Kintetsu Rail Pass: Prices, the Aoniyoshi and Kintetsu's Sightseeing Trains

What the Kintetsu Rail Pass Covers

Kintetsu Railway runs one of the largest private rail networks in Japan. The Japan Rail Pass isn't valid anywhere on it, which surprises plenty of travelers (our JR Pass guide explains what that pass does cover).

The pass is digital only. It's sold to visitors with Temporary Visitor status, and you buy it online through Kintetsu's official booking site or from travel agencies outside Japan. Carry your passport, because staff can ask to see it.

Kintetsu Rail Pass Prices and Versions

These are the adult prices on Kintetsu's English site at the time of writing. Children aged 6–11 pay half, and children under 6 travel free.

Prices have changed before, so check the current price before you buy. None of the passes covers ropeways, or the subway and Hanshin sections that some Kintetsu trains run through onto.

Some facilities along the lines also give pass holders benefits, such as discounts: about 40 for the 1day and 2day, about 70 for the 5day versions. To get them, you show the pass screen to staff.

Which Version Suits Your Trip?

One day in Nara from Osaka or Kyoto? Take the 1day pass. Two days moving between the three cities, or a day out to Yoshino? Take the 2day.

Neither of those is valid in Nagoya, Mie or Ise-Shima. If Ise Jingu is on your list, go straight to the 5day, and pick the 5day plus if you'll ride the buses around Ise, Toba and Shima.

How the QR Code Works at the Gates

Activate the pass on the morning you start riding. After that, you just hold the QR code over the reader at the ticket gates to enter and leave Kintetsu stations.

Two rules catch people out. Screenshots of the QR code don't work, so you'll open the live ticket on your phone every time. And activation can't be undone, so don't tap the button until the day you ride. You need to start using the pass within 180 days of buying it.

Small Groups and Children on One Phone

You can buy up to four tickets in one reservation, and the pass is for the named holder only. If one phone carries several passes, the person holding it scans each code in turn and lets everyone else through first.

It works fine for a family with children, but it's a bit slow at busy gates in big stations.

Limited Express Trains and the Rail Pass

Every seat on a Kintetsu limited express is reserved. To ride one you need a separate limited express ticket, which also gives you that reserved seat. The pass alone won't get you on board.

For simple A-to-B trips you don't need one. Ordinary express trains already run between Osaka Namba and Kintetsu Nara, so paying for a limited express gets you comfort and the experience, not anywhere you couldn't reach anyway.

Buying Limited Express Tickets With Your Pass

You can buy them online on Kintetsu's English reservation site from 10:30 one month before the travel date, or at ticket counters and machines in major stations. If you buy online, the ticket shows on your phone and you board by showing the screen; online tickets can be changed free of charge up to three times.

Not using the pass that day? An IC card such as ICOCA or Suica, or a contactless credit card, can pay the base fare instead.

Aoniyoshi Train: Osaka, Nara, Kyoto Without Changing

The Aoniyoshi (written AONIYOSHI by Kintetsu) is a sightseeing limited express that links Osaka Namba, Kintetsu Nara and Kyoto stations with no changes. It also stops at Osaka Uehonmachi, Tsuruhashi, Ikoma, Gakuenmae, Yamato-Saidaiji and Kintetsu-Tambabashi.

The name comes from history. “Aoniyoshi” is an old poetic epithet for Nara, which was Japan's capital in the eighth century. The train plays on that past with a deep purple exterior and a luxurious, old-fashioned interior. You're paying for the view and the atmosphere, not for speed: Kyoto to Kintetsu Nara takes about 35 minutes.

The train doesn't run every day. As a rule there's no service on Thursdays, and on the other days there are eight runs: one from Osaka Namba to Kyoto in the morning, six shuttles between Kyoto and Nara, and one back to Osaka Namba in the evening.

Twin Seats, Salon Seats and Snacks

There are only 84 seats. Cars 1, 3 and 4 have twin seats for two people. Car 2 has salon seats for groups of three or four, plus a sales counter. Car 4 also has a small library corner with sofa seats.

The counter sells sweets made with Nara ingredients, snacks, craft beer and other drinks, and some goods you can only buy on the train. It isn't a full bar car. Still, a cold beer while you watch the view feels luxurious for the price.

Aoniyoshi Fares for Kintetsu Rail Pass Holders

These are the published one-way fares per person when two people share twin seats:

• Osaka Namba–Kyoto: ¥2,270
• Osaka Namba–Kintetsu Nara: ¥1,410
• Kintetsu Nara–Kyoto: ¥1,490

The Nara–Kyoto fare is made up of a ¥760 base fare, a ¥520 limited express charge and a ¥210 special car fare. Kintetsu Rail Pass holders pay only the last two, so that ride costs them ¥730. Between Osaka Namba and Kyoto the limited express charge is ¥920, so a pass holder pays ¥1,130. Fares do change, so check the details on the booking screen.

Riding Solo: Paying for the Second Seat

If you travel alone in a twin seat, Kintetsu asks you to buy your own tickets plus the child-rate limited express and special car tickets for the second seat. That makes Osaka Namba to Kintetsu Nara ¥1,780 instead of ¥1,410, and Kyoto to Nara ¥1,860.

Still worth it, honestly.

Booking Aoniyoshi Tickets: Reservations and Timing

Every seat is reserved, and tickets go on sale at 10:30 one month before the travel date. With so few seats, weekends sell out quickly, especially in October and November, when autumn leaves bring crowds to Nara and Kyoto. If your dates are fixed, book on the day sales open. Our guides to things to do in Nara and the Nara day trip cover what to do once you arrive.

Kintetsu's Other Sightseeing Trains

The Aoniyoshi is one of five Kintetsu trains people ride for the train itself. All of them follow the same rule: the pass covers the base fare, and you pay the limited express charge and any special fee on top. The one exception is Les Saveurs Shima, which is sold only as a meal package with the ticket included.

Timetables as of 14 March 2026; Kintetsu's operating calendars show the exceptions, such as holidays.

Shimakaze: Osaka, Kyoto or Nagoya to Ise-Shima

The Shimakaze is the one to plan a day around if you're heading to Ise. Its premium seats are leather recliners, three to a row, the end cars have observation windows, and the two-level café car serves Matsusaka beef curry and sweets. Each route runs once a day in each direction: from Osaka Namba at 10:40, from Kyoto at 10:00 and from Kintetsu Nagoya at 10:25, all reaching Kashikojima by about 1 pm. A pass holder pays the ¥1,640 limited express charge and the ¥1,050 Shimakaze fee from Osaka or Nagoya. Our Shimakaze guide has the seat map and booking details.

Hinotori: Osaka to Nagoya

The Hinotori is Kintetsu's red premium express between Osaka Namba and Kintetsu Nagoya, leaving each end every hour on the hour and taking about two hours. Premium seats have a 130 cm pitch, electric reclining and leg rests; even the regular cars have 116 cm. With the pass you pay ¥2,130 for a regular seat or ¥2,830 for premium.

Blue Symphony: Osaka to Yoshino

The Blue Symphony is a navy-blue three-car train from Osaka Abenobashi to Yoshino, twice a day each way and not on Wednesdays as a rule. Car 2 is a lounge with a bar counter that serves Yoshino sake tasting sets and persimmon sweets. The flat ¥730 extra is easy; the catch is the base fare, because the 1day pass doesn't reach the Yoshino Line and the 2day does. Read our Mount Yoshino guide before you go in cherry-blossom season.

Les Saveurs Shima: The New Restaurant Train

From 1 November 2026, Les Saveurs Shima runs once a day from Kintetsu Nagoya to Kashikojima at 11:05 and back at 16:35, with lunch going south and dinner going north. Car 4 serves a 16-seat French course and cars 1 and 2 a French set meal in wooden boxes. It's a Kintetsu package tour rather than a train ticket: the price (¥19,000–21,000 for the set meal, ¥33,000–36,000 for the course) already includes the fare, so the Rail Pass doesn't help, and booking is online in Japanese only. Our Les Saveurs Shima guide explains the stops and the two meal plans, and the restaurant train guide compares it with other dining trains in Japan.

Two of our routes include a Les Saveurs Shima seat, confirmed in English: EX004, a 10-day trip that rides it south from Nagoya to Toba on Day 3, and EX005, a 9-day trip that rides it north from Ise to Nagoya on the evening of Day 6.

An Osaka Nara Day Trip on the 1day Pass

Here's an example day, staying in Osaka:

1. Morning: Activate the pass and take an ordinary express train from Osaka Namba Station to Kintetsu Nara Station.
2. Late morning: Walk a few minutes from the station into Nara Park for the deer and the history around Todai-ji and Kasuga Taisha.
3. Early afternoon: Ride the Aoniyoshi from Kintetsu Nara to Kyoto (the 13:55 or 15:55) and pay the extra ¥730.
4. Evening: Explore Kyoto, then go back to Osaka Namba on ordinary Kintetsu trains with a change at Yamato-Saidaiji. It's slower than JR, but the pass already covers it.

The base fares for that loop add up to ¥2,580, so the pass pays for itself. A simple Osaka Namba–Nara round trip, on the other hand, costs ¥1,360 in base fares, so single tickets or an IC card are cheaper. For more ideas, see our day trips from Osaka.

Going Further: Nagoya and Ise on the 5day Pass

If you're coming to Kansai from Nagoya, or going there next, look at the 5day pass. Limited express trains such as the Hinotori and the Urban Liner connect Osaka Namba and Kintetsu Nagoya, and as usual you buy a limited express ticket on top. On a ride that long, the Hinotori's premium seats are a nice bit of luxury.

The 5day also covers the line south to Ise-shi, Toba and Kashikojima, so one pass can carry you from Osaka to the Ise shrines, out to the coast and on to Nagoya. Inside Ise-Shima, limited express tickets bought ticketless cost a reduced ¥320 for most of the year.

Our Routes With Kintetsu Sightseeing Trains

Our routes don't use the Kintetsu Rail Pass: the long train legs are booked for you, and the transport IC card included with these routes pays for ordinary trains. Several routes put a Kintetsu sightseeing train on the day you travel between cities. The itineraries say “or another limited express train”, because the Shimakaze and the Aoniyoshi don't run every day and their seats are limited.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Assuming the Japan Rail Pass works here. It isn't valid on Kintetsu.
• Forgetting limited express tickets. Buy them before boarding. The pass alone doesn't cover the seat.
• Using a screenshot of the QR code, or running out of mobile data.
• Activating too early. Activate only on your first day of riding, because you can't cancel afterwards.
• Planning your Aoniyoshi ride for a Thursday, or a Blue Symphony ride for a Wednesday.
• Taking the 1day pass to Yoshino. The Yoshino Line is outside its area.
• Bringing a huge suitcase. The Aoniyoshi has luggage space in three of its four cars, but on an 84-seat train I wouldn't count on it, so send big bags ahead with a luggage forwarding service.

Tools and Resources Worth Bookmarking

• Kintetsu's English site, for pass details, Aoniyoshi fares and the timetable
• Kintetsu's limited express reservation site, which has an English menu for visitors
• Kintetsu's English timetable search, for stations and routes
• An IC card for days you don't use the pass
• A reliable data plan or pocket Wi-Fi, since the QR code lives on your phone

Save these links on your phone before you travel.

Plan Your Trip Around the Aoniyoshi

Put the pass and the Aoniyoshi on the same day. That way the pass covers the base fares and you only pay extra for the seat. Make sure the day isn't a Thursday, then book.

If you'd rather not handle every booking yourself, selfguidejapan.com puts together self-guided Japan trips around your dates. Self-guided means no guide travels with you, though we can arrange a local guide as an option. We don't include a Kintetsu Rail Pass: the long train legs are booked for you, and the routes on this page come with a transport IC card loaded with ¥5,000 to ¥13,000, which also works on Kintetsu's ordinary trains.

Interested in riding the Aoniyoshi or the Shimakaze on your Kansai days? Get in touch through Plan My Trip on our self-guided tours site, and we’ll suggest the tours that best fit your dates and plans.

FAQ: The Kintetsu Rail Pass