Kansai Airport is the gateway of Kansai area / West Japan.
Start with Osaka, then off to Kyoto, Nara, Kobe, Wakayama, Hiroshima and even further…
Once you land in Kansai airport, you will try to find the way to get to the city centers of Osaka.
In Osaka there are 2 centers, Umeda (North center called Kita “キタ”), and Namba (South center called Minami “ミナミ”). And many tourists tend to stay in Namba because it’s very close to Dotombori, the biggest tourist spot in Osaka.
There are 3 options to get to Namba from Kansai Airport.
①Train
②Bus
③Taxi
Let’s check the merit and demerit of the transportations.
①Train
From Kansai Airport to Namba, take Nankai Railway.
The station is just a couple of minutes walk from the Airport terminal 1. When you go out of the international arrival gate on the ground floor, walk up to the second floor to go over to the next building. In case you’re from the domestic flight, just go straight as you’re already on the second floor. From Terminal 2, take a shuttle bus going to the terminal 1 and go upstairs.
There are 2 railways gates and Nankai is closer to the terminal.
The ticket counter is just in front of the gate.
Limited Express “Rapi:t” goes every 30 minutes with reserved seat.
Duration : 36 minutes.
Train fare : 1,430 yen at vending machine, but 1,270 yen at a station counter (So definitely buy it at the station ticket counter. Credit card is also available).
Airport Express “Kuko Kyuko (空港急行)” goes every 15 minutes.
Duration 45 minutes.
Train fare : 920 yen
Tickets are sold at vending machines.
Limited Express Rapi:t is a little faster.
You don’t need to wait for it if the train is just gone, but it’s worth taking Rapi:t by adding 300 yen to reserve a seat. Around the rush hour (7:30 – 9 am), Airport Express Kuko Kyuko gets more than full and with a big suitcase it’s really stressful to ride on such a train.
The Kuko Kyuko starts at 5:45 and the last train is at 11:55 pm.
If you go further from Namba station by transferring to Metro, Kintetsu etc.. check out some combination tickets which Nankai Railway offers.
From the Airport, there are JR trains going, but they don’t directly go to Namba, and JR Namba station is not so close to Dotombori and the main district, so JR is not really recommended unless you insist on using Japan Rail Pass.
②Bus
From Kansai Airport to Namba, a shuttle bus goes to Namba city airport terminal (OCAT) every 30 minutes, near JR Namba station.
The bus terminal is on the first floor, the same floor as the arrival gate (In case of the domestic flight arrival, go down to the ground floor).
Basically the buses go from the bus stop No.11, but the ones which leave at 11:30 pm, 12:30 am and 1:30 am stops at No.5.
You’ll find the ticket counter “A” just beside the bus stop (the other counters don’t sell tickets for Namba).
The bus service starts around 6 am, and finishes at 1:30 am.
Some of the buses start from Terminal 2 then go to Terminal 1 (The last bus leaving Terminal 2 is 1:17 am).
Duration : 50 minutes
Bus fare : 1,050 yen (one way)
1,850 yen (return, valid within 14 days)
③Taxi
MK Taxi offers fixed price for transportation between Kansai Airport and Namba.
From Airport to Namba 9,100 yen
The fare doesn’t include highway toll fee because sometimes they want to change the route, depending on traffic condition.
The highway fare is 1,300 yen ~.
And the taxi above is for a basic one which can accommodate 4 passengers but the size of the trunk is not so big and if you have a huge suitcase, 2 or 3 people are the maximum.
They offer a bigger size as well and you can book it on their website.
Summary
Train : Relatively the most reasonable and punctual (especially Nankai).
Bus : Recommended for early & late arrival.
Taxi : The most costly but easiest by door-to-door.
The best transportation depends on how and where you travel, so find your best by your travel style !
Read More : Is Japan Rail Pass Reasonable ?? ~CASE ① 7 DAYS PASS~
OSAKA 1 DAY METRO PASS & OSAKA AMAZING PASS – Who Gets a Great Deal ??
ICOCA – The Best IC Card in Japan (Potentially)
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