How much is the Kansai Wide Area Pass in 2026?

It costs ¥12,000 for adults and ¥6,000 for children aged 6 to 11, for 5 consecutive days. Up to two children aged 1 to 5 ride free with each pass holder when they share a seat.

Does the Kansai Wide Area Pass cover the Shinkansen?

It covers only the Sanyo Shinkansen between Shin-Osaka and Okayama, including Nozomi and Mizuho. The Tokaido Shinkansen, including Kyoto to Shin-Osaka, is not covered.

Can I use the Kansai Wide Area Pass to Hiroshima?

No. Its Shinkansen stops at Okayama. For Hiroshima and Miyajima, the Kansai-Hiroshima Area Pass costs ¥17,000 for 5 days.

Does it cover the HARUKA from Kansai Airport?

Yes. The HARUKA between Kansai Airport and Tennoji, Osaka, Shin-Osaka and Kyoto is included, with reserved seats.

Is the Kansai Wide Area Pass worth it for Osaka, Kyoto and Nara only?

No. Those trips are short and cheap on an IC card. The pass pays off when you add a long trip such as Okayama, Kinosaki Onsen or Amanohashidate.

Can I use the pass on the Kyoto Tango Railway?

Yes. The Kyoto Tango Railway to Amanohashidate is on the pass map, as are the Chizu Express and the Wakayama Electric Railway.

Kansai Wide Area Pass: Price, Map and the Day Trips It Pays For

10/20/202510/10/2026

Willow trees and stone bridges along the canal in Kinosaki Onsen

Quick answer

The Kansai Wide Area Pass costs ¥12,000 for adults and ¥6,000 for children aged 6 to 11, for 5 consecutive days.
It covers the Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka to Okayama and limited expresses to Kinosaki Onsen, Amanohashidate, Shirahama, Tottori and Takamatsu.
It pays off with one long trip, such as Okayama and Kurashiki, plus the airport train, but not for city days only.

Contents

What Is the Kansai Wide Area Pass?

The Kansai Wide Area Pass is a 5-day JR West pass for foreign visitors that covers Kansai and the countryside around it, including Okayama and Kurashiki to the west, Kinosaki Onsen and Amanohashidate on the Sea of Japan, Shirahama on the Pacific, Tottori, and Takamatsu across the Inland Sea. Its Shinkansen section runs Shin-Osaka to Okayama and no further.

Think of it as the day-trip pass. You keep a hotel in Osaka or Kyoto and use the limited express trains to go somewhere you could not reach cheaply on an IC card.

If one of your days is Hiroshima, this is the wrong pass, and the Kansai-Hiroshima Area Pass fits better. For a week across western Japan, see the Sanyo-San'in Area Pass.

For city-only days, the Kansai Area Pass page covers the cheaper options. Every regional pass in Japan is compared in our regional rail passes guide.

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Price and Validity in 2026

The pass costs ¥12,000 for adults and ¥6,000 for children aged 6 to 11, for 5 consecutive days. These are the prices on JR West's official page in October 2026, unchanged since August 2024.

JR West lists one price for every channel. An agent may add a booking fee.

Passenger	Price	Notes
Adult (12 and over)	¥12,000	5 consecutive days
Child (6 to 11)	¥6,000	Half the adult price
Children aged 1 to 5	Free	Up to 2 per pass holder, sharing a seat
Babies under 1	Free	Sharing a seat

A child aged 1 to 5 needs a child pass if they take a reserved seat of their own, or if they are the third small child with one pass holder. The age that counts is the age on the day you buy the pass.

Each day runs from 0:00 to 24:00 Japan time, and the 5 days run back to back. You choose the start date when you buy or exchange, and it cannot be moved afterwards.

The Map and Where the Pass Takes You

The pass covers JR West lines across the whole of Kansai, the Sanyo Shinkansen as far as Okayama, JR Shikoku to Takamatsu, and three private lines that most other passes leave out.

JR West map of the Kansai Wide Area Pass from Okayama and Takamatsu to Tsuruga and Shirahama — The Kansai Wide Area Pass area, from JR West's official map

Trains covered.

Sanyo Shinkansen, Shin-Osaka to Okayama, reserved and non-reserved ordinary seats, including Nozomi and Mizuho
Limited expresses such as HARUKA (Kansai Airport), KUROSHIO (Shirahama), KONOTORI (Kinosaki Onsen) and SUPER HAKUTO (Tottori)
JR West and JR Shikoku local, rapid and special rapid trains, including the Seto-Ohashi bridge line to Takamatsu
Chizu Express (Kamigori to Chizu), the fast route to Tottori
Kyoto Tango Railway, the line to Amanohashidate and Miyazu
Wakayama Electric Railway, Wakayama to Kishi
West JR Bus local routes in the area (not expressway buses)

Not covered. The pass does not cover the Tokaido Shinkansen (including Kyoto to Shin-Osaka), the Sanyo Shinkansen west of Okayama, subways, Hankyu, Keihan, Kintetsu, Nankai, city buses, Green Car seats or the paid A-Seat on Kansai rapid trains.

Is the Kansai Wide Area Pass Worth It?

It pays for itself with one long trip and the airport train. A single day out to Okayama and Kurashiki, plus the HARUKA from Kansai Airport, already matches the pass price at JR West's own discounted fares.

Every other ride in the 5 days is then free.

Trip (adult)	Discounted single ticket	With the pass
Kansai Airport to Osaka, HARUKA	¥1,800	Covered
Osaka to Okayama, Shinkansen	¥5,100	Covered
Okayama to Osaka, Shinkansen	¥5,100	Covered
Total	¥12,000	¥12,000 pass

The single tickets in the table are JR West's SANYO-SHINKANSEN One-way Ticket and HARUKA One-way Ticket, sold to visitors by overseas agents. They are the cheapest official fares to compare with.

The normal station fares are higher. Add the local train from Okayama to Kurashiki, or a second day trip, and the pass is clearly ahead.

When to skip it. If your 5 days are Osaka, Kyoto, Nara and Kobe, the long-distance trains never come into it, and an IC card or a smaller Kansai pass costs a fraction of ¥12,000.

For a family of four (two adults and two children aged 6 to 11), the passes cost ¥36,000. Two small children under 6 can travel free on top, as long as they share a seat.

Day Trips the Pass Pays For

Each of these is a full day out from Osaka or Kyoto, and each one on its own costs a large part of the pass price in normal fares. Do two of them in 5 days and the pass has paid off.

1. Okayama and Kurashiki

Okayama Castle above the river on a clear day — Okayama Castle, a short walk from Korakuen Garden

The Shinkansen takes you from Shin-Osaka to Okayama in under an hour. Okayama has Korakuen Garden and the black Okayama Castle. Kurashiki, one stop away on the JR line, has the canal and white-walled warehouses of the Bikan Historical Quarter.

It is the easiest long trip on this pass with children, because the Shinkansen does the hard part.

2. Kinosaki Onsen

Kinosaki is a small hot spring town on the Sea of Japan side, reached by the KONOTORI limited express from Osaka or Kyoto in under 3 hours. Visitors walk between seven public bathhouses in yukata.

It works as a day trip, but an overnight stay is more relaxed with children.

3. Amanohashidate

Amanohashidate is a pine-covered sandbar across a bay, one of Japan's traditional "three views". The trip combines JR to Fukuchiyama with the Kyoto Tango Railway, both covered, so no extra ticket is needed.

4. Shirahama

Shirahama is a white-sand beach on the Pacific coast of Wakayama, reached by the KUROSHIO limited express. The town also has Adventure World, a large zoo and marine park.

5. Takamatsu and Tottori

Takamatsu, across the Seto-Ohashi bridge from Okayama, has Ritsurin Garden and udon. Tottori, reached by the SUPER HAKUTO over the Chizu Express, has the sand dunes.

These are the two longest days on the pass. Save them for older children.

ONO

I recommend Okayama, Kurashiki, Kinosaki and Amanohashidate to families.

Kansai Wide vs Kansai-Hiroshima (the ¥5,000 Question)

If your route goes beyond Okayama even once, buy the Kansai-Hiroshima Area Pass instead. For ¥5,000 more (¥17,000), it covers almost the same Kansai area plus the Shinkansen to Hiroshima and the JR ferry to Miyajima.

The Kansai Wide pass keeps two advantages. It is ¥5,000 cheaper when Okayama is your limit, and it includes the Chizu Express, the fast route to Tottori, which the Kansai-Hiroshima pass does not show on its map.

For a slower week on the Sea of Japan coast (Tottori, Matsue and Izumo), JR West also sells the Kansai-San'in Area Pass, at ¥18,000 for adults and ¥9,000 for children for 7 days, with the Shinkansen to Okayama and the YAKUMO limited express. The Sanyo-San'in Area Pass page compares the two.

Coming from Tokyo

The pass starts in Kansai. The Tokaido Shinkansen from Tokyo belongs to JR Central and is never covered, so buy that ticket separately. 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 train, bus and flights.

If you are coming from Tokyo, set the pass to start the day after you arrive in Kansai, not on the travel day. Then all 5 days fall where the pass works.

JR West's search for exchange and pick-up locations includes some offices in the Tokyo area, so check whether yours can issue the pass before you leave, which saves time at a busy Kansai station.

Most families we meet spend their first days in Tokyo. Our Tokyo private tour with kids covers Asakusa, the Imperial Palace and Tokyo Tower at a child's pace before you head west.

How to Buy, Collect and Reserve Seats

Buy online from JR West, through an overseas agent, or at a travel agency in Japan. The price is the same.

JR-WEST ONLINE TRAIN RESERVATION opens one month before your first day of travel, at 10:00 Japan time. Pay by credit card (virtual cards are refused). In Japan, collect the pass at a ticket machine with your reservation number, 4-digit PIN, the same card and an IC-chip passport, or at a ticket office.
An overseas agent issues an exchange order (MCO or E-TICKET), which you exchange in Japan within 3 months.
A travel agency in Japan sells it up to one month before your first day.

Reserved seats are unlimited on the Shinkansen and limited expresses in the area. Book them at a ticket machine or ticket office before boarding. From the 7th booking, JR West asks you to use a staffed ticket office.

Some trains are all-reserved, so without a booking you cannot board them at all. Our guide to the JR ticket office shows how the counter works.

Rules, Who Can Use It and Refunds

Only visitors with a foreign passport who enter Japan as Temporary Visitor can use the pass. Japanese nationals (including those with permanent residence abroad) and foreign residents of Japan cannot.

Keep your passport with the pass. Staff may ask for it.

One person cannot hold two of the same pass for the same dates.
Before first use, a refund costs 10% of the price, with a minimum of ¥220. Once the first day starts, there is no refund.
The pass is not extended for delays or suspended trains, and a lost pass is not replaced.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is the Kansai Wide Area Pass in 2026?: It costs ¥12,000 for adults and ¥6,000 for children aged 6 to 11, for 5 consecutive days. Up to two children aged 1 to 5 ride free with each pass holder when they share a seat.
Does the Kansai Wide Area Pass cover the Shinkansen?: It covers only the Sanyo Shinkansen between Shin-Osaka and Okayama, including Nozomi and Mizuho. The Tokaido Shinkansen, including Kyoto to Shin-Osaka, is not covered.
Can I use the Kansai Wide Area Pass to Hiroshima?: No. Its Shinkansen stops at Okayama. For Hiroshima and Miyajima, the Kansai-Hiroshima Area Pass costs ¥17,000 for 5 days.
Does it cover the HARUKA from Kansai Airport?: Yes. The HARUKA between Kansai Airport and Tennoji, Osaka, Shin-Osaka and Kyoto is included, with reserved seats.
Is the Kansai Wide Area Pass worth it for Osaka, Kyoto and Nara only?: No. Those trips are short and cheap on an IC card. The pass pays off when you add a long trip such as Okayama, Kinosaki Onsen or Amanohashidate.
Can I use the pass on the Kyoto Tango Railway?: Yes. The Kyoto Tango Railway to Amanohashidate is on the pass map, as are the Chizu Express and the Wakayama Electric Railway.

Plan a Private Day with a Local

Every tour is private, for your group only, and planned with you before you arrive. From US$550 per group for a day on foot in Tokyo or Yokohama, or from US$890 for a day trip by train to Kamakura, Hakone or Mt. Fuji. Travelling with children? See our Tokyo private tour with kids.

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