JR Kyushu Rail Pass (2026): All, Northern or Southern, and Is It Worth It?
You're flying into Fukuoka and want to see Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Beppu or Kagoshima by train. Pick the pass by where you go: Northern Kyushu (from ¥15,000) for Fukuoka, Nagasaki, Beppu and Kumamoto; All Kyushu (from ¥22,000) only if you also go south to Kagoshima.
We checked prices and rules on JR Kyushu's official Rail Pass page on 6 November 2026. We don't list regular fares we could not confirm on an official page; look them up on JR Kyushu's fare search.
Some links on this page are affiliate links. We say when buying from JR Kyushu is just as good.
Which JR Kyushu Rail Pass do I need?
Northern Kyushu
Kyushu Shinkansen Hakata–Kumamoto and Nishi Kyushu Shinkansen Takeo-Onsen–Nagasaki. Covers the Kamome, Sonic and Yufu trains.
All Kyushu
The whole Kyushu Shinkansen to Kagoshima-Chuo, plus Nagasaki. Unlimited free seat reservations.
Southern Kyushu
Kyushu Shinkansen Kumamoto–Kagoshima-Chuo, Miyazaki and Ibusuki. Doesn't reach Fukuoka.
Prices from JR Kyushu's official page. It says Online Booking prices can differ.
Is the JR Kyushu Rail Pass worth it?
Compare the pass with the trips you would take anyway. Look up the regular fare of each trip on JR Kyushu's fare search, add them up, and buy the pass only if the total is higher than its price.
Two long trips in 3 days
For example Hakata → Nagasaki and back, then Hakata → Yufuin and back. Add up those fares on JR Kyushu's fare search and compare the total with ¥15,000 for the 3-day Northern pass.
Fukuoka with one day trip
Dazaifu is on the Nishitetsu line, which the pass doesn't cover. For one return trip to Yufuin, check the fare on JR Kyushu's fare search; it's worth buying the pass only if that fare is above the pass price.
Affiliate links
Where to buy it
JR Kyushu Rail Pass Online Booking
Buy online and collect in Kyushu. You can also pay ¥1,000 per section to reserve Shinkansen and limited express seats in advance, and these don't count toward the 6-seat limit.
Klook or KKday voucher
JR Kyushu's page names both among its designated travel agencies. You exchange the voucher at a JR Kyushu ticket office.
Affiliate linksJR ticket offices
Midori no Madoguchi ticket offices in Kyushu sell the pass too.
Using the pass, step by step
- Get a Temporary Visitor stamp on arrival JR Kyushu requires proof of Temporary Visitor entry, shown by a stamp or seal in your passport.
- Exchange or collect the pass at a JR Kyushu ticket office Bring your passport and the voucher or booking.
- Reserve seats At a ticket office or reserved-seat machine. Northern and Southern passes include 6 free reservations.
- Use the pass at the ticket gate JR Kyushu says the pass goes through automatic ticket gates, but the reserved-seat ticket doesn't. Always carry your passport while using the pass.Navigation and train apps need data from the first day. A Japan eSIM is set up before you fly.Japan eSIM on Klook ↗
What doesn't the pass cover?
- Sanyo Shinkansen between Hakata and Kokura (JR West)
- Buses, including JR Kyushu buses
- The Fukuoka subway, including the line from Fukuoka Airport to Hakata
- Seven Stars, ARU RESSHA and KANPACHI/ICHIROKU sightseeing trains
- Southern pass: no Kamome, Sonic, Midori or Yufu. Northern pass: no Nichirin, Ibusuki no Tamatebako, Umisachi Yamasachi or Kirishima
- Green Car costs extra
What if…?
…I used up my 6 free reservations?
Buy an express ticket for each extra train, or sit in the non-reserved cars where there are some.
…I want to skip a day?
You can't. The pass runs on consecutive days only.
…I'm coming from Osaka or Hiroshima by Shinkansen?
The Sanyo Shinkansen to Hakata isn't covered. See Osaka to Fukuoka by Shinkansen.
What we checked
JR Kyushu's English Rail Pass page: prices for all six versions, eligibility, sellers, seat reservation limits, covered Shinkansen sections and excluded trains.
We did not find official regular fares for Hakata–Kagoshima-Chuo, Hakata–Nagasaki or Hakata–Yufuin, so we don't list them. Check them on JR Kyushu's fare search.
Planning Kyushu?
Flying into Fukuoka? The airport is two subway stops from Hakata.
Affiliate link