Ahh the magic world of Japanese rail passes, sometimes the cost can seem steep up front, but if you've got quick feet and are hungry for sightseeing, they can be a great value and give you peace of mind when calculating a transportation budget.
This time I'm going to talk about the Kansai Thru Pass; for a rather steep sounding 5000 yen, the entire Kansai area becomes your own private stomping grounds for 3 days. The network mainly covers Kobe, Osaka, Kyoto and Nara but also extends all the way to Koyasan, Lake Biwa, Wakayama and as far as Himeji.
If you're planning on staying in only one area, this pass might not be for you, but if you're planning on at least one inter-city round trip a day, plus local transportation, then this might certainly be a good value. 200-300 yen for a subway trip might not seem like much sometimes, but consider a few of these trips and the toll starts to add up. With a rail pass you can just hop on the subway or bus whenever you feel tired and save your energy for sightseeing.
Take a look at the network and see if it makes sense for you, it includes transportation for the airports in the area and is available for purchase at most large stations and airports in the area. When you buy, you get a handy little map with coupons and a listing of attractions all over Kansai, not hard to find things to do in 3 days.
On my first day of usage I went from Itami Airport to my hotel in Osaka (about 800 yen), took about 5 trips on the subway (1000 yen) and a round trip to Kobe (800 yen), so that was about 2600 yen for one day of traveling, the 3 day pass comes to around 1600 yen per day so it's good to do the math and see if it makes sense for you.
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