I’m traveling from Kyoto to Koyasan in June. I already know I can take the Tokaido-Sanyo Shinkansen to Osaka, but after that it gets trickier. I’ve researched a whole bunch, but there are so many different options from Osaka to Koyasan and sometimes it’s hard to tell if the JR Pass covers certain travels. Are one of these 3 options any good?
Option 1
1. From Kyoto Station, take the JR Kyoto Line Special Rapid service to Osaka.
2. Walk the short distance to Nishi-Umeda Station.
3. At Nishi-Umeda, take the Osaka Metro Yotsubashi Line to Namba Station and then walk to Nankai-Namba Station.
4. Once at Nankai-Namba, follow the direction above onto Koyasan.
Option 2
1. Kyoto → Osaka Station, Tokaido Sanyo Main Line New Rapid (Direction: Himeji) – 31 mins
2. Osaka Station → Shin-Imamiya Station, Osaka Loop Line – 16 mins
3. Shin-Imamiya Station → Gokurakubashi Station, Nankai-Koya Line (Express Gokurakubashi) – 1h 32min
4. Gokurakubashi Station → Koyasan Station, Koyasan Cable Car – 5 mins
5. Koyasan Station → Koyasan, 21/23/24 Koyasannai Line – 15 mins
Option 3
1. Kyoto Station → Shin-Osaka Station Tokaido-Sanyo Shinkansen [Kodama 765 train] 14 mins
2. Shin-Osaka Station → Wakayama Station JR Kuroshio [Kuroshio 3 Limited Express Shirahama] 1h 7min
3. Wakayama Station → Hashimoto Station JR Wakayama line [Local Yashimoto] 1h 7min
4. Hashimoto Station → Gokurakubashi Station Nankai-Koya line 38 mins
5. Gokurakubashi Station → Koyasan Station Koyasan Cable Car 5 mins
6. Koyasan Station → Koyasan 21/23/24 Koyasannai Line 15 mins
I’d love to find an option where the JR Pass fully covers the trip, but I also don’t want to spend 3 hours on a train… Would appreciate any tips. Thank you!
6 comments
> I’d love to find an option where the JR Pass fully covers the trip, but I also don’t want to spend 3 hours on a train
The first part of the premise is impossible because everything after Hashimoto is operated by Nankai which is a separate railway company. And the limited express that goes direct from Namba -> Gokurakubashi will of course cost more out of pocket than getting to Hashimoto via JR before switching to Nankai.
It won’t get much shorter than three hours from Kyoto anyway: figure an hour from Kyoto to Namba, 1.5-2 hours from Namba to Koyasan train station, and then 15 minutes for the bus to Koyasan town. The remoteness is inherent to the meaning/purpose/essence of Koyasan…
Edit: I would do a variant of option 1: Kyoto -> Shin-Osaka via JR, subway to Namba (the JR-subway change is less confusing at Shin-Osaka than at Osaka/Umeda), then Nankai all the way.
Whatever route you take, just pack lightly. It’s tough to carry multiple bags on the trip to Koyasan. Everything is cramped and you’ll have to use the buses. Luggage may make the trip slightly miserable
There is no option going all the way,that would be option 3, but it is quite a detour. Option 1 make most sense to me.
Isn’t there a regional pass you can get from Osaka? I’d say go as far as your JR pass will get you then buy the regional pass?
One of the best trips I ever did was staying at old school ryokan close to Koya-san, getting up early, and doing the hike up to Koya-san. Took about 8 hours and you get to see all sorts of cool stuff along the way. Once at the top I did a temple overnight stay and took the cable car back down to the train. The priests were surprised I did the hike up haha
I went from Kyoto to Koyasan a month ago. I also had a JR pass and wanted to use it, but concluded we had to fork out extra for the journey. From Kyoto, we JR passed to Shinimamiya. This station is a lot less crowded than other Osaka stations, and Nankai counter was right in front of us as we exited the station. At the Nankai station we sprang for the world heritage ticket. I think it was 3080 yen. This looks like your option 2. From Shinimamiya station to Gokurakubashi is a long journey on a train that’s like a subway-style. I guess I was taking Shinkansen trains before this and expected a better train for this length of travel.
As for luggage, we brought 2 of our cabin bags and a backpack each. Basically we didn’t ship the luggage though I stressed slightly about it. We had space during the journey, and it was only tight on the bus to our Koyasan accommodation. That journey was like 10 minutes, and the bus stopped us a few metres from our accommodation, so overall it was ok.
I would recommend checking the train schedule and start early, so you have sufficient wandering time around Koyasan before the afternoon activities.