Is the Kansai Area Pass discontinued?

The paper version is. JR West ended its sales on 30 September 2026. The WEST QR Kansai Area Pass, used on a smartphone and sold by overseas online travel agents, continues.

How much is the Kansai Area Pass in 2026?

The WEST QR Kansai Area Pass costs ¥2,700 for 1 day, ¥4,700 for 2 days, ¥5,500 for 3 days and ¥6,700 for 4 days. Children aged 6 to 11 pay half.

Does the Kansai Area Pass include the HARUKA?

Yes. Non-reserved HARUKA seats are covered as often as you like, and you can reserve a seat twice. Book those seats on the WEST QR website up to 30 days ahead.

Can I use the Kansai Area Pass on the Shinkansen?

No. It does not cover any Shinkansen, even between Kyoto and Shin-Osaka. Use the JR special rapid between the two, which is covered.

Can I buy the Kansai Area Pass at the station?

No. The QR pass is sold only by overseas online travel agents, not at stations, Japanese travel agencies or JR-WEST ONLINE TRAIN RESERVATION. Buy it before you travel.

What is cheaper, the Kansai Area Pass or the Kansai Mini Pass?

The 3-day Kansai Mini Pass is cheaper at ¥3,000, but it excludes the HARUKA, Himeji and Wakayama. If you ride the HARUKA both ways, the 3-day Kansai Area Pass at ¥5,500 costs less overall.

Kansai Area Pass 2026: The QR Pass, Prices and Cheaper Options

10/19/202510/10/2026

Two deer in front of a temple hall and pond in Nara Park

Quick answer

JR West ended paper Kansai Area Pass sales on 30 September 2026, and the smartphone WEST QR Kansai Area Pass replaces it.
The QR pass costs ¥2,700 to ¥6,700 for 1 to 4 days (children half) and includes two reserved HARUKA rides.
For Osaka, Kyoto and Nara without the HARUKA, the 3-day Kansai Mini Pass at ¥3,000 is cheaper.

Contents

Can You Still Buy the Kansai Area Pass in 2026?

Yes, but only as a smartphone pass. JR West ended sales of the paper Kansai Area Pass on 30 September 2026. What remains is the WEST QR Kansai Area Pass.

It gives the same unlimited JR rides around Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, Nara, Himeji and Wakayama, with two reserved HARUKA rides, but it is now bought only from overseas online travel agents and shown as a QR code on your phone.

If you already bought a paper pass on or before 30 September 2026, it stays valid for its full period. Those passes came with vouchers for the Kyoto City Subway, Keihan and Hankyu. The QR pass does not include them.

This page is the JR West option for short trips inside Kansai. For longer journeys, JR West has three other passes. The Kansai Wide Area Pass adds the Shinkansen to Okayama and day trips to Kinosaki Onsen or Amanohashidate, the Kansai-Hiroshima Area Pass goes on to Hiroshima and Miyajima, and the Sanyo-San'in Area Pass covers a week across western Japan.

All of Japan's regional passes are compared in our regional rail passes guide.

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WEST QR Kansai Area Pass Prices

The QR pass costs ¥2,700 for 1 day up to ¥6,700 for 4 days, with children aged 6 to 11 at half price. JR West set the 1-, 2- and 4-day prices from 19 December 2025.

They are a little lower than the old paper pass.

Validity	Adult	Child (6 to 11)	Old paper pass, adult
1 day	¥2,700	¥1,350	¥2,800
2 days	¥4,700	¥2,350	¥4,800
3 days	¥5,500	¥2,750	¥5,800
4 days	¥6,700	¥3,350	¥7,000

Small children. Each adult or child pass holder can bring up to two children aged 1 to 5 free, and babies under 1 ride free.

A child under 6 needs a child pass if they take a reserved seat of their own, for example on the HARUKA, or if they are the third small child with one adult.

Validity. The days are consecutive. On the first day, the pass starts at 4:00 when you press "Use ticket", and the last day ends at 24:00 Japan time.

What the QR Pass Covers

The pass covers JR West local, rapid and special rapid trains across central Kansai, plus the HARUKA airport express. It does not cover any Shinkansen, any other limited express, or non-JR lines.

A white and blue HARUKA airport express train at a station — The HARUKA links Kansai Airport with Tennoji, Osaka, Shin-Osaka and Kyoto

Covered.

JR trains between Himeji, Kobe, Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Wakayama and Kansai Airport, including the lines to Saga-Arashiyama, Kameoka, Takarazuka, Universal City and Nagahama on Lake Biwa
The HARUKA between Kansai Airport and Tennoji, Osaka, Shin-Osaka and Kyoto, in non-reserved seats as often as you like and in a reserved seat twice

Not covered.

The Shinkansen, including the 15-minute hop between Kyoto and Shin-Osaka
Limited expresses other than the HARUKA
The Osaka Metro, Kyoto City Subway, Hankyu, Keihan, Kintetsu, Nankai and city buses
The paid A-Seat on Kansai special rapid trains, and Green Car seats

HARUKA seats. Reserve your two HARUKA seats on the WEST QR website, from 30 days before the ride. You cannot book them at station machines or ticket counters.

If the dedicated cars are full, ride in a non-reserved car.

How the QR Pass Works

You buy a voucher from an overseas online travel agent, link it to a WEST QR account, and scan a live QR code on your phone at the ticket gate. There is no paper ticket and no exchange at a station.

The full steps are in JR West's WEST QR user guide. The main steps are these.

Buy the voucher from an overseas online travel agent. The QR pass is not sold at travel agencies in Japan or on JR-WEST ONLINE TRAIN RESERVATION.
Register on the WEST QR site from the link on the voucher, and add each ticket to the account.
On your first day, press "Use ticket" after 4:00, then scan the QR code at the gate. Where a station has no QR reader, scan the code posted by the gate with your phone instead.

What families should know. You need a smartphone with an internet connection at every gate, and screenshots or printouts do not work. Children without a phone can travel on a parent's account, but then they must follow the same route as that parent.

One account works on one phone at a time, so if the family will split up for a day, register tickets on two accounts. Once "Use ticket" is pressed, the ticket cannot be refunded.

Kansai Area Pass vs Kansai Mini Pass vs HARUKA Ticket

For a family staying in Osaka, Kyoto and Nara, the choice comes down to the HARUKA. If you ride it both ways, the Kansai Area Pass is the better buy.

If you do not, the Kansai Mini Pass is cheaper.

Ticket	Adult / child	Covers	Best for
WEST QR Kansai Area Pass, 3 days	¥5,500 / ¥2,750	JR in Kansai, HARUKA with 2 reserved rides	Airport by HARUKA both ways, or Himeji and Wakayama
Kansai Mini Pass, 3 days	¥3,000 / ¥1,500	JR local and rapid trains, Kobe to Kyoto and Nara, Kansai-Airport Rapid	City days without the HARUKA
HARUKA One-way Ticket	¥1,800 to Osaka, ¥2,200 to Kyoto	One HARUKA ride from the airport	Only the airport transfer
IC card (ICOCA, Suica)	Normal fares	Almost everything, JR and non-JR	Short city rides and subways

Three worked examples, per adult.

Airport by HARUKA to Kyoto and back, plus 3 days of JR around Kansai. The 3-day Kansai Area Pass at ¥5,500 covers it all. The Mini Pass plus two HARUKA tickets would cost ¥7,400.
One HARUKA ride in, slow Kansai-Airport Rapid out. The Mini Pass (¥3,000) plus one HARUKA ticket (¥2,200) is ¥5,200, slightly cheaper.
No airport rides inside the 3 days. The Mini Pass at ¥3,000 is clearly cheaper, as long as you stay between Kobe, Kyoto and Nara. It does not reach Himeji or Wakayama.

Many days in Kyoto are spent on buses and subways rather than JR. If most of your rides will be on the Kyoto City Bus or the Osaka Metro, an IC card is usually simpler than any JR pass.

Our IC card guide covers the cards and child cards.

Day Trips the Pass Covers

These are the JR day trips from Osaka or Kyoto where the pass earns its price. Each is on the JR network, with no extra ticket.

Visitors in kimono walking under the red torii gates at Fushimi Inari — Fushimi Inari has its own JR station, Inari, on the Nara Line

Fushimi Inari. JR Inari Station is next to the shrine gates, a few minutes from Kyoto Station.
Nara. Take the JR Nara Line from Kyoto or the Yamatoji Line from Osaka. The deer park and Todai-ji are a walk from JR Nara Station.
Arashiyama. JR Saga-Arashiyama Station, about 15 minutes from Kyoto.
Himeji Castle. Take the JR special rapid from Osaka. The Area Pass covers it, but the Mini Pass does not.
Universal Studios Japan. JR Universal City Station, covered by both passes.

ONO

The JR pass, if it pays for itself.

Coming from Tokyo

None of these Kansai passes cover the trip from Tokyo. The Tokaido Shinkansen belongs to JR Central, and a standard reserved Nozomi seat from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka costs ¥14,520 for an adult on smartEX.

Our guide to getting from Tokyo to Osaka compares the options.

A practical pattern is to come from Tokyo by Shinkansen, start the QR pass the next morning, and fly home from Kansai Airport on the HARUKA using one of the reserved rides. Note that the Shinkansen between Kyoto and Shin-Osaka is not covered, so with the pass, use the JR special rapid between the two cities.

Most families who visit Kansai spend their first days in Tokyo. Our Tokyo private tour with kids plans Asakusa, the Imperial Palace and Tokyo Tower around naps and strollers.

Who Can Use It and Refunds

The pass is only for holders of a foreign passport entering Japan as Temporary Visitor. Japanese nationals, including those with permanent residence abroad, and foreign residents of Japan cannot use it.

One person cannot buy two of the same pass for the same days.
Before you press "Use ticket", refunds and changes go through the agent you bought from, which may charge a fee. JR West stations cannot handle them.
After "Use ticket", there is no refund, including for delays or suspended trains.
The number of tickets and passengers cannot be changed. You would refund and buy again.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Kansai Area Pass discontinued?: The paper version is. JR West ended its sales on 30 September 2026. The WEST QR Kansai Area Pass, used on a smartphone and sold by overseas online travel agents, continues.
How much is the Kansai Area Pass in 2026?: The WEST QR Kansai Area Pass costs ¥2,700 for 1 day, ¥4,700 for 2 days, ¥5,500 for 3 days and ¥6,700 for 4 days. Children aged 6 to 11 pay half.
Does the Kansai Area Pass include the HARUKA?: Yes. Non-reserved HARUKA seats are covered as often as you like, and you can reserve a seat twice. Book those seats on the WEST QR website up to 30 days ahead.
Can I use the Kansai Area Pass on the Shinkansen?: No. It does not cover any Shinkansen, even between Kyoto and Shin-Osaka. Use the JR special rapid between the two, which is covered.
Can I buy the Kansai Area Pass at the station?: No. The QR pass is sold only by overseas online travel agents, not at stations, Japanese travel agencies or JR-WEST ONLINE TRAIN RESERVATION. Buy it before you travel.
What is cheaper, the Kansai Area Pass or the Kansai Mini Pass?: The 3-day Kansai Mini Pass is cheaper at ¥3,000, but it excludes the HARUKA, Himeji and Wakayama. If you ride the HARUKA both ways, the 3-day Kansai Area Pass at ¥5,500 costs less overall.

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