Kansai–Hokuriku Area Pass: seven-day routes, exchange and seats

The main cities and stations in the official area include Osaka · 大阪, Kyoto · 京都, Kanazawa · 金沢, Toyama · 富山, Fukui · 福井, Tsuruga · 敦賀, Shin-Osaka · 新大阪, Okayama · 岡山 and Joetsu-Myoko · 上越妙高. Check the exact route boundary before buying; the pass does not cover every train between these places.

Compare it with ordinary tickets for a journey from Kansai to Kanazawa or Toyama. Travel to Tokyo · 東京, or west of Okayama towards Hiroshima · 広島 or Hakata · 博多, needs tickets outside this pass’s coverage.

You need a non-Japanese government-issued passport and Temporary Visitor status. Japanese nationals are not eligible. Carry your passport during travel. Buying duplicate passes for the same use period or sharing one pass between travellers is not permitted.

The seven-day pass costs JPY 19,000 adult or JPY 9,500 child. The Japanese terms assess child age, 6–11, on the payment date. Check the actual selling option’s price and currency on the seller’s page.

One adult or child pass holder may bring up to two children aged 1–5 without a child pass. A child pass is required from the third child onward, or if a child occupies their own reserved seat or travels alone. Children under one year old travel free.

The pass runs from 00:00 on the start date to 24:00 on the seventh day, Japan time. If you are still on a train at midnight at the end of validity, basic-fare coverage continues until you exit the gate and train-charge coverage until you get off that same train.

An agency E-MCO is an electronic exchange order, not the actual pass. Exchange it before travelling; the voucher alone cannot be used to board.

Eligible local, rapid, special rapid and limited-express trains within the map are covered as well as the designated Shinkansen sections. The map includes Noto Railway from Nanao · 七尾 to Wakuraonsen · 和倉温泉, designated Kyoto Tango Railway routes and Wakayama Electric Railway from Wakayama · 和歌山 to Kishi · 貴志. On Super Hakuto or Super Inaba via Chizu Express, the Kamigori · 上郡–Tottori · 鳥取 section needs separate fares.

IR Ishikawa Railway between Kanazawa and Tsubata · 津幡, Ainokaze Toyama Railway between Takaoka · 高岡 and Toyama, and Hapi-Line Fukui between Echizen-Hanando · 越前花堂 and Fukui are permitted only for through travel connecting to JR. Getting off at intermediate stations or travelling outside the permitted section requires separate fares. Only local trains qualify on Ainokaze Toyama and Hapi-Line Fukui.

Only regular JR West bus routes shown on the pass map are included; highway buses are excluded. Take one numbered boarding ticket per person when you board. When you get off, show the pass to the driver and put only the numbered ticket into the fare box.

Exchange within three months of issue and no later than the day of use. A paper MCO needs a designated counter. An E-MCO can use a compatible PASSPORT-labelled machine or counter. Check the purchase-channel column in the location table; a passport-reader symbol alone does not confirm support for this product.

Choose your language, then Receive Reserved Tickets and Exchange Order (E-TICKET). Scan the order’s QR code or enter its number, select the start date, and read the conditions and privacy information. Scan the photo page of your IC-chip passport. If the passport cannot be read, use a counter.

Ordinary Car seat reservations are unlimited. If the pass was exchanged or bought through a travel agency, reserve at a JR ticket counter: JR West does not permit those pass holders to use a ticket machine for reserved seats. Eligible direct WEST-TR purchasers can use a machine for the first six reservations, then must use a counter. Green Car, GranClass and A-Seat require separate charges. Sunrise Seto and Sunrise Izumo are excluded, including Nobinobi seats.

Agency exchange-order holders reserve at a JR ticket counter after collecting the actual pass; they cannot use a reserved-seat ticket machine. Direct WEST-TR purchasers may reserve up to six trains before collection, with a combined limit of 28 reservation, change and cancellation transactions. Check the applicable processing deadline, including departure of the first reserved train.

Reserved-seat-only trains have no unreserved car. If you miss your train, reserve a later service. Standing is available only on a service with an officially offered standing arrangement when it is full at the time of your reservation request.

For an unexchanged Exchange Order, contact the travel agency that sold it within one year of issue; the agency’s and product’s fee rules apply. Once exchanged, an unused pass bought through an agent has a refund fee of 10%, at least JPY 220. A direct WEST-TR purchase has a JPY 560 fee per person. Where and when to request the refund also depend on the purchase channel. There is no refund after use begins, or simply because of a service suspension or delay.