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Nara to Koyasan: price, time and JR Pass

The short answer

Budget ¥2,160 (about $14) per person and about 2 h 30. It is both the cheapest option and the fastest. The Japan Rail Pass covers none of the options on this trip.

Nara and Koyasan are 78 km (48 miles) apart by road.

The only priced option

JR then private

JR Wakayama Line

Nara → Hashimoto, then Hashimoto → Gokurakubashi, then the cable car to Koyasan

¥2,160 about $14 · per person
about 2 h 30 100 min on JR, 45 min on the Nankai, 5 min on the cable car, not counting the connections
Japan Rail Pass: partly Partly covered: the non-JR leg is always paid separately.
Who runs it
JR and Nankai The public rail network, six regional companies. The Japan Rail Pass is valid on their lines and on nothing else. Source A private company south of Osaka, from Namba to Kansai airport and to Koyasan. Its coach arm also serves Koyasan from Kyoto. Outside the Japan Rail Pass. Source

Three legs to add up: ¥1,170 (about $7) on JR to Hashimoto, ¥490 (about $3) on the Nankai, ¥500 (about $3) for the funicular. Only the first leg falls inside the Japan Rail Pass; the end of the trip, which you cannot avoid if you are going up to Koyasan, is still to pay. 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.

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, Koyasan.