For a first-time visit to the Kansai 關西region of Japan, there are surely far too many places which one would like to visit that can possibly fit in a 6-day trip. Apart from the historical Kyoto and the metropolitan Osaka, there are the cities of Kobe and Nara, all with their own characters and offering plenty of attractions.
In the end, we opted to make our base in Osaka, and commute daily to the neighbourhood during our tip in February this year. This saves the tedium of constant packing and unpacking, as well as the time to check-in and check-out of hotels. Fortunately, the cities that we planned to visit are close enough, and the rail system in the region very well developed, making the daily commutes perfectly feasible. There is also a wide range of rail passes on offer to visitors that bring savings on fares. In fact, given the diversity of rail passes available, inexperienced visitors like us may easily be at a loss in selecting the suitable ones. Fortunately, two friendly and very helpful ladies at the Tourist Information counter at Kansai Airport in Osaka were patient in listening to our travel plans. They were quick to suggest four different rail passes, on four different rail lines, for our four intended day-trips.
As an overview, here is our itinerary:
And the following are the rail passes that we used:
(1) Osaka - Kobe: Hanshin Tourist Pass
(2) Osaka - Nara: Kintetsu Rail Pass. Good for the local buses in Nara too.
(3) Osaka - Kyoto: Keihan Kyoto-Osaka Sightseeing Pass
(4) Osaka-Arashiyama: Hankyu Tourist Pass.
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