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 must find the way to get to the city center of Osaka.
In Osaka there are 2 centers, Umeda (North center called Kita “キタ”), and Namba (South center called Minami “ミナミ”).
Namba area has more things to see for tourists, including Dotombori and Shinsaibashi shopping street, but Umeda has more advantage when you want to travel to other cities like Kyoto and Kobe. Also more department stores are located around Umeda/Osaka station, so if you look for something high-grade, Umeda is probably easier to find the one.
This time let’s check these 3 options how to get to Umeda from the airport.
①Train
②Bus
③Taxi
①Train
From Kansai airport to Umeda / Osaka station.
Many tourists get confused by the difference between Umeda and Osaka station, but they are located in the same district. The JR station is called Osaka and other private railways (including Osaka Metros) stations are called Umeda.
JR Kansai Airport Rapid service “Kanku-Kaisoku (関空快速) goes every 15 minutes to JR Osaka station.
When you arrive at the airport, go up from the ground floor to the second floor, which is connected to the station. (In case of terminal 2, take a shuttle bus to the terminal 1 and go upstairs). There are 2 railway stations next to each other and JR station is the further one from the terminal. And the ticket is sold just in front of the gate.
Train fare is 1,210 yen
At the ticket machine you can also buy an IC prepaid card called ICOCA card, which works for almost all the public transportation in any big cities in Japan.
Duration is 61 minutes.
JR has Limited Express called HARUKA, and with express fare (1,530 yen for reserved seat and 1,200 yen for non-reserved seat, sold at green ticket vending machines), you can reach Osaka in 47 minutes. But Haruka goes every 30 minutes so it can be faster to catch Kanku Kaisoku, depending on timetable.
②Bus
From Kansai airpot to Osaka / Umeda station, buses go to Osaka Herbis Plaza (West side of JR Osaka station, beside Hilton Hotel), and Hankyu Umeda (East side of JR Osaka station) every 15-30 minutes (during the midnight every hour).
When you arrive at the airport, just go out of the terminal then you’ll find the bus terminal on the ground floor. To Osaka, the bus stop is No.5.
You can buy the ticket just beside the bus stop (ticket counter C).
During the daytime, you can also take a bus from the terminal 2.
Duration : 58 minutes to Hankyu Umeda station, and 67 minutes to Herbis Plaza.
Bus fare : 1,800 yen (one way)
3,300 yen (return, valid within 14 days)
The vending machine accepts only cash and if you want to pay by card, go to the manual counter next to the machine.
You can’t book the seat, but once you get on a bus, you definitely get a seat.
It can cost more than trains, and in case of traffic jam, you have no idea what time you’ll reach the destination (rush hour, accident etc).
The biggest advantage of a shuttle bus between Kansai Airport and Umeda is that the last bus leaves the airport at 23:45, so even though you miss the last train from Kansai airport, still you have a chance to reach the city.
③Taxi
MK Taxi offers fixed price for transportation between Kansai Airport and Namba/Umeda.
From Airport to Umeda 14,800 yen ~
The fare doesn’t include highway toll fee because sometimes they might want to change the route.
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 max. MK taxi have different size of vehicles and you can request different type of car by the number of travelers and luggage.
You can book one online in advance and there are some taxi companies offering airport taxi service, so you can check it out online.
Absolutely this is the most expensive way but still you’ll be sure that you don’t have to hustle to find a hotel with big suitcases.
Summary
Train : Relatively the most reasonable and punctual.
Bus : Recommended for late arrival and early departure.
Taxi : The most costly but easiest by door-to-door.
The fare might be raised sometimes so please check the current fare when you arrive at the airport.
Hope this helps you to find your best transportation by your budget and schedule !
Read More : How to go to Namba from Kansai Airport ~What’s the best transportation~??
ICOCA – The Best IC Card in Japan (Potentially)
OSAKA 1 DAY METRO PASS & OSAKA AMAZING PASS – Who Gets a Great Deal ??
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