best kansai region train tickets?

what is the best ticket/pass for a student whos staying over a year or more and wants to go four days to the kansai region on vacation with relatives who are visiting and using the jrail pass? I am asking because my japanese so not yet that fluent to ask this kind of question to the people at the train stations and I wanted to know about it since I need to buy a ticket but as I am in japan and not eligible for the jrail pass and just wish to visit the kansai region on those four days: osaka, kyoto and nara- I wanted to know which is the best option. I would be grateful for any helpful input on this.

You don't really need a pass for Osaka/Kyoto/Nara; they are close to each other and the trains are cheap.

none.

as firas said, just those locations dont require a pass normally. a kansai wide pass for example equates to 1733 yen per day for the cheapest option. being 400 each way from Osaka to Kyoto, 160 yen for each bus or subway trip. you'll never hit 1733 yen per day for just Osaka and Kyoto etc.

there are other cheaper pass, but those are sold be each railway, and can only be used on their own rail lines or buses. so you become limited in your travel options. and need to do some own planning to make them work.

yes, but I�fm going from tokyo to the kansai region so I need to take a train. (I think I forgot to include this detail thougj, apologies) therefore I will still need a train ticket but is it really not needed to have a pass?

It depends on where you will be staying and where you will be going every day. For example if you are staying in around JR Osaka station and do day trip to Kyoto including some rural areas such as Kurama and Ohara, Himeji and Koyasan, Kansai thru pass will be a good deal.

http://www.surutto.com/tickets/kansai_thru_english.html

This pass is for foreign tourists, but if a person (Japanese or foreigner living in Japan) is going with foreign tourists, he/she can use this pass.

But if your travel is less than 1700 yen or so for one day, then the pass won't be paid off as has been suggested already.

yes, but I�fm going from tokyo to the kansai region so I need to take a train. (I think I forgot to include this detail thougj, apologies) therefore I will still need a train ticket but is it really not needed to have a pass?

well, I am going for four days: the hotel would be in nara (since it�fs more cheap rather than in kyoto. I�fve been to thos cities before but very briedly though I know that between nara and kyoto should be around half an hour or so(?) so I thought for accomodation Nara would be better.) our plan would be to visit kyoto, Nara and Osaka in those days from a thursday - sunday since on the monday afterwards I have classes and my relatives can use the other days to explore Tokyo as the hotel booking is there is for the whole duration of their visit in japan. They already have jrail passes with them but for me that would be the problem since I also need to know which options are available and that allow us to go together in the same day, schedule and train.

Between Tokyo and Kyoto you can use the Platt Kodama if you want a discount over regular tickets. http://www.jrtours.co.jp/kodama/en/

Of course your relatives can travel on the same trains for free with their pass. It's slower than the Hikari, however.

Hi Mari,

I get what you're asking.

I believe you have a few options, though you might not like them as none of them are particularly cheap.

The first is I believe you can purchase a Platt Kodama ticket:
http://www.jrtours.co.jp/kodama/en/

Since they have a Japanese website, I don't believe you need to be a foreign tourist to purchase them. It will make your trip between Tokyo and Kyoto take a lot longer (about 1 hour longer than taking a Hikari.) Your family will be able to take a Kodama no problem since they are covered by JR passes. But I would confirm that you don't need a tourist visa just to be safe.

If you wanted to get a discounted Hikari ticket, this might be a possibility if everyone in your group was willing to sit in the non-reserved section.
https://www.japanican.com/en/tour/detail/PAS1J02031MKC/

It looks like you just need a foreign Passport since it doesn't say you need to be on a tourist visa. The pass according to reviews is valid on the Nozomi, but your family will not be able to use the Nozomi with their rail passes. I would confirm though with Japanican to make sure you can actually use the ticket before purchasing and it will take you about 30 minutes to exchange the voucher.

If you don't want to go through the process of trying to exchange vouchers which can take upwards of 30 minutes (or both those tickets require a tourist Visa) and you need reserved seats you can just pay out of pocket for the shinkansen and reserved seats. I had several JET friends pay out of pocket for the Hikari so they could sit with me between Shin-Osaka and Tokyo and also reserved seats for our group, mine being free as the only rail pass holder in a group of 5.

Good luck!

I am afraid the Japanican ticket is not for you since only foreign tourists can use this. I their website they state:

This is a special tour for international visitors. Please understand that residents of Japan cannot make bookings for this tour.

If your relatives use Japan Rail Pass then Kansai thru pass which I wrote in the former post is not valid, since this is for non-JR trains. Therefore, for travel from Tokyo to Kansai Pratto Kodama which Firas wrote would be a cheap option. Note that this is not normal ticket but "a tour" so that if you missed the specific Kodama, your "Pratto Kodama tour" becomes invalid.

In Kansai region you should use Suica IC cards which covers almost all public transport in Kansai region.

https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2359_003.html

If you stay in Nara, you should get off the Shinkansen from Tokyo at Kyoto and do some sightseeing in Kyoto first. You can go to Arashiyama by JR so this would be a good place for the first day. If you buy normal ticket your destination should be Kyoto city area which includes Saga-Arashiyama station. You can keep your luggage at Kyoto station, but once get out of the gate of Kyoto station your ticket to Kyoto becomes invalid after that. If you use Pratto Kodama, the valid place is only Kyoto station so you must buy ticket to Arashiyama, 240 yen anyway. Saga-Arashiyama takes 70-80 min, with a transfer at Kyoto station.

Day trip to Kyoto from Nara by JR is about 50 min 710 yen one way. In Kyoto you should use public transportation sparingly: you should go to one place, and then walk to the final destination of the day and then go back to JR Kyoto by train or subway. I recommend you to go to Kiyomizudera first. Go to Tofukuji by JR (710 yen) and then take Keihan to Kiyomizugojo (150 yen). Walk up to Kiyomizudera and then go north. There are many temples along the way and around Subway Keage station (Chion-in, Yasaka Shrine, Shoren-in, Nanzenji, Murin-an, Shin-en in Heian shrine, etc. From Keage you can take subway to Kyoto.

If you want to visit many Osaka's attraction, Osaka Amazing Pass might be good.

https://www.osp.osaka-info.jp/en/

But again, you should take JR to Tennoji first.

You can use hyperdia to calculate the fare for each leg.

http://www.hyperdia.com/en/

If one is attempting to save money. I would be using the buses, trams and private railways as these are cheaper than JR railways.

If one is attempting to save money. I would be using the buses, trams and private railways as these are cheaper than JR railways.

Read again. OP's relatives will be using JR since they will have a JR Pass, and they want to travel together.

Well it is difficult then if one wants to put so many limitations on their options.

In saying that, not being a long term visitor limits the options for fancy well know passes anyway.

So I would get those Platt-Kodama tickets for 10,100 yen each way, Tokyo to Kyoto and return. And use an IC car for 1500-2000 yen per day for 3 days.

Still works out cheaper than a regular short term visitor option of JR 7 day pass 29,XXX yen.