Enquiry about JR Kansai-Hiroshima Area Pass

Dear Sir/Madam

I saw from your guide the following condition for the JR Kansai-Hiroshima Area Pass:
"Reserved seats are not covered by the pass. If pass holders wish to use a reserved seat, nevertheless, the pass will cover only the base fare, while the limited express fee will have to be paid separately."

Can you pls clarify how much I have to pay for the trip from Kansai Airport to Hiroshima? For example, the cost for a route in Hyperdia showed "Total:Y11,960 (TicketFare:Y6,700 Seat Fee:Y 5,260)"

If I had already bought the pass, do I pay zero amount, or Seat Fee of Y5,260 for the above trip?

Thanks

The seat fee is the limited express fee that you need to pay extra.

Can you pls clarify how much I have to pay for the trip from Kansai Airport to Hiroshima? For example, the cost for a route in Hyperdia showed "Total:Y11,960 (TicketFare:Y6,700 Seat Fee:Y 5,260)"

This "Seat Fee" Y 5,260 is for "Reserved seat". If you press the pull down menu, you will find cheaper seat fee (actually, it's not seat fee, it's express train fee) for "Unreserved seat". The pass covers Unreserved seat, but not Reserved seat.

If I had already bought the pass, do I pay zero amount, or Seat Fee of Y5,260 for the above trip?

So if you want to take Reserved seat you must pay the seat fee of Y 5,260 yen but if you just take Unreserved seat, you don't need the Unreserved seat fee (4570 yen in this case). I believe most people will do the latter. Note that there are several cars for unreserved seats in Haruka express and Shinkansen.

It's just not worth it - go with the unreserved seating. Except perhaps in peak seasons, you have a good chance of getting a seat.

Sorry to hijack, but I was wondering if anyone has any experience regarding peak hour crowds on the Osaka-Hiroshima route? I�fm leaving from Shin-Osaka at around 8am, but am afraid that there might be no non-reserved seats left, and the ride to Hiroshima is long.

I googled (in Japanese) and found a non-reserved seat congestion prediction site. I am not sure this is reliable, but no prediction would be reliable :).

This is google translation of the site.

https://translate.google.co.jp/translate?sl=ja&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=j...

As you see, in general morning tend to be congested. Weekend tend to be congested. As far as I know this includes data from everywhere, that is, the sum of Tokyo, Nagoya Shin-Osaka etc. You may need more precise data, but this is the best I found.

Further, Nozomi (running from Tokyo via Shin-Osaka to Hakata) will be more congested. Although some will get off at Shin-Osaka but at the same time some will get on. Mizuho and Sakura departs at Shin-Osaka so at the start they are vacant.

Car No. 1 has less seats than Car 2 and 3. Maybe Car 2 have more seats than Car 3. You can queue for Car 2 and count the number of persons. If it were less than 100 or you are in the first 100 persons you will keep seat. In general, Shin-Osaka to Hiroshima is less crowded than Tokyo to Shin-Osaka, so don't worry too much.

"Seat Fee" is a wrong and misleading term by HyperDia.
(Actually there is no JR fee which is officially called so.)

This term refers to a surcharge to be paid in addition to a railway basic fare,
which, in many cases,
is required even when you can go without seat reservation.
(In some trains, reservation is mandatory for any seat.)

A JR Limited Express | Shinkansen service basically requires a surcharge.
JR-West area passes other than Sanyo-San'in Area Pass
currently cover surcharges only when you go without seat reservation.

Can you pls clarify how much I have to pay for the trip from Kansai Airport to Hiroshima?

On the condition
that you make that trip within two calendar days (#),
you pay 5050 to 5860 yen as surcharges,
for your Limited Express Haruka train ride to Shin-Osaka
and for your Shinkansen train ride from Shin-Osaka,
each with your seat reserved.

For your train ride with your seat reserved,
the price of a JR Limited Express | Shinkansen surcharge
may vary by seasons and days, with a gap of 400 yen at largest;
also, regarding the Sanyo Shinkansen,
the price of a surcharge of Nozomi and Mizuho
is a little higher than that of Hikari, Kodama and Sakura
when compared for the same section.

For your train ride without seat reservation,
there are no such differences in the prices of JR surcharges.

(#)
Here the price of the Limited Express surcharge
is after the 50 percent discount
for a transfer to Shinkansen within two calendar days;
when you use Shinkansen then Limited Express,
the discount is given for a transfer within one same day.

When in the year will you travel?
Crowdedness in Sanyo Shinkansen trains can depend on seasons.

Seats which cannot be reserved
in JR Shinkansen and Limited Express trains,
which are often called like "non-reserved seats",
are secured on a first-come, first-served basis;
in a crowded train car of non-reserved seats,
you may have to stand or sit on the floor.

frog1954:
Mizuho and Sakura departs at Shin-Osaka

Yes;
Mizuho and Sakura trains go on the Sanyo and Kyushu Shinkansen,
and when they go west, they start from Shin-Osaka Station.

In Shin-Osaka Station,
Track 20, where many Sakura trains depart, is a little tricky;
this track is not accessible directly from the Shinkansen concourse;
between the concourse floor and the platform floor
is a mezzanine, where you can change elevators.

- Maps of Shin-Osaka Station
http://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/timetable/pdf/station_shin-osaka.pdf
http://english.jr-central.co.jp/info/station/_img/shin_osaka_L.jpg

Your Haruka train arrives at Track 11.
You can go up
to the concourse for conventional lines (=non -Shinkansen lines),
pass through the (Shinkansen) Transfer Gate to the Shinkansen concourse
then go further up to your Shinkansen platform.

Tokaido Shinkansen
: Tokyo -- Nagoya -- Kyoto -- Shin-Osaka, operated by JR-Central.
Sanyo [San'yo] Shinkansen
: Shin-Osaka -- Hiroshima -- Hakata, operated by JR-West.
Kyushu Shinkansen
: Hakata -- Kagoshima-Chuo, operated by JR-Kyushu.

No good getting the 13,500 yen Kansai-Hiroshima pass and spending 5000+ yen each way to get reserved seats.

If you really want to use reserved seating, then get the Sanyo-San'in pass for 19000 yen. Yes is it 5500 yen more, but you can reserve seats on all Shinkansen and limited express services (ie Haruka) . And it also gives you 2 extra days of use.

But personally I would just use the cheaper ticket. And use the Sakura or Mizuho services starting at Shin-Osaka. Line up 20-30 minutes and be the first ones on the carriage to get a seat. I have personally done this.

And then use the slower Kodama or Railstar services from Hiroshima to Shin-Osaka, as these services are not normally busy, and if they are, most passengers only travel one to two stop. Which means you'll get a seat soon.

Hi all, thanks for all your replies. However, I am still a little unclear. Would be great if we can go back to my previous example:

On Hyperdia:
Reserved Seat - Total: Y11,960 (TicketFare:Y6,700, Seat Fee:Y 5,260)
Unreserved Seat - Total: Y11,270 (TicketFare:Y6,700, Seat Fee:Y 4,570)

If I had already bought the Kansai-Hiroshima Area Pass, then is it correct that I have to pay the following additional charges:
1) If I want to reserve a seat - do I pay Y5,250, since it is not covered by the pass?
2) If I do not want to reserve a seat - do I pay zero amount, since the limited express fee of Y4,570 is covered by the pass? (zero amount is how I have read the replies, but just to confirm)

I had used the JR East Nagano pass 2 yrs ago, and I remember that it covered reservation. Strange that different passes cover different components of the fare

Thanks, in advance

1) If I want to reserve a seat - do I pay Y5,250, since it is not covered by the pass?

Yes.

2) If I do not want to reserve a seat - do I pay zero amount, since the limited express fee of Y4,570 is covered by the pass? (zero amount is how I have read the replies, but just to confirm)

Yes

I had used the JR East Nagano pass 2 yrs ago, and I remember that it covered reservation. Strange that different passes cover different components of the fare

Each pass has its own rule. Still Kansai Hiroshima Area pass is a big deal since just a round trip from Osaka to Hiroshima costs more than the pass, and Osaka Hiroshima round trip is quite popular among tourists.