Nara to Hiroshima: price, time and JR Pass

The short answer

Budget ¥10,550 (about $67) per person and about 3 h. It is both the cheapest option and the fastest. The Japan Rail Pass covers none of the options on this trip.

Nara and Hiroshima are 360 km (224 miles) apart by road.

The only priced option

JR train

JR Yamatoji Line

Nara → Osaka, then Shin-Osaka → Hiroshima, unreserved seat

¥10,550 about $67 · per person

about 3 h 50 min on JR, the change at Shin-Osaka, then 1 h 20 on the bullet train

Japan Rail Pass: no The 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 Mizuho Nozomi 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

There is no through service: the journey goes back through Osaka on two tickets, ¥840 (about $5) as far as Osaka then ¥9,710 (about $62) to Hiroshima. Neither the Nozomi nor the Mizuho is covered by the pass; the Sakura and the Hikari are, for a little more time. 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.

See what the passes cost

Where to sleep at either end: Nara, Hiroshima · Miyajima.

Why two lines, “who runs it” and “which train”?

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.