JR-WEST All Area Pass: price, coverage and is it worth it

Price

Valid on consecutive days, from 0:00 on the first day to 24:00 on the last day (Japan time).

Children aged 6 to 11 pay the child price; the age counts on the day the exchange order is issued or the pass is bought.

What the pass covers

• Reserved and non-reserved seats on the Sanyo Shinkansen between Shin-Osaka and Hakata.
• Reserved and non-reserved seats on the Hokuriku Shinkansen between Tsuruga and Joetsu-Myoko.
• Limited express trains such as the Haruka, Thunderbird, Kuroshio, Konotori and Yakumo, including reserved seats.
• Special Rapid, Rapid and local trains on JR-WEST lines.
• The JR West Miyajima Ferry between Miyajimaguchi and Miyajima.
• The Noto Railway, the Chizu Express, the Kyoto Tango Railway, West JR Bus and JR Bus Chugoku.
• The IR Ishikawa Railway between Kanazawa and Tsubata, only when you ride through the whole section without getting off on the way.
• The Ainokaze Toyama Railway between Toyama and Takaoka, only on local trains riding through the whole section.
• The Hapi-Line Fukui between Echizen-Hanandō and Fukui, only on local trains between those two stations.
• West JR Bus local route buses inside the pass area.

Not covered

• The Tokaido Shinkansen, including the section between Shin-Osaka and Kyoto.
• The Kyushu Shinkansen.
• The paid A-Seat on Special Rapid trains costs extra.
• Expressway buses are not covered.

Nozomi and Mizuho trains

The official fare table on JR Odekake-net marks the Nozomi and Mizuho as covered for reserved and non-reserved Ordinary Car seats.

Does the JR-WEST All Area Pass pay off?

Add the journeys you plan to see whether the pass pays off. Below the tool are the normal one-way and round-trip fares for every journey in our City to City data that this pass covers, from the same JR and railway searches.

Fares are one adult, reserved seat where trains have them, from the City to City pages (searched for 14 October 2026). A round trip is twice the one-way fare. The share compares the round trip with 26,000 yen for 7 days, on the official website.

Where to buy it

• Travel agents outside Japan sell an E-TICKET, which must be exchanged for the pass within 3 months.
• Book on JR-WEST ONLINE TRAIN RESERVATION from one month before the first day and pay by credit card when booking.
• Travel agencies in Japan also sell the pass.

Who can buy it

Only for travelers with a passport issued by a foreign government who enter Japan as a Temporary Visitor; Japanese nationals cannot use it, even with permanent residency abroad.

Seats and using the pass

Seats

Ordinary-car reserved seats can be used any number of times; reserve each seat before boarding.

• In Japan, show your passport and the E-TICKET at an exchange location to get the pass.
• A ticket machine can issue the pass only for a passport with an IC chip; otherwise pick it up at a ticket office.
• Keep your passport with the pass and show it when JR staff ask.

Refunds

An unused pass can be refunded for a 10% fee (at least 220 yen per pass); there is no refund once the pass starts or expires.

Good to know

• Each pass holder can bring up to two children aged 1 to 5 for free.
• Adult pass holders can use the Ekirin-kun rental bicycles.
• If you got the pass through a travel agency, ticket machines cannot issue your seat reservations.
• The Miyajima visitor tax of 100 yen is paid when you board the Miyajima Ferry.
• On the Sanyo Shinkansen, bags over 160 cm in total size need a reserved seat with an oversized baggage area.

Related items

• Sanyo-San’in Northern Kyushu Pass
• Hokuriku Arch Pass
• Sanyo-San'in Area Pass
• Setouchi Area Pass
• Kansai-Hiroshima Area Pass
• Japan Rail Pass