JR West Pass

Hi,

I am looking for some information on the JR West Pass.
I have asked this question in a Facebook forum and had many different answers so I am a little confused.

I will be travelling between Kyoto - Hiroshima - Osaka next week and was advised by someone in this group to purchased a Kansai-Hiroshima Area Pass.

I know some JR Rail Passes must be purchased outside of Japan and was wondering if the above pass is the same or if I can purchase this at a train station in Kyoto before travelling?

If I have to purchase it online would I get a QR code with my order that I have to show to pick the passes up or would I have to print off details for my pass? Asking as I don't think I will have access to a printer once in Japan.

Once I have the pass how do you use it for travel? Do I still need to queue and purchase tickets for each individual journey I make - or do I just scan my pass and board the train?

If I have a pass do I need to reserve seats if I am travelling with luggage? It's not oversized luggage and I will try to avoid travelling at peak hours if possible. Just not sure how busy the trains will be and if I should pre book seats beforehand.

I know there is a lot of information on the JR website but its all a little confusing and I was hoping someone could simplify the process for me a little.

Thank you so much for any help.

I will be travelling between Kyoto - Hiroshima - Osaka next week and was advised by someone in this group to purchased a Kansai-Hiroshima Area Pass.

Yes, that is correct. The Kansai Hiroshima pass pays off as soon as you make any return journey between either Kyoto or Osaka and Hiroshima. Be aware though, you need to take a standard JR train between Kyoto and Osaka before transferring to Shinkansen at Shin Osaka, as it doesn't cover the Shinkansen between Kyoto and Osaka.

I know some JR Rail Passes must be purchased outside of Japan and was wondering if the above pass is the same or if I can purchase this at a train station in Kyoto before travelling?

You can purchase it at a train station but it is easy to reserve on the JR West website from 30 days in advance if you prefer.

If I have to purchase it online would I get a QR code with my order that I have to show to pick the passes up or would I have to print off details for my pass? Asking as I don't think I will have access to a printer once in Japan.

You won't get a qr code on the confirmation email but also a reservation ID and a 4 digit pin that you will enter yourself. To pick up the tickets at a counter, you will need your passport (for all travellers using the passes), the 5 digit reservation ID number, the credit card used for purchase, and the four digit PIN. Use a memorable number or write it down as the PIN will not be on the confirmation email!

Once I have the pass how do you use it for travel? Do I still need to queue and purchase tickets for each individual journey I make - or do I just scan my pass and board the train?

No need to queue for tickets unless you are getting on a particularly busy train and want to make sure you have reserved seats. This is another advantage of reserving on the JR West website as you can add seat reservations before picking up the pass. Otherwise it works like a standard ticket at the gates.

If I have a pass do I need to reserve seats if I am travelling with luggage? It's not oversized luggage and I will try to avoid travelling at peak hours if possible. Just not sure how busy the trains will be and if I should pre book seats beforehand.

If it's not oversized then you can travel in standard seats. Oversize luggage rules only apply to the Shinkansen and won't be required for other trains. If you are travelling off peak you should be fine, but as I said above you can reserve seats in advance if you wish.

As far as I understand it, you cannot purchase the Kansai Hiroshima Pass at a JR West ticket office. There are only a very limited number of places where you can actually purchase one in person in Japan. If you are in Kyoto, the Kansai Tourist Information Center in the Kyoto Tower Building (and NOT the Kyoto Tourist Information Center in Kyoto Station) is one of them. It also happens to be a great place to get tourist information, and they have other services as well. But it’s probably best to purchase the pass online. You will then need to pick up the physical pass in Japan at a specified JR West location. You cannot make advance reservations online unless you have purchased the pass from JR West’s online web site. (Note that there is a limited number of six reservations that you can make online; after that you will have to line up at a ticket office.) Here is where you can actually purchase the pass in Japan:
https://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/ticket/receive/?railpass=3&counter=...

As pointed out by Tom, with this pass you cannot use the shinkansen between Kyoto and Osaka, but you can use it west of there as far as Hiroshima. There are limited express trains between Kyoto and Osaka that you can use (of them all except the Haruka require reservations, so you cannot just hop on without a ticket) or you can take a local train (no seat reservations on those).

If you aren’t already familiar with trains and rail passes in Japan (or even if you are…) you should read the purchase and usage conditions for this pass carefully. I think that the nationwide JR pass is a lot easier to use, and the web site for it is more user-friendly, but since a year ago the nationwide pass has become so expensive that it is useless for most people’s itineraries. We all miss the olden days when it was a super bargain.

Here is more information about the Kansai Hiroshima pass:

https://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/ticket/pass/kansai_hiroshima/
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2361_kansai_hiroshima.html

I don’t envy new tourists trying to figure out the huge array of rail passes and discount tickets in Japan, to be honest. Some of them are well worth learning about, but if I were starting from square one, I would find the research and analysis to be onerous. The JR West passes in particular have a lot of picky conditions. But they can be a terrific value once you get all the details sorted out, and the fact that they let you use the Nozomi and Mizuho shinkansen trains (which the nationwide pass does not) is a real plus.

Thank you for the clarification Kim, and apologies if I gave some dodgy information, OP.

I was under the impression you could purchase passes at the JR West stations where you can pick up passes reserved online. I may have been incorrect there. As Kim says, probably best to reserve online for the reasons already mentioned.