JR West Kansai or Surrutto Kansai pass?

We will spend 4 days (arrive Sunday and leave on Thursday morning) in the Osaka area in April and hope to travel to the following places: Kyoto, Himeji, and Kobe and also travel within Kyoto and Osaka.

Will leave Osaka via Kansai Airport (one way trip to airport only).

Wondering if it will be more worthwhile to get the JR West Kansai pass for 4 days for 6,000 or Surrutto Kansai ticket for 3 days for 5,000.

Also, does JR West pass cover any of local transportation within Osaka or Kyoto?

Please advise, thanks.

Both passes have their advantages and disadvantages.

JR West Pass

Not valid on any trains besides JR. That makes it virtually useless for Kyoto city transportation.

Best features: you can ride the non-reserved car of the Haruka limited express and fast access to Himeji.

Kansai Thru Pass

It is useful for urban transportation in Kyoto and Osaka and also for transportation between cities.

Disadvantage: On the Kyoto-Osaka-Himeji route, JR trains, which cannot be used, are faster and easier to use than the non-JR trains to be used by Kansai Thru Pass holders.

If you use the Kansai Thru Pass, I recommend to pick a hotel in the downtown area (around Shijo) rather than the JR Kyoto Station area, so that you can easily use either Hankyu or Keihan to reach Osaka.

thanks Uji.

One more question, some cities are more "walkable" than others..... how walkable is osaka and kyoto given we have about 3 days in total for the two cities? Are the attractions far apart? (We have not decided exactly what we want to see in each area - would also appreciate if you can recommend some attractions.)

Thanks.

The attractions in both Kyoto and Osaka are spread far across the city. However, they usually come in groups in the same area. So, you can spend half a day or even a full day per area, walking between the sights in each area, and use public transportation between the areas.

Examples of such areas are the Higashiyama district, Arashiyama and the Kinkakuji/Roanji/Ninnaji district in Kyoto and Minami, the Osaka Castle area and the waterfront area in Osaka.