what pass to buy

Hello there,

The Kansai Wide Pass would give you the best value when it comes to ticket costs. The downside is that it does not include seat reservations and you would have to use a non-reserved seat to Kyoto and Kinosaki-onsen. The alternative would be to buy normal tickets all together.

Using a JR Pass unfortnately would not help you make savings for this route.

Hope this helps,
Daniel

Thank you Daniel-san. I have 3 more questions please -
1. Where do I buy normal tickets with reserved seats? If from JR counter at Kansai Airport may I know what are the operating hours?
2. What is the difference between trains with reserved seats and non-reserved seats?
2. How do I find trains with non-reserved seats to Kyoto & Kinosaki-onsen using hyperdia?
Thank you once again.
Steve

Hi again!

1.) You can buy them at any JR station, I believe the JR kansai station is available until 11:00 pm.

2.) All limited express trains have reserved and non reserved seats. The difference is that you can secure yourself a seat in advance.

3.) Hyperdia shows the reserved/non-reserved options on the right side of every route.

Hope this helps too,
Daniel