3-day Kansai Thru Pass unlimited Train Rides, Entrance Fee Discounts and Freebies
If you are exploring Osaka and Kyoto in 3 or 4 days, Kansai Thru Pass or KTP is your best deal for cheap transportation and DIY tour. I love DIY travels because It saves me a lot of money and you have control over your time and destinations. Visiting Japan doesn’t have to be expensive. You just need to plan your trip and do a lot of research. I hope this page will save you research time. These are basically what you need to save money:
- book a promo airfare.
- book at reputable capsule hotels.
- don’t rent a pocket wifi. Instead, download offline maps and use the “save page for offline reading” function on your phone.
- buy Kansai Thru Pass KTP.
- walk
STEP 1: Book a Flight
The best time to travel to Japan is spring (April) and autumn (October). You can get better airfare deals if you book really early or if you book on the promo period. From Manila, budget airlines like Cebu Pacific and Jetstar occasionally offer promo fares.
maps.me Google Translate Jetstar Promo
STEP 2: Book A hotel
Osaka is the best place to get a hotel because it is geographically in the middle. I suggest that you book near Namba or Umeda station. These are the central stations in the Osaka area. I, for example, booked at Drop Inn capsule hotel @ ¥2800 per night. I highly recommend this capsule hotel if you are not claustrophobic because it’s the best value for your money. They have family rooms too with futon beds. I got my hotel from Booking.com.
STEP 3: Prepare Your Itinerary
Kansai is composed of Kobe, Osaka, Nara, Kyoto, Wakayama, Hyogo, and Shiga. This is just a 3-day pass therefore, only pick tourist spots within Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, and Nara. By train, these are just 1hr to 1.5hrs away from each other hence it’s not impossible to tour the area in 3days if you start early and you don’t get lost. A Taxi ride is very expensive in Japan. Walking is the cheapest way to get around although you can rent a bike. Most bike rentals charge on a per-day rate around 1,000yen to 1500yen. Some may charge for an hourly basis.
STEP 4: Buy a Kansai Thru Pass KTP at The Kansai Airport
Instead of buying 7day JRpass for ¥30,000, rather buy the 3day Kansai Thru Pass KTP at ¥5,000. It has more perks. If you follow my itinerary, you will save ¥4,000 on transportation, ¥1,000 on admissions, ¥2,000 on kimono rental, and ¥5,000 on wifi rental. I purchased KTP at the Kansai Aiport tourist information center in Osaka. This pass is your access to unlimited train and bus rides in the Kansai area, including admission fee discounts.
STEP 5: Start traveling using KTP
KTP DAY 1: Kyoto and Nara
7 am–Hankyu Takarazuka Line: Umeda Stn. transfer Hankyu Kyoto Line: Juso Stn. Transfer again to Karasuma line: Karasuma stn. alight at Kyoto Station. Travel time is 1hr. Go to the tourist information center and get a city bus map. This map is your guide to bus numbers and destinations in Kyoto.
Kyoto Tourist Information CenterLocated at Kyoto Central StationKiyomizu-Dera Temple KIYOMIZU-DERA (400 yen admission)– Bus #86 Fushimi Inari Shrine FUSHIMI-INARI (free admission)– Bus #5 or #105 Arashiyama Bamboo Shrine ARASHIYAMA (free admission)— Bus #28
Using KTP Pass in Kyoto
You can use the KTP for unlimited bus rides at Kyoto Municipal City Bus. In front of Kyoto Station is the Kyoto Tower. For the next days in the Kansai region, always use your offline maps and KTP guide. Moreover, if you have a chance, get a map from every station you get off to because as per my experience, the KTP kit does not have subway maps.
Most of the shrines and temples all look the same so I suggest that you pick the most popular places in Kyoto: Arashiyama Bamboo Shrine, Fushimi Inari Shrine, Kiyomizu-dera Temple. You should finish those 3 sites before 2 pm so you have time to go to Nara.
Using KTP Pass in Nara
From Kyoto Station, take the Kyoto Line transfer to Nara line at Yamato stn. and alight at Kintetsu-Nara Stn. Travel time is 30mins. Beside the station is the Nara Information Center. Get a map from them and you can also ask them about bike rentals in the area. You can take the Nara city bus but you have to pay the fare because KTP is not valid (estimate is 300 yen).
To save time and money, I suggest you just visit 3 popular places: Todajii Temple, Kofokuji Temple, and Kasuga Taisha Temple. These temples are walking distance from each other. They close at 5 pm.
Nara Information Center Beside Kintetsu-Nara Stn Kufukuji Temple (free admission) Kasuga Taisha (free admission) Todaiji temple (500yen admission) — This place is popular for its Giant Buddha and deer feeding area.
Day 2: Kobe / Hyogo
Himeji
7 am- Hanshin Line: Umeda Stn. transfer to Sanyo Line: Kobe-Sannomiya or take the Sanyo Direct Limited service from Umeda directly to Himeji. Alight at Sanyo-Himeji Stn. You should finish the place at 10 am.
Mt Rokko
Sanyo Line: Sanyo-Himeji Stn. transfer at (use the offline map and walk the area) Hankyu Kobe line: Kobe Sannomiya. Alight at Rokko stn. Take Bus #16 going to Rokko Cable car. Use your KTP to get discounts at Mt. Rokko cable car and bus rides. Upon reaching Mt. Rokko, you will see various museums and other tourist attractions. I suggest just pick Rokko Alpine Botanical Garden and Rokkosan Country house which connects you to Rokko Shidare Observatory. From Rokko Observatory, take the bus going back to the Rokko Sancho Station and take the cable car going back to Rokko Bus Station. You should be at the station by 3 pm. Take the same bus going to the Hankyu Rokko train station.
Kobe port tower
From Hankyu Rokko Station, go back to Sannomiya Station and take the Hanshin line going to Motomachi Station. Use the offline map to search for Ikuta Shrine because it’s just near the Motomachi station. From there, search for Kobe Port Tower. There is a little Chinatown as you walk going to the tower. Please have a taste of their authentic Kobe Beef. Go home by 8 pm. Take the Hanshin Line: Motomachi Stn and alight at Hanshin Line: Umeda Station.
Kobe Port Tower Ikuta Shrine Chinatown Kobe Beef Restaurant
Day 3: Osaka
Osaka Museum of Housing and Living Museum.
Kimono rental is at the cheapest here for just 500 yen. The Museum opens at 10 am but you have to be there at least 9 am because there is a long queue for kimono fitting. The highlight of this museum is the life-size reproduction of the old Osaka town during the Edo period. Show your KTP pass for a discount on the admission fees. The only tricky part is that it is inside a building on the 7th floor. It was hard to find because there are no English signs outside the building. Just see the map below.
From Umeda, take the Tanimachi Line subway and alight at Tenjimbashishuji 6 Chrome station. It should take you around 15mins.
Osaka Museum of Housing and Living ( KTP admission 300 yen)
Osaka Castle Park
11 am -Tanimachi Line: Tenjimbashishuji 6 Chrome alight at Tanimachi line: TanimachiYonchrome station. Use your offline map to walk around and locate the castle. Have your lunch inside the castle grounds. I got Takoyaki for lunch that day. You should be able to finish touring the castle by 1:30 pm the reason is you need to walk back to the train station again.
Osaka Castle (600 yen admission, please show your KTP for discount)
Kaiyukan Ocean Park
2 pm -Chuo line: Tanimachi Chrome 4 station alight at Chuo line: Osakako Station. Use your map to reach the ocean park. It is open until 8pm. Be sure you dont miss your last train home: Take the Chuo line: Osakako station, transfer at Misuduji Line: Hommachi Stn. alight at Misoduji line: Umeda Station
That ends our 3-day KTP pass itinerary. KTP can’t be used going to Universal hence I did include this in my itinerary. At night, you may do a tax-free shopping at Yodobashi Mall in Umeda or Don Quijote which is more popular among Filipino tourists.
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Let me know in the comments below if you have questions or suggestions.
