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chickenissogood
chickenissogood
over 9 years ago
4 responses

Hello! I am back. Once again, I am going to Japan in two weeks to attend my friend's wedding. This time, I am going to be there for four days.

Now, my question is- is it worth it to get the 4-day Kansai Area Pass for this trip? My boyfriend and I plan to go around Osaka, Kyoto, and maybe Nara and Himeji during our short stay. Our tentative itinerary is as follows:

Nov 22 - arrive KIX late in the afternoon, go to hotel and rest; explore nightlife in Osaka
Nov 23 - go to Kyoto, maybe Himeji/Nara and do some sightseeing; transfer to Kobe for hotel
Nov 24 - attend wedding, hang out with friends; change hotels (but still in Kobe)
Nov 25 - explore Kobe for a bit, go back to Osaka and explore; go to KIX at night

We will be moving around a lot, but my main concern is that unlike the Unlimited JR Pass (which I used when I was in Japan a few months ago), the Kansai Area Pass has more restrictions and I'm afraid that I would still have to pay more for extra fees and such. So will it be more worth it to purchase a 4 day Kansai Area Pass, or just get an ICOCA card and load it up with money? Will the Kansai Area Pass cover all of our itinerary?

Thanks a bunch.

avatar
Daniel-san
18835 posts
over 9 years ago
Expert

Hello there and welcome back!

The Kansai Pass with cover travel between the cities you wish to visit. However within most places you will have to use normal transport. I do think that it will be worth it, given the amount of travel involved. You can always use an IOCOCA card one the side for travel not covered.

Hope this helps,
Daniel

chickenissogood
chickenissogood
4 posts
over 9 years ago

Thank you! I've been looking at the JR West website and they are only selling the IOCOCA card + Haruka package there. Is it possible to buy the IOCOCA card on its own? If so, can I buy it at the Midori-no-Madoguchi booths?

avatar
Daniel-san
18835 posts
over 9 years ago
Expert

Hi again!

Yes the ICOCA card can be purchased on its own at any JR Station. It's how most people buy one :) The one sold by JR West to foreign tourists has a special print, which its a nice collectors item.


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