A penny saved is a penny earned – Benjamin Franklin
Travel is an exciting perk of an overseas duty station. The country is yours to explore, and you may be in closer proximity to other cities and countries than ever before. But trip expenses add up quickly. It can be hard to research and find deals when you’re not exactly sure what you’re looking for. At Coffee and Camo, I want to help you find cool places to visit and stay within your budget. After all, who doesn’t like saving money? In this post, I’ll be highlighting the Osaka Amazing Pass. Husband and I recently purchased the pass on a trip to Osaka.
Throughout our travels, Husband and I have found several tourist spots in Japan offer incentives for visitors. Often this takes the form of a pre-paid pass. Although each area’s pass will offer different discounts, most will cover the usage of certain buses, trains, or subway lines for free for a given amount of time.
One of the most comprehensive and easy-to-use passes we’ve found so far is the Osaka Amazing Pass. Not only do they have a stellar website that’s loaded with information in several languages, but they also have an app! You can see more about the app for Apple devices here and here for Android. I didn’t know about the app during our trip, so I can’t speak about it in real time. I did, however, download it and poke around. It’s very easy to use and intuitive, allowing users to search among metro routes, coupons, and facilities.
There’s a lot of information available about the Amazing Pass. Although we didn’t hear about it until we arrived in Osaka, I loved it so much I wanted to make sure you all knew about it! Along with our personal experience, I’ve tried to condense some of the information available on the Amazing Pass website to help you make an informed decision if this fits your upcoming trip. However, please know that all opinions are my own and I’m not receiving any compensation. I just want you all to know about this great thing!
What is the Osaka Amazing Pass?
The Amazing Pass is a one or two-day pass that offers unlimited rides on certain bus and train lines, as well as additional discounts on tourist attractions and shops. The one-day pass is currently priced at 2,700¥. The two-day pass, for use on consecutive days, costs 3,600¥.
One downside – there are no passes available for children, although some attractions may offer free admission for children under a certain age. For transportation discounts, consider the “ENJOY ECO Card”. (The Osaka Convention and Tourism Bureau has this helpful list of transportation passes, including the ENJOY ECO Card.) This card is a one-day metro transportation pass for children under 12 years old. There is a 300¥ fee. Check out this PDF from the Amazing Pass website for information on attractions that offer a free or discounted children’s entry fee.
Where can I use it?
Both the one and two-day passes are good for unlimited rides on 9 Osaka metro lines. One-day pass holders can also use the 5 private railways in Osaka. Neither of the passes can be used on the JR train line. All pass holders can also use the pass for unlimited bus rides within Osaka city limits. The map below has the bus area shaded in pink.
A whopping number of facilities offer free entry or usage with the Amazing Pass. As of this post’s publication, pass holders have 50 different facilities to choose from. Admission fees for all these attractions total more than 40,000¥ ($400 USD)! Of course, you probably won’t be able to see all the things in two days. But with so many choices, there’s something to entice every traveler.
Although not every venue offers free entry, there are 32 other facilities and attractions offering discounts. To get these discounts, you’ll need your Amazing Pass and the applicable coupon. To further entice you, there are also over 70 stores offering discounts and free items with the Amazing Pass. As with other discounts, coupons are needed here as well. The app does a great job of organizing coupons and making them easy to find. In addition, starting in 2019, the Amazing Pass app allows for unlimited use of coupons!
Undoubtedly, one of the most helpful features of both the website and the app is the Business Day Calendar. Choose a day to visit and know in advance if the attraction or shop is open. Because Husband and I visited around New Years, this website was invaluable in showing us what was open despite the holiday.
How can I get an Amazing Pass?
As with other transportation passes, a stationmasters’ office or a commutation pass sale office (found at subway stations in Osaka) is one of the easiest places to pick up an Amazing Pass. Luckily, Husband and I were able to purchase from the hotel reception desk. For a full list of places to get your Amazing Pass, check out this site.
Of course, it’s important to keep in mind that it’s not always easy to get a refund. Should you wish to try and return your Amazing Pass, you’ll need to take the unused, inactive pass back to the place of purchase.
Other important things
According to the Amazing Pass website, coupons for 2019 are good until April 2020. This means, if you plan to make multiple trips to Osaka in the next year, you have a chance to continue using the coupons. Often, they work in conjunction with the pass, so you’ll want to budget for purchasing a new pass on your next trip.
The pass and coupons also can’t be used in addition to other discounts. Additionally, you can’t upgrade from a one-day pass to a two-day pass (or visa-versa). If using the two-day pass, free admission into a facility is only good one time. For other questions, I recommend checking out this portion of the Amazing Pass website before purchasing.
My Honest Opinion
Well, if it isn’t already abundantly clear, I LOVE this pass. Benefits seem to have gotten even easier to use, and we were just there in December! Husband and I were able to cover the cost of both of our passes in savings on metro trips and attraction visits. In addition, both the pass website and app offer loads of information in a useable, searchable way. It wasn’t hard to find out if a facility was closed, or what perks the Amazing Pass offered us for our visit.
Unlike other passes we’ve purchased, the Osaka Amazing Pass gives so many transportation options. If you use the metro or bus to get from place to place, absolutely consider purchasing the pass.
I will say, if you plan to purchase the pass, it’s a good idea to know in advance what attractions you want to visit. Although Husband and I paid for our passes in savings, we may have been able to do better had we planned in advance what to see. It didn’t help that we visited during the New Years’ holiday, so many areas were closed.
Planning your next trip can be an exciting challenge. I hope learning more about the Osaka Amazing Pass will help you find some great (and free!) spots to see on your next visit to Osaka.
Tell me: Have you used the Osaka Amazing Pass? What did you think? As always, I’d love to hear about your experience! Until next time, travelers!
