The Kansai Area Pass stopped selling: what to use instead

JR West stopped selling the Kansai Area Pass on September 30, 2026. There is no single pass that replaces it under the same name, and the ended pass's own page names no replacement. The closest like-for-like options on JR West's own site are two phone tickets: the WEST QR Kansai Area Pass, which runs for 1 to 4 days and includes the Haruka airport express, and the WEST QR Kansai Mini Pass, which covers 3 days of local and rapid trains for ¥3,000. For trips beyond the core Kansai cities, the wider JR West passes are still on sale, from the 5-day Kansai WIDE Area Pass at ¥12,000 to the 7-day JR-WEST All Area Pass at ¥26,000.

This page lists the ended pass's last prices, then each option that is still sold, with the trains each one covers and the ones it does not. Prices are adult prices from the official pages linked at the end; children are half price where the official page says so. For the national pass, see JR Pass price in 2026. To add up your own rides, use the JR Pass calculator. We checked every number on October 31, 2026.

Kansai area pass: what ended, and the last prices

JR West's page for the pass now opens with "Sales ended as of September 30, 2026." It adds that passes purchased by September 30, 2026 remain valid throughout their specified validity period, so a pass bought on the last day is not wasted. You cannot buy the pass now, at any price.

The prices below are the last listed prices, shown only so you can compare the old pass with what is sold today. They are not purchasable.

The pass covered Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, Nara, Wakayama, Otsu and Tsuruga, and its text also names Himeji. It included reserved seats on the Kansai Airport Express Haruka and non-reserved travel on Special Rapid, Rapid and Local trains on JR West conventional lines. It could not be used on the Shinkansen, or on limited express trains other than the Haruka.

The closest match: WEST QR Kansai Area Pass

This is a smartphone ticket, not a paper pass. JR West sells it as a voucher through a travel agency outside Japan; the page states it cannot be purchased at travel agencies in Japan or through JR-WEST ONLINE TRAIN RESERVATION. You register the voucher on the WEST-QR site, press "Use ticket" on the day you start, and scan the QR code at the gate. A smartphone with an internet connection is required. There is no paper ticket to exchange.

Against the old pass's last prices, these are ¥100 less for 1 and 2 days and ¥300 less for 3 and 4 days (our calculation). The pass is valid on consecutive days, from 04:00 on the start day to 24:00 on the last day, and JR West lists it as available all year round.

What it covers:

• Haruka: unlimited rides on non-reserved seats, plus an ordinary-car reserved seat up to 2 times, booked in advance on the WEST-QR site.
• Ordinary trains in the valid area: Special Rapid, Rapid and Local trains, non-reserved seats.
• Not covered: the Shinkansen, and limited express trains other than the Haruka. Green Car seats and paid seating services such as A-seat need separate tickets.

Only the Haruka reserved-seat limit is new compared with the old pass, which included Haruka reserved seats without a stated count on its page. The other condition that matters is who can buy it: JR West requires a passport issued by a foreign government and entry into Japan as a "Temporary Visitor". Japanese nationals cannot use it, including those who hold permanent residence abroad. Adults are 12 or over and children 6 to 11, at the time the exchange order is issued or the pass is bought.

If the airport ride is all you need, see Haruka ticket price from Kansai Airport for the one-way Haruka fares.

The cheaper 3 days: WEST QR Kansai Mini Pass

The Mini Pass is the other WEST QR ticket. It costs ¥3,000 for an adult and ¥1,500 for a child, for 3 consecutive days — ¥2,500 less than the 3-day WEST QR Kansai Area Pass above (our calculation).

The saving comes from what it leaves out:

• It covers ordinary trains only: Special Rapid, Rapid and Local trains in its Kansai free travel section.
• It cannot be used on limited express trains, including the Haruka. To ride the Haruka you need a separate limited express ticket.
• It cannot be used on the Shinkansen. Separate basic fare and limited express tickets are required.

It is sold the same way as the WEST QR Kansai Area Pass: a voucher from an overseas travel agency, registered on a smartphone, and it cannot be bought at travel agencies in Japan or through JR-WEST ONLINE TRAIN RESERVATION. The eligibility conditions are the same foreign-passport and Temporary Visitor conditions. It is valid from 04:00 on the start day to 24:00 on the last day.

This suits a trip based in the Kansai cities that does not use the Haruka. If you plan to ride the Haruka, compare the Mini Pass plus the separate Haruka tickets against the WEST QR Kansai Area Pass, which includes the Haruka.

Wider trips: the JR West passes still on sale

If your trip goes beyond the old pass's area, JR West's longer passes are still sold. Reservations for these passes are accepted via JR-WEST ONLINE TRAIN RESERVATION from one month before boarding.

Kansai WIDE Area Pass (5 days, ¥12,000). JR West names excursions to Okayama, Takamatsu, Kinosaki Onsen, Amanohashidate, Tottori and Shirahama, and the area also includes Tsuruga. It covers reserved seats on the Sanyo Shinkansen between Shin-Osaka and Okayama, reserved seats on limited expresses including the Haruka, Kuroshio, Konotori and Super Hakuto, and Special Rapid, Rapid and Local trains on JR West and JR Shikoku conventional lines. It cannot be used on the Tokaido Shinkansen, the Sanyo Shinkansen west of Okayama, or the Kyushu Shinkansen.

Kansai-Hiroshima Area Pass (5 days, ¥17,000). It covers reserved seats on the Sanyo Shinkansen between Shin-Osaka and Hiroshima, reserved seats on limited expresses including the Haruka, ordinary JR West trains, and the JR West Miyajima Ferry between Miyajimaguchi and Miyajima. It cannot be used on the Sanyo Shinkansen between Hiroshima and Hakata, the Tokaido Shinkansen, or the Kyushu Shinkansen.

Kansai-Hokuriku Area Pass (7 days, ¥19,000). It reaches Toyama, Kanazawa and Fukui. It covers reserved seats on the Sanyo Shinkansen between Shin-Osaka and Okayama and on the Hokuriku Shinkansen between Tsuruga and Joetsu-Myoko, plus reserved seats on limited expresses including the Haruka, Thunderbird and Konotori. It cannot be used on the Hokuriku Shinkansen between Joetsu-Myoko and Tokyo, the Tokaido Shinkansen, or the Sanyo Shinkansen west of Okayama.

JR-WEST All Area Pass (7 days, ¥26,000). The widest of the four: reserved and non-reserved travel on the Sanyo Shinkansen between Shin-Osaka and Hakata and the Hokuriku Shinkansen between Tsuruga and Joetsu-Myoko, reserved seats on limited expresses including the Haruka, Thunderbird, Kuroshio, Konotori and Yakumo, ordinary JR West trains, and the JR West Miyajima Ferry. It cannot be used on the Tokaido Shinkansen or the Kyushu Shinkansen.

None of these is a like-for-like swap for a 1- to 4-day city trip: the cheapest, the Kansai WIDE Area Pass, costs ¥12,000, which is ¥5,000 more than the old pass's last 4-day price of ¥7,000 (our calculation). They are worth pricing only when your trip actually uses the Shinkansen or limited express legs they add. Enter those legs in the JR Pass calculator before you decide.

If you do not need a pass at all

Two options cover travel that is not only on JR lines, or not heavy enough for a pass.

KANSAI RAILWAY PASS LITE (Surutto Kansai). A digital pass for metro and private railways across Kansai: ¥5,200 for 2 days and ¥6,500 for 3 days, adult prices. It is on sale from October 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027, must be activated by March 31, 2027, and each version runs for consecutive days. The catch is in its own name list of exclusions: it does not cover JR lines, the Kyoto City Subway, the Keihan Keishin and Ishiyama-Sakamoto lines, the Randen (Keifuku) line, or buses. It fits days spent on private railways and metros, not days spent on JR.

KANSAI ONE PASS. A rechargeable IC card, not an unlimited pass: you touch it at the gate and the fare for each ride is charged. Its official site says it is accepted on major trains and buses in the Kansai region, including facilities with ICOCA, PiTaPa and IC markings, that it has no expiration date, and that showing the card brings discount services at participating facilities and shops. Paying per ride is the option to compare when your JR travel is a few short rides a day, where no pass in the tables above can pay for itself.

Who these options do not suit

• Anyone who has not yet travelled and is holding a Kansai Area Pass bought by September 30, 2026: you do not need a replacement yet. Your pass stays valid for its full validity period.
• Japanese passport holders, and anyone not entering Japan as a Temporary Visitor: the two WEST QR passes are closed to you under JR West's stated conditions.
• Travelers without a smartphone, or without an internet connection while travelling: both WEST QR passes are shown as a QR code on a phone.
• Anyone already in Japan who has not bought in advance: neither WEST QR pass can be purchased at travel agencies in Japan or through JR-WEST ONLINE TRAIN RESERVATION.
• City-only travelers quoted a wider pass: a 5- or 7-day pass at ¥12,000 to ¥26,000 only makes sense with the longer legs it covers. For Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe and Nara alone, start with the Mini Pass and the WEST QR Kansai Area Pass.

Sources

All checked on October 31, 2026.

• JR West, Kansai Area Pass (sales ended September 30, 2026; last prices; valid trains): https://www.westjr.co.jp/travel-information/en/tickets-passes/jrwest-rail-pass/kansai/
• JR West, WEST QR Kansai Area Pass (prices, Haruka reserved-seat limit, eligibility, how to buy, validity): https://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/ticket/westqr/kansaiarea/
• JR West, WEST QR Kansai Mini Pass (price, covered and excluded trains, how to buy, validity): https://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/ticket/westqr/kansaimini/
• JR West, Kansai WIDE Area Pass (price, valid trains, excluded trains): https://www.westjr.co.jp/travel-information/en/tickets-passes/jrwest-rail-pass/kansai_wide/
• JR West, Kansai-Hiroshima Area Pass (price, valid trains, Miyajima ferry): https://www.westjr.co.jp/travel-information/en/tickets-passes/jrwest-rail-pass/kansai_hiroshima/
• JR West, Kansai-Hokuriku Area Pass (price, valid trains, excluded trains): https://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/ticket/pass/kansai_hokuriku/
• JR West, JR-WEST All Area Pass (price, valid trains, excluded trains): https://www.westjr.co.jp/travel-information/en/tickets-passes/jrwest-rail-pass/all/
• Surutto Kansai, KANSAI RAILWAY PASS LITE (prices, sales period, exclusions): https://www.surutto.com/kansai_rwpl/en/krp.html
• KANSAI ONE PASS, official site (IC card, accepted area, no expiration date, facility discounts): https://kansaionepass.com/en