It was announced that Nishi-nihon Pass (西日本パス meaning West Japan Pass), a special ticket which allow unlimited travel along all of JR West, JR Shikoku, JR Kyushu and Chizu Express line, will be good until December 21, 2009.

• Name of the ticket
  • Nishi-nihon Pass (西日本パス meaning West Japan Pass)
• Travel dates
  • 2 or 3 consecutive days of Fri. through Mon. until December 21, 2009, unless November 20 to 23
• Period of selling
  • a month - 7 days before the departure date
• Maximum period of travel
  • 2 or 3 days
• Prices
  • 18,000 JPY for 2 days on 2nd class reservation cars
  • 20,000 JPY for 3 days on 2nd class reservation cars
  • 20,000 JPY for 2 days on Green-cars
  • 22,000 JPY for 3 days on Green-cars
• Available sectors
  • Whole conventional line of JR West, JR Shikoku, JR kyushu and Chizu Express Line including express trains on them
  • Sanyo Shinkansen between Shin-Osaka and Hakata and Kyushu Shinkansen Shin-Yatsushiro and Kagoshima-Chuo
  • JR Miyajima Ferry between Miyajimaguchi and Miyajima
• Terms of use
  • This ticket is for at least 2 persons traveling along.
• Purchasable at
  • a major station in JR West, JR Shikoku and JR Kyushu
    ※ This pass is available as JR Shikoku Nishinihon Pass (JR四国・西日本パス meaning JR Shikoku and West Japan Pass) at JR Shikoku stations.
  • a major travel vendor
• Remarks
  • This ticket allows unlimited travel by 2nd class non-reservation cars within the sectors.
  • A ticket for 2 days on 2nd class resv. cars allows booking seats up to 6 times or for 3 days 8 times.
  • A ticket for 2 days on Green-cars allows seating in Green-cars up to 6 times or for 3 days 8 times.
  • Special discount of rent-a-car at station (駅レンタカー), 2,000 JPY for 24 hrs for a class S car in Hokuriku, Kansai, Sanin and Chugoku areas or 3,000 JPY for a calendar day in Kyushu, is available.
  • Only for members of Zipangu Club or Club DISCOVER WEST and their companion, the tickets are good for 2 or 3 consecutive days, including Mon. through Thu.
  • This ticket is NOT valid on Tokaido Shinkansen.
  • This ticket is NOT valid on Kitakinki Tango Railway (北近畿タンゴ鉄道), Tosa Kuroshio Railway (土佐くろしお鉄道), etc. even though express trains go directly from JR lines to those railway company lines.

JR West released Nishi-nihon Pass (西日本パス meaning West Japan Pass) for travelling after late August.

Motorists can travel expressways in most of Japan with a maximum toll of 1000 yen for an unlimited distance on weekends and national holidays from this March and JR West released this pass against that. Once the pass ended August 03 and started to sell again for travelling between August 21 and October 26. The new pass has extended its riding sectors to whole of JR Kyushu lines and Chizu Express line. Also, it has extended quietly its allowance of riding reserved seats or Green cars.

The new pass is 2,000 - 6,000 JPY more expensive than the old one. But the pass is still a great saver, because the new cheapest pass for 2 days on 2nd class costs 18,000 JPY. That is cheaper than a return trip between Shin-Osaka and Hiroshima by Nozomi trains which costs 20,300 JPY.

It is valid for travelling from August 21 through October 26, but invalid between September 18 through 21.

• Name of the ticket
  • Nishi-nihon Pass (西日本パス meaning West Japan Pass) (for using on August 21 or later)
• Travel dates
  • 2 or 3 consecutive days of Fri., Sat., Sun., and Mon., during August 21, 2009 through October 26, unless September 18 to 21.
• Period of selling
  • after August 04 and a month - 7 days before the departure date
• Maximum period of travel
  • 2 or 3 days
• Prices
  • 18,000 JPY for 2 days on 2nd class reservation cars
  • 20,000 JPY for 3 days on 2nd class reservation cars
  • 20,000 JPY for 2 days on Green-cars
  • 22,000 JPY for 3 days on Green-cars
• Available sectors
  • Whole conventional line of JR West, JR Shikoku, JR kyushu, and Chizu Express Line including express trains on them
  • Sanyo Shinkansen between Shin-Osaka and Hakata and Kyushu Shinkansen Shin-Yatsushiro and Kagoshima-Chuo
  • JR Miyajima Ferry between Miyajimaguchi and Miyajima
• Purchasable at
  • a major station in JR West or JR Kyushu
  • a major travel vendor
  • Remarks
  • This ticket is for at least 2 persons traveling along.
  • This ticket allows unlimited travel by 2nd class non-reservation cars within the sectors.
  • A ticket for 2 days on 2nd class resv. cars allows booking seats up to 6 times or for 3 days 8 times.
  • A ticket for 2 days on Green-cars allows seating in Green-cars up to 6 times or for 3 days 8 times.
  • Special discount of rent-a-car at station (駅レンタカー), 2,000 JPY for 24 hrs for a class S car in Hokuriku, Kansai, Sanin, and Chugoku areas or 3,000 JPY for a calendar day in Kyushu, is available.
  • Only for members of Zipangu Club or Club DISCOVER WEST and their companion, the tickets are good for 2 or 3 consecutive days, including Mon. through Thu.
  • This ticket is NOT valid on Tokaido Shinkansen.
  • This ticket is NOT valid on Kitakinki Tango Railway (北近畿タンゴ鉄道), Tosa Kuroshio Railway (土佐くろしお鉄道), etc. even though express trains go directly from JR lines to those railway company lines.

JR West is providing Nishi-nihon Pass (西日本パス meaning West Japan Pass) for travel until June 29, 2009. And they released that they will extend its travel dates for a month.

The pass allows unlimited travel for 2 or 3 days around Hokuriku, Kinki, Chugoku, Shikoku, and northern part of Kyushu on JR lines. Moreover riding sectors of the ticket for after July 03 is a little larger than that of for until June.

In July, many summery events and festivals like Gion Festival (祇園祭 in Kyoto), Hakata Gion Yamakasa (博多祇園山笠), and some fireworks festival will be taken. Enjoy the early summer days in West of Japan with Nishi-nihon Pass.

Please note that this ticket is not good for out of JR lines like Chizu Express line (智頭急行), Kitakinki Tango Railway (北近畿タンゴ鉄道), and Tosa Kuroshio Railway (土佐くろしお鉄道) even though express trains go directly from JR lines to those railway company lines.

Name of the ticket

Nishi-nihon Pass (西日本パス meaning West Japan Pass) (for using on July 03 or later)

Travel dates

2 or 3 consecutive days of Fri., Sat., Sun., and Mon., during July 03, 2009 through August 03.

Period of selling

after June 23 and a month - 7 days before the departure date

Maximum period of travel

2 or 3 days

Prices

• 12,000 JPY for 2 days on 2nd class reservation cars
• 16,000 JPY for 3 days on 2nd class reservation cars
• 16,000 JPY for 2 days on Green-cars
• 20,000 JPY for 3 days on Green-cars

Available sectors

• Sanyo Shinkansen between Shin-Osaka and Hakata
• Whole conventional line of JR West and JR Shikoku and northern part of JR Kyushu above Kyudai line between Kurume and Oita
• JR Miyajima Ferry between Miyajimaguchi and Miyajima

Purchasable at

• a major station or travel vendor around the departure area in JR West district
• Hakata and Kokura stations or a travel vendor around them in JR Kyushu district

Remarks

• This ticket is for at least 2 persons traveling along.
• This ticket is NOT valid on Tokaido Shinkansen.
• This ticket allows unlimited travel by 2nd class non-reservation cars within the sectors.
• A ticket for 2 days on 2nd class resv. cars allows 4 times or for 3 days 6 times of reserving seats in 2nd class cars.
• A ticket for 2 days on Green-cars allows 4 times or for 3 days 6 times of reserving seats in Green-cars.
• Special discount of rent-a-car at station (駅レンタカー), 2,000 JPY for 24 hrs for a class S car, is available.
• Only for members of Zipangu Club or Club DISCOVER WEST and their companion, the tickets are good for 2 or 3 consecutive days, including Mon. through Thu.