Surutto Kansai Ticket/JR rail pass

Hi guys and gals, just want to start by saying that I love the site and all those that post informative replies. I'm travelling to Japan for the first time in November and this site (with the info and the people) has helped me more than any other site.

My partner and I plan to travel around Japan in 20days. We fly into Osaka and fly out from Tokyo. We've looked at the suggested itinerary on this site for 19days and would roughly follow that. We're doing the Kansai area for about 5days at the start, then heading down south to Beppu then back up to Tokyo and be based in Tokyo for the last few days. Not too sure how long we're going to settle in each area along the way, but I do know that we want to have about 5 days in the Kansai region at the start. We�fre not too sure where we want to go around the Kansai region yet, still getting ideas.

What I was wondering is suggestions for how to maximise value on the rail passes? I understand that the Surutto Kansai Ticket is valid in more places than the JR pass (west or national). So I was thinking of using a couple of Surutto Kansai Tickets at the start of our trip, then activating a 14day JR national pass once we move on from the area. If we did it this way, it would cost around 53,900Yen.
The other option is to purchase the 21 day JR national pass for 57,700Yen, but I am reluctant to do this as it would be more expensive and I have the impression that it would give us less access around the Kansai region.

Any thoughts or corrections or ideas on this subject would be greatly appreciated :)

Hi there,

You would be suprised how much of tha Kansai area IS serviced by JR transport.

The direct train to Nara is a JR service. There is an Osaka loop line that circles the city, which is JR, along with several other lines connecting to this loop which are JR also (ie: the line to Nara). And all of Kyoto and its tourists sites are serviced by JR trains, and especially JR buses!

I too travelled for 20 days, mainly in the Kansai area and found I only had to buy Surutto Kansai Card once, and I ended up wasting my money on it as I later found out a JR bus serviced that tourist spot in Kyoto!

Definitely do more research and figure out exactly where you plan on going, and use hyperdia.com (the English version) to help you figure out times and costs of the transport you wish to take. It is a fantastic website for planning!

I think you will find that a 21 day JR pass will be fine, but if you really work it out to be cheaper using the Surutto Kansai Cards then go for that option instead.

My friend who I travelled with bought Surutto Kansai Cards instead of a 21 day JR pass and regretted it because he ended up spending enough money on the cards to make his total transport cost more than what the 21 day JR pass would have cost him anyway!

Anyway, I hope that helps. Just do the research and whichever works out cheaper obviously choose that option. But from personal experience I think a 21 day JR pass would be fine.

Good luck!

And all of Kyoto and its tourists sites are serviced by JR trains, and especially JR buses
Please don't rely on JR in Kyoto: you will need subways and buses there as well, definitely.
JR will get you to Fushimi Inari, Nijo castle, Ryoanji,(with a 20+ minute walk to and from Kinkakuji) and Arashiyama, but not a great deal more. There is so much more to experience in Kyoto.
We went through 4000Y worth of Surrutto prepaid cards in 4 trips to Kyoto, and that was using JR to get there. Admittedly we were also using them at night in Osaka as we stayed there at the station hotel, and used the Misosuji subway line to Namba on 4 nights.
If you can manage Osaka and Kyoto on Surrutto Kansai through pass then great, and leave Nara for JR Pass: my bet is you may need in 20 days both the 21 day pass and a Surrutto pass/card as well. In 20 days it would be nice to have at least 3 or 4 in Kyoto.
The JR Pass is so worth it for the ease of travel and vast options it provides; the Surrutto prepaid cards are the same, although don't provide the discount. The Surrutto Kansai through pass may not be valid for long enough for what you want to do.

Thanks for your answers guys, still not sure exactly where we're going in Kansai, but I'm sure that website will help us plan which type of ticket we should buy for that area.
I'd just hate to spend more money that I have to on transport.