The Cheapest Golf in Kansai: Riverbed Courses and Weekday Rounds Under ¥7,000

The cheapest golf in Kansai is on the Yodo River. Between Osaka and Kyoto the river runs through a wide floodplain, and five courses sit on it, most of them a short walk or bus ride from a Keihan or Hankyu station. On a weekday you can play eighteen holes there for under ¥7,000, and a twelve-hole short course in Osaka city costs ¥2,600. Go further out, into the hills of Hyogo, Shiga and Wakayama, and a handful of courses match those prices, but you will need a car.

All prices below were checked on the courses' own sites or on Jalan Golf in late September 2026. They move with the season and the tee time, so treat them as a guide to what is cheap rather than a quote, and confirm on the course's site before you go.

The short version

Cheapest round near Osaka: Yodogawa Golf Club in Osaka city, 12 holes for ¥2,600 on a weekday, five minutes on foot from Hankyu Kunijima station. Hidakagawa in Wakayama is cheaper still, but hard to get to.
Cheapest 18 holes you can reach by train: the Yodo River courses at Hirakata and Takatsuki, around ¥6,000 to ¥7,000 on a weekday.
Cheapest full-length 18 holes: hill courses in Hyogo and Wakayama, from about ¥4,000 on a weekday, best reached by car.
Weekends cost ¥1,000 to ¥4,000 more at the riverbed courses. At the hill courses the gap runs from a few hundred yen to double.
Cheapest way to play at almost any course: an early-morning or twilight nine, usually ¥3,000 to ¥4,000.

What a cheap price includes

Japanese courses sell plans, not green fees, and two plans at the same course can differ by thousands of yen. Before you compare prices, check four things:

Self-play or caddie. Everything in this guide is self-play (セルフ), which is the norm at budget courses.
Lunch. A plan with lunch (昼食付) builds in the sit-down break between the nines. A "through-play" plan (スループレー) skips it, costs less and finishes sooner.
Riding cart or walking. Riverbed courses are flat, and several are played on foot with a pull cart.
Tax. Prices on the course sites and in Jalan's all-in totals already include consumption tax and the golf course usage tax (ゴルフ場利用税). Osaka charges that tax by course grade; the budget riverbed courses pay ¥650. Short courses like Yodogawa are not taxed at all, and players under 18 or 70 and over are exempt if they declare it and show ID.

Booking is in Japanese. You can phone the course, use the course's own booking page, or use Rakuten GORA, GDO or Jalan Golf with a browser translator. None of the courses below has an English booking page. Some courses are cheapest on their own site; others put their best plans on the booking portals, so it is worth checking both.

The Yodo River courses (reachable by train)

Yodogawa Golf Club (淀川ゴルフクラブ), Osaka city

A public short course on the riverbed in Higashi-Yodogawa ward: 12 holes, par 35, 1,366 yards, open every day from sunrise to sunset. A weekday round is ¥2,600 and a weekend round ¥3,600, with a pull cart included. Another 12 holes cost ¥1,500 on weekdays and ¥2,000 at weekends. Rental clubs are ¥700 and shoes ¥500.

You can turn up and start in arrival order, or book by phone (06-6322-5402), including on the day. Single golfers are welcome; see our solo golf guide. Check-in at the course before 8:30 is cash only; the clubhouse takes cards. It is a five-minute walk from Kunijima (柴島) station on the Hankyu Senri Line, which makes it the easiest after-work round in Osaka.

Kuzuha Golf Links (くずはゴルフリンクス), Hirakata

A full 18 holes, par 70, down the embankment from Keihan Kuzuha station, which is a two-minute walk. For September to November 2026 the course lists weekdays at ¥7,250 to ¥8,000 with lunch, or ¥6,650 to ¥7,400 without, with a riding cart you can drive on the fairways. Some weekdays are "house-closed" days with no clubhouse, lockers or bath, and those are cheaper again, from ¥6,200. Weekends run ¥10,300 to ¥12,000 with lunch. An early or twilight nine costs about ¥3,800 on a weekday.

You need a booking and at least two players; a single golfer can join through a matching service. Rental clubs (¥2,200) and shoes (¥1,100) must be booked ahead. No T-shirts or shorts.

Makino Park Golf Course (牧野パークゴルフ場), Hirakata

Eighteen holes, par 72, a four-minute walk from Keihan Makino station. A weekday round with lunch is ¥6,950, and a weekend round ¥9,950, played walking with a pull cart (a riding cart is ¥1,000 extra). The cheapest full round here is a Casual Day on a Tuesday or Friday: ¥6,100 for 18 holes with a riding cart, or ¥3,000 for nine, with starts from about 6:00 to 12:00, cash only and no clubhouse. An afternoon nine is ¥3,050 on a weekday. If you can start early on a Tuesday or Friday, Casual Day is the best deal on the river.

Golf Links Takatsuki eNe (formerly Takatsuki Golf Club), Takatsuki

Eighteen holes, par 70, on the north bank opposite Hirakata. From October to December a weekday round is ¥6,980, and a weekday early-morning 18 (March to November) is ¥5,980. Weekends are ¥8,680 for a 6:00 to 9:00 start and ¥7,980 for a 10:00 to 13:00 start. Twilight nines are ¥3,280 on weekdays. You walk with a pull cart or rent an electric push cart (¥600). Payment is cash only, in advance, and right-handed rental clubs (¥2,200) need booking. Buses from JR Takatsuki or Hankyu Takatsuki-shi take about 15 minutes, and from Keihan Hirakatashi about 7, to the Hirakata-ohashi-kitazume stop, a minute from the course.

Keihan Golf Club (京阪ゴルフ倶楽部), Takatsuki

A short 18 holes on the riverbed, par 64 and 4,253 yards. The course's price page lists weekdays at ¥6,400 in arrival order and weekends at ¥7,400 by reservation, with a weekday nine for ¥4,000. Everything is cash only, there is no dress code, and the lockers are currently closed, so arrive dressed to play. There is no shuttle; it is about 20 minutes by taxi from Keihan Neyagawashi, Korien or Hankyu Ibaraki-shi.

Nara, Kyoto and Shiga

Nara Public Golf Course (奈良パブリックゴルフ場), Nara city

Eighteen holes, par 70, 5,500 yards, always played straight through with no lunch break. There is no restaurant, but you may bring your own food. Autumn rates are ¥6,400 on weekdays and ¥9,100 at weekends, with a ¥5,900 service day on Tuesdays and Fridays. It takes cards, but only VISA, DC and UC. A half set of rental clubs is ¥1,000. It is 15 to 20 minutes by taxi from JR or Kintetsu Nara.

Ojiyama Country Club (皇子山カントリークラブ), Otsu

A hill course about fifteen minutes from the Kyoto-Higashi interchange, played with remote-controlled carts, so expect to walk. On Jalan a weekday self-play round is around ¥5,800 to ¥6,000, and weekends ¥10,500 to ¥11,800.

Taikodaira Country Club (太閤坦カントリークラブ), Kyotamba, and Soryo Golf Club Tsuchiyama (双鈴ゴルフクラブ土山コース), Koka

Two full-length hill courses that are cheap on a weekday and not at all cheap at weekends. Taikodaira is ¥5,790 with lunch for three or more players; Tsuchiyama sells afternoon through-play from ¥5,490. Weekends at both are ¥11,000 or more, and both are effectively car only.

Hyogo and Wakayama

Funatoyama Golf Club (船戸山ゴルフクラブ), Iwade

The cheapest 18 with a riding cart we found in Kansai: a short, hilly par 65 of about 3,800 yards. For a group of four it is ¥4,400 on a weekday, ¥4,900 on Saturday and ¥5,400 on Sunday, with a remote-controlled riding cart, and smaller groups pay a surcharge. Rental clubs are ¥2,500. It is five minutes by taxi from Funato station on the JR Wakayama Line.

Bell Green Country Club (ベル・グリーンカントリークラブ), Tamba-Sasayama

The East course, a nine-hole loop played twice with your bag carried on a monorail while you walk, is ¥3,990 on a weekday and ¥5,990 at weekends on Jalan, lunch allowance included. The riding-cart courses cost more. Be aware of the dress code: a jacket is required on arrival outside June to September. It is car only in practice; a taxi from JR Sasayamaguchi takes about 25 minutes and costs around ¥6,000.

Hidakagawa Golf Course (日高川ゴルフ場), Gobo

A municipal par-3 on the riverbed: nine holes of 66 to 164 yards played twice. It costs ¥1,800 on weekdays and ¥2,200 at weekends, with lower rates for over-60s and women, and a half set of clubs for ¥1,100. Open 8:15 to 17:00. It is the cheapest round in this guide, but Gobo is a long way down the Wakayama coast from Osaka, and the course is awkward to reach without a car, so it only makes sense if you are already in the area.

Ways to pay less

Play on a weekday. It is the biggest single saving, and many courses do not charge extra for a pair on weekdays.
Play nine. Early-morning and twilight nines cost ¥3,000 to ¥4,000 at most courses above.
Skip lunch. A through-play plan is cheaper and gets you home sooner.
Look for service days. Makino and Nara Public discount Tuesdays and Fridays, and Kuzuha's house-closed days are cheaper if you can do without the bath.
Add a second nine cheaply. Several courses sell an extra nine for about ¥2,000, which makes a one-and-a-half-round day good value.
Mind the group size at weekends. Two players often pay a surcharge on Saturdays and Sundays; Keihan Golf Club's is ¥2,500.

If this is your first round in Japan, read how to play golf in Japan for the booking, dress code and etiquette side, and see the Kanto version of this guide if you are near Tokyo.

Prices were checked on the courses' official sites and on Jalan Golf on 27 September 2026 and include tax unless stated. Courses change their prices by season and time of day; confirm the current plan before you book.