Northern Kyushu Rail Pass: 3 or 5 days, prices, exchange and six seat bookings
JR KYUSHU RAIL PASS Northern Kyushu
The Northern Kyushu Rail Pass covers designated JR routes in northern Kyushu for three or five consecutive days. Compare it for trips around Fukuoka · 福岡, Saga · 佐賀, Nagasaki · 長崎, Oita · 大分 and Kumamoto · 熊本. Its Kyushu Shinkansen coverage is limited to Hakata · 博多–Kumamoto.
Key destinations
Fukuoka / Hakata Station / Saga / Nagasaki / Beppu · 別府 / Oita / Kumamoto / Misumi Station · 三角駅 / Takeo-Onsen · 武雄温泉.
When does this pass suit your itinerary?
Compare this pass with individual tickets if you make several trips from a Fukuoka base to eligible northern destinations such as Nagasaki, Beppu and Kumamoto. If you want to continue to Kagoshima by Kyushu Shinkansen, first note that the section south of Kumamoto is excluded.
Who can use it?
This pass is for travellers living outside Japan who hold a non-Japanese passport and enter for sightseeing with Temporary Visitor status. Check the evidence in your original passport and carry it while using the pass.
Prices and child fares
Adults are aged 12 or over; children are aged 6–11. For an overseas-agency exchange order, the child’s age is assessed on the purchase date. For a pass bought in Kyushu or through JR’s official online service, it is assessed on the start date. The table gives the official agency/station JPY prices. Check official online discounts and Trip.com’s displayed selling price separately.
Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.
| Consecutive days | Adult | Child (6–11) |
|---|---|---|
| 3 days | 15,000 | 7,500 |
| 5 days | 17,000 | 8,500 |
Verified:
Consecutive travel days
Use the pass on consecutive dates from your chosen start date. For example, a three-day pass starting on 6 October covers 6, 7 and 8 October. Check the exchange deadline attached to your purchased product separately.
Exchange orders and the actual pass
Exchange the order for a paper pass before boarding. Agency vouchers are valid for three months after issue under JR’s rules; your seller may specify a separate booking deadline. Bring the exchange order and every traveller’s original passport. Passport photographs and copies are not accepted. A reserved-seat ticket is separate from the pass.
For a purchase through JR KYUSHU RAIL PASS Online Booking, bring the special QR exchange order, every traveller’s original passport and the physical credit card used to pay. JR does not accept virtual cards for that purchase route or issue the tickets if the payment card is missing. An agency confirmation can use a reservation number instead of that QR format; follow its collection instructions. A code on an exchange order is not a QR boarding ticket.
Covered routes and exclusions
Eligible local and limited-express trains around Kumamoto/Misumi and north of Oita are covered, including the conventional line to Shimonoseki · 下関 shown on the map. Shinkansen coverage includes Hakata–Kumamoto and Takeo-Onsen–Nagasaki. The Hakata–Kokura · 小倉 Sanyo Shinkansen and Kumamoto–Kagoshima-Chuo · 鹿児島中央 Kyushu Shinkansen are excluded.
Subways, non-JR railways, JR Kyushu buses and B&S Miyazaki buses are excluded. The pass also excludes Seven Stars in Kyushu, ARU RESSHA and KANPACHI/ICHIROKU. Green Car travel requires extra charges, and the pass does not give access to Green private compartments.
Where to collect or exchange
Exchange a Northern Kyushu order for the actual pass at the JR Kyushu counter in the Access Hall, first floor of Fukuoka Airport · 福岡空港 International Terminal. It opens 09:00–17:00 and does not handle new purchases, changes or refunds. At Hakata Station or another designated location, check the specific pass-processing hours.
Reserved seats
Free Ordinary Car reserved-seat bookings are limited to six. Reserve at a JR Kyushu counter or reserved-seat machine. A connecting booking on Nishi Kyushu Shinkansen Kamome and its connecting limited express counts as one booking. Paid advance online reservations do not count towards this free allowance.
Paid advance reservations through JR KYUSHU RAIL PASS Online Booking are separate KRP Option Tickets. The published per-section charge is JPY 1,500 for Design & Story sightseeing trains or JPY 1,000 for regular Shinkansen, limited-express and rapid trains; child charges are half. Availability and eligible agency vouchers are limited. The Green-only 36+3 has section-specific charges. Check that your actual voucher supports this service before booking.
Service changes: check separately from the map
As checked on 6 October 2026, the Kagoshima Main Line between Uto · 宇土 and Yatsushiro · 八代 is suspended through 9 October, with reopening scheduled from the first service on 10 October. Weather and other conditions may change that date. The Hisatsu Line between Yatsushiro and Yoshimatsu · 吉松 remains under a long-term suspension. A line appearing on a coverage map does not guarantee that trains are currently operating; check service information for your travel date.
Cancellations and refunds
For an agency order not yet exchanged, ask the seller about a refund. JR Kyushu does not refund agency exchange orders directly. For an actual pass already issued, ask the issuing JR counter by the day before its validity starts; official guidance specifies a fee of 10% of the JPY selling price. No refund is offered from the start date onwards. Check Trip.com’s selected-option cancellation conditions separately.
Official JR KYUSHU RAIL PASS Online Booking purchases have a separate online refund route, a 23:00 deadline on the first valid day and a 10% fee. Once the actual pass has been issued at a JR counter, the issuing-counter procedure and day-before-start deadline described above apply. Paid KRP Option Tickets have their own departure-time deadlines and cancellation fees; cancelling a seat option is not the same as cancelling the pass.
From purchase to boarding
Choose your consecutive travel dates and routes. Check your passport’s Temporary Visitor evidence and the applicable child-age assessment date.
Check the pass type, duration, traveller name and exchange deadline on the order you receive after purchase.
Take every traveller’s original passport and the required exchange order to a counter that handles your pass. For an official JR online purchase, also bring the physical payment card and special QR exchange order; for an agency order, follow its confirmation and reservation-number instructions.
Confirm the start date when collecting the actual pass. Reserve required Ordinary Car seats at a counter or JR Kyushu reserved-seat machine.
Insert the actual pass into the automatic gate and collect it afterwards. Do not insert the reserved-seat ticket for gate access; carry it for your reserved seat on the train.
Frequently asked questions
Can I take the Shinkansen to Kagoshima with Northern Kyushu?
Its Kyushu Shinkansen coverage is Hakata–Kumamoto. The onward section south of Kumamoto to Kagoshima-Chuo is excluded.
How is a Kamome connection towards Nagasaki counted?
The Ordinary Car reserved-seat booking for Kamome and its connecting limited express together counts as one booking.
What happens after the six free seat bookings?
Buy the applicable limited-express ticket for each further reserved-seat journey. This differs from the All Kyushu pass’s unlimited reserved-seat booking allowance.
Can I use the exchange order’s QR code at a ticket gate?
Exchange the order for the actual pass at a designated counter first. Insert the actual pass into the automatic gate and collect it afterwards.
Is the child’s age assessed at purchase or travel?
For an overseas-agency exchange order, use the age on the purchase date. For purchases in Kyushu or through JR’s official online service, use the age on the start date. Child passes are for ages 6–11.
Will the pass price be refunded if a train is full?
The official conditions do not recognise full trains and unavailable seats as grounds for a refund. Check the reservation availability for the trains you need in advance.
Does the pass include the B&S Miyazaki bus?
No. JR Kyushu buses and B&S Miyazaki buses are excluded. Use only the covered railway routes or buy a separate bus ticket.
Do I need my payment card when collecting the pass?
For a pass or seat reservation bought through JR KYUSHU RAIL PASS Online Booking, bring the physical credit card used to pay, together with the required order and every traveller’s original passport. JR’s direct collection procedure requires that card. An agency exchange order has its own confirmation requirements; paid advance JR seat bookings may add the payment-card requirement.
Can foreign residents of Japan use this rail pass?
No. This JR Kyushu visitor pass requires residence outside Japan, a non-Japanese passport and Temporary Visitor entry status for sightseeing. A non-Japanese passport alone does not establish eligibility.
Official sources and maps
- JR KYUSHU RAIL PASS Northern Kyushu official coverage map (English) ↗Verified:
- JR Kyushu Rail Pass: official English prices and conditions ↗Verified:
- JR Kyushu: purchasing and booking ↗Verified:
- JR Kyushu: pass collection locations and processing hours ↗Verified:
- Fukuoka Airport International Terminal pass exchange (English) ↗Verified:
- JR Kyushu: current operations and scheduled reopening notices (Japanese) ↗Verified:
- JR Kyushu: long-term suspensions (Japanese) ↗Verified:
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