JR KYUSHU RAIL PASS (Northern Kyushu Area)

Price

The pass must be used on consecutive days.

Children aged 6 to 11 pay half the adult price.

What the pass covers

• JR Kyushu local and limited express trains in northern Kyushu (Fukuoka, Oita, Kumamoto, Nagasaki, Saga), covering Kumamoto/Misumi and the area north of Oita.
• The Kyushu Shinkansen between Hakata and Kumamoto and the Nishi Kyushu Shinkansen (Takeo-Onsen–Nagasaki).

Not covered

• The Sanyo Shinkansen between Hakata and Kokura, which JR West runs.
• Subways, buses and railways run by other companies.
• JR Kyushu buses, B&S Miyazaki buses, the Seven Stars cruise train, the Aru Ressha and Kanpachi/Ichiroku.
• Green Car seats cost extra.

Nozomi and Mizuho trains

The Mizuho, Sakura, Tsubame and Kamome Shinkansen are covered inside the pass area, with reserved or non-reserved seats.

The JR KYUSHU RAIL PASS (Northern Kyushu Area) on our City to City routes

These journeys in our City to City data are only partly covered by the pass; the rest of each journey is paid separately.

• Tokyo to Nagasaki by Nozomi + Sakura + Relay Kamome + Kamome: Covers the trains inside Kyushu from Hakata: the Kyushu Shinkansen, the Relay Kamome and the Kamome to Nagasaki. The Nozomi and the Sakura on the Sanyo Shinkansen up to Hakata need a separate ticket.
• Osaka to Beppu by Nozomi + Sonic: Covers the Limited Express Sonic from Kokura to Beppu; the Nozomi on the Sanyo Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka to Kokura needs a separate ticket.
• Osaka to Nagasaki by Sakura + Relay Kamome + Kamome: Covers the trains inside Kyushu from Hakata: the Kyushu Shinkansen, the Relay Kamome and the Kamome to Nagasaki. The Sakura from Shin-Osaka to Hakata on the Sanyo Shinkansen needs a separate ticket.

Where to buy it

• On JR KYUSHU RAIL PASS Online Booking, from 10 AM (JST) 1 month before the travel date.
• As a voucher from a travel agency outside Japan; the voucher is valid for three months.
• At designated JR Kyushu ticket offices after you arrive in Japan; pay by cash, credit card or Alipay.

Who can buy it

Non-Japanese visitors with a passport from another country who live outside Japan and enter on a temporary visitor visa.

Seats and using the pass

Seats

Reserved seats booked in Kyushu are free up to 6 times; book at a ticket office or a reserved seat ticket machine.

• The pass works at automatic ticket gates, but seat tickets do not.
• Carry your passport and show it on the train; it needs the Temporary Visitor stamp or seal.
• Passes booked online or through a travel agency can also be picked up at the JR KYUSHU RAIL PASS Exchange Counter at Fukuoka Airport (9:00–17:00, daily).

Refunds

Passes bought online can be refunded online by 23:00 on the first day; passes from a ticket office, at that office up to the day before the first day. Both carry a 10% fee, and a pass from a ticket office cannot be refunded once it is valid.

Good to know

• A transfer between the Nishi Kyushu Shinkansen Kamome and a limited express counts as one seat reservation.
• You can hold a Northern and a Southern pass whose dates overlap by one day.
• Children aged 5 and under ride free, but need a ticket or a child pass to use a reserved seat.
• Seats booked in advance on JR KYUSHU RAIL PASS Online Booking cost 1,500 yen per section on sightseeing trains and 1,000 yen on the Shinkansen and regular limited express trains.

Related items

• FUKUOKA TOURIST CITY PASS
• FUKUOKA TOURIST CITY PASS (Fukuoka City and Dazaifu)
• JR KYUSHU MOBILE PASS
• JR KYUSHU RAIL PASS (All Kyushu Area)
• JR KYUSHU RAIL PASS (Southern Kyushu Area)
• Japan Rail Pass