JR Bus routes within the pass area.
- 1 Day Pass for each of the following rail/subway lines:
- Kyoto City Subway
- Keihan Railway
- Hankyu Railway
Important information
- Valid for one, two, three or four consecutive calendar days (midnight to midnight) from the date of your choice.
- Exclusively for foreign visitors to Japan (on temporary visitor status).
- Not valid for Japanese residents.
- The age of a child is defined as the age on the date of purchase. A passport or other such document is required to prove a child’s age.
- Children under 6 years old who do not require seat reservations do not need a pass.
- A separate fee is applicable if you wish to use the Green Car or GranClass.
- Youth fares (including student discount) are not offered for this pass.
- You can only use one JR Kansai Area Rail Pass at a time while travelling in Japan. (You cannot purchase two of the same type of pass if their validity periods overlap)
- Day passes for the Kyoto City Subway, Keihan Railway and Hankyu Railway can redeemed individually.
- Day passes for the Kyoto City Subway, Keihan Railway and Hankyu Railway can only be used during the period the Kansai Area Pass is valid.
- The JR Kansai Area Pass is not valid on any Shinkansen services.
Where to buy
- Purchase through online or offline travel agents outside of Japan.
- Travelers must collect the physical pass at a JR West Travel Service Center, JR West Ticket Office (Midori-no-madoguchi) or at a passport reader-equipped ticket machine in a JR West station.
- Available for purchase on the official JR West website.
For a full list of JR West locations where passes booked via the official JR West website can be collected, the JR West website provides a search function that will find the all locations where the pass can be collected in their area.
How to reserve seats
Free seat reservations available at:
- Seat reservation ticket machines.
- JR ticket offices.
- JR West Train Reservation website (collect physical tickets at a ticket machine or ticket office).
How to use
Insert only your rail pass into the automatic ticket gate.
Make sure to pick up your rail pass after passing through the gate. The rail pass cannot be reissued even if it is lost or stolen etc.
Value
The pass offers value for those wishing to explore the Kansai area of Japan and travel between the cities of Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Himeji and Nara.
It is not good value for those seeking to make one or two short journeys within the pass area, however it can be cost saving if you plan to make multiple journeys within the timeframe.
A popular journey for tourists is from Osaka Station to JR Nara Station. A one-way trip between these two stations will cost approximately 840 yen on JR West trains.
Another popular journey is from Osaka Station to Kyoto Station, which would cost around 580 yen on JR West trains covered by this pass.
Travelling between Kobe’s Sannomiya Station and Osaka will typically cost around 420 yen.
It is possible to save money with this pass if you intend to make frequent use of trains between Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Himeji and Nara during the period your pass is valid for.
