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Cheapest: ¥2,210 (about $14) per person,
in about 90 minutes. Fastest: about 43 to 46 minutes, for
¥5,900 (about $38).
The Japan Rail Pass covers only some of the options on this trip.
The two stations are 131 km (81 miles) apart by rail.
The three ways to get there
JR train
Tokaido then Sanyo Shinkansen
Kyoto → Himeji, unreserved seat
¥4,740
about $30 · per person
about 43 to 55 minutesdepending on Hikari or Kodama
Japan Rail Pass: yesCovered by the Japan Rail Pass.
Who runs it
JR
The public rail network, six regional companies. The Japan Rail Pass is valid on their lines and on nothing else.
Source
Which train
Hikari or KodamaHikari and Sakura: Same rails as the Nozomi, a few more stops. Covered by the Japan Rail Pass, with no supplement.
SourceKodama: The service that stops at every station on the line. The slowest of the three, and covered by the Japan Rail Pass.
Source
The fare is the same on the Hikari and the Kodama over this stretch.
Fare source
JR train
Tokaido then Sanyo Shinkansen Nozomi
Kyoto → Himeji, reserved seat
¥5,900
about $38 · per person
about 43 to 46 minutesjourney time
Japan Rail Pass: noThe Nozomi and the Mizuho are the only JR trains the pass leaves out.
Who runs it
JR
The public rail network, six regional companies. The Japan Rail Pass is valid on their lines and on nothing else.
Source
Which train
Nozomi and MizuhoNozomi and Mizuho: The fastest services on the Tokaido, Sanyo and Kyushu lines: they stop only at the major stations. They are the only JR trains excluded from the Japan Rail Pass.
Source
The Nozomi is never covered by the Japan Rail Pass. Only its reserved-seat fare is confirmed at the source, ¥5,900 (about $38); its unreserved seat should cost the same as the Hikari, ¥4,740 (about $30) but we have not been able to check that.
Fare source
JR train
JR Special Rapid (shin-kaisoku)
Kyoto → Himeji, direct
¥2,210
about $14 · per person
about 90 minutesjourney time
Japan Rail Pass: yesCovered by the Japan Rail Pass.
Who runs it
JR
The public rail network, six regional companies. The Japan Rail Pass is valid on their lines and on nothing else.
Source
Which train
Special RapidSpecial Rapid: A fast JR train with no supplement and no reservation: it costs the base fare alone. Common in Kansai, between Kyoto, Osaka and Himeji.
Source
Less than half the price of the bullet train, the same base fare of ¥2,210 (about $14) without the limited express supplement, but it takes twice as long. Departures about every 15 minutes, covered by the Japan Rail Pass.
Fare source
Last checked August 11, 2026. The dollar figure is worked out at the exchange rate of the site's last update and
is never stored beside the yen.
A regional pass covers this trip
Less known than the national Japan Rail Pass and often far cheaper, they are only valid inside their
own area. These cover this trip end to end.
We earn a commission on the Klook links below, and it costs you nothing extra. It does not
change which pass we say covers your trip.
JR Kansai-Hiroshima Area Pass
¥17,000 (about $108) for 5 consecutive days
See this pass on Klook
This trip inside your whole itinerary
One trip on its own never tells you whether the Japan Rail Pass is worth it. That depends on every
other leg of the journey, and on the regional passes, which are far cheaper and cover only their
own area.
The company decides whether the Japan Rail Pass applies: JR yes, private no, whatever the train.
The train decides how long it takes. It changes nothing about the pass, with one exception: the Nozomi and the Mizuho, the only two JR trains the pass leaves out.
