5-12 February 2014 in Kansai Area (Osaka, Kyoto and Nara)

Hi Sebastian,

Welcome to the forum! I hope you enjoyed a very good Christmas as well. Kansai is a very nice area to visit during winter, not too cold and clear weather most of the time.

Going to your questions:
1.) The Pasmo card is interchangeable with other IC cards (such as Suica and ICOCA) in Japan. This means that you only need one to travel around.

2.) Yes you can use Pasmo card for travel to Kyoto, buses in Kyoto don't use IC cards yet and you will have to pay in cash.

3.) It really depends what else you wish to travel. The price for a normal return Kyoto - Hiroshima is ¥ 21,980 a 7 day JR Pass is ¥ 28,300. For just Hiroshima it would not pay off but you could make savings if you use it for other travel as well. For instance Kyoto - Kansai Airport is about ¥ 3,480 for a one way ticket on the Haruka Express. So I think that it could definitely pay of when you would use the JR Pass for travel to Osaka/Nara as well.

Have a splendid new year!
Daniel

PS: Also nice to know is that the JR Pass covers the ferry to Miyajima.

Akemashite shinne omedetou gozaimasu Daniel-Sama,

Thank you for your quick answers, much appreciated.

If we decided only to stay in Osaka, Kyoto and Nara area from 6-12 February, which pass would you recommend?
Thank you, wishing you a great start in 2014!

Sincerely yours,
Sebastian

Happy new year to you too Sebastian-san!

Just for local travel between Osaka, Kyoto and Nara I would suggest sticking to normal tickets or use an IC card such as ICOCA, local travel not that expansive and an area pass usually is not worth it.

Have a great trip!
Daniel

Thank you so much Daniel-sama, shall I stick to my Pasmo card? I believe I have to top up my pasmo card at Kandai airport.

Thank you.

Warmest regards,
Sebastian

Hi Sebastian,

Absolutely! The Pasmo card will help you get around with ease.

Best regards and wishes!
Daniel

Dear Daniel-sama,

I hate myself of hassling you, my sincerest apologies.

May I know if there is any discount pass travel from Kansai airport to Kyoto?

I have never been on the Shinkansen before, if i just want to experience a short trip on any shinkansen from Kyoto or Osaka to any close by destination, any route you would recommend?

Thank you so much.

Sincerely yours,
Sebastian

Hi Sebastian,

Travel between Kansai Airport - Kyoto is done using the Haruka Express which is a limited express train and not a Shinkansen (Bullet train), there's a great package available for the Haruka, called the Haruka + ICOCA package which gives you a discounted ticket on the Haruka express and a prepaid travel card (like PASMO) which you can use to travel around.

If you do want to make a Shinkansen trip, I'd probably recommend taking a Shinkansen to Himeji as it is not far from Kyoto/Osaka and you can always use a local train to travel back to save money.

I hope this helps!
Daniel