Aug 11, 2016
Getting To and From Kansai International Airport: Costs to / from Osaka, Kyoto, Nara
Built on reclaimed land off the coast of Osaka, Kansai International Airport boasts the longest airport terminal in the world; Terminal 1, 1.7 km from end to end. KIX, as the airport is also known, has become an important hub for Asian air travel, and remains a popular gateway into Japan from many parts of the world. The costs and logistics that went into the construction of this travel hub are hard to comprehend. Hopefully the costs of getting to and from Kansai International airport and its surrounding cities, like Osaka and Kyoto, will be a bit easier to get the head round. Let’s take a look. In the following, we consider the costs of getting to/from Kansai International Airport by train, bus, and taxi. Some train fares vary (slightly) according to season. Those listed below are for high season. All costs are in Japanese yen.
Kansai Airport to OSAKA: costs, times, routes
Plenty of options for getting between Kansai International Airport and central Osaka.
By train
| Destination | Cost | Time | Example route |
| Shin-Osaka (fast) | 2,330 (unreserved) / 3,050 (reserved) / 3,610 (green seat) | 49 mins | LTD. Express Haruka |
| Shin-Osaka (cheap) | 1,200 | 71 mins | Nankai Airport Express to Namba - Osaka City Subway Midosuji Line to Shin-Osaka |
| Shinsaibashi (fast) | 1,950 (unreserved) Shinsaibashi 2,670 (reserved seat) / 3,230 (green seat) | 46 mins | LTD. Express Haruka to Tennoji - Osaka City Subway Midosuji Line to Shinsaibashi |
| Shinsaibashi (cheap) | 1,240 | 78 mins | JR Kansai Airport Rapid Service to Taisho - Osaka City Subway Nagahori Tsurumiryokuchi Line to Shinsaibashi |
| Namba (fast) | 1,950 (unreserved) 2,670 (reserved) / 3,230 (green seat) | 44 mins | LTD. Express Haruka to Tennoji - Osaka City Subway Midosuji Line to Namba |
| Namba (cheap) | 1,160 | 53 mins | Nankai Airport Express to Tengachaya - Osaka City Subway Sakaisuji Line to Nippombashi - Osaka City Subway Sennichimae Line to Namba |
By bus
| Destination | Cost | Time | KIX Terminal |
| Shin-Osaka (Hankyu highway bus terminal) | 1,550 (adult) / 780 (child) | ~ 1 hrs 20 mins | T1 |
| Shinsaibashi (Hotel Nikko Osaka) | 1,550 (adult) / 780 (child) | ~ 1 hrs 10 mins | T1&2 (only two buses a day) |
| Namba | 1,050 (adult) / 530 (child) | ~ 50 mins | T1 |
By taxi
| Destination | Cost | Time |
| Namba | from 13,000 | ~ 50 mins |
| Umeda | from 13,000 | ~ 50 mins |
| Shin-Osaka | from 18,000 | ~ 60 mins |
Kansai Airport to Kyoto: costs, times, routes
There are plenty of train services available for travel between Kyoto and Kansai International Airport. However, it looks like it might be easier just to take the bus. You can get to Kyoto directly this way, it's cheaper than the fastest train service, and takes about the same kind of time to JR Kyoto Station. From there you can easily use the subway to get to other parts of the city. Let's take a closer look at those costs between KIX and Kyoto.
By train
| Destination | Cost | Time | Example route |
| JR Kyoto (fast) | 2,850 (unreserved) / 3,570 (reserved) / 4,130 (green seat) | 1 hrs 20 mins | Ltd. Exp. Haruka to JR Kyoto |
| JR Kyoto (cheap) | 1,880 | ~ 2 hrs | JR Kansai Airport Rapid Service to Osaka - JR Special Rapid Service to JR Kyoto |
| Shijo (fast) | 3,060 (unreserved seat ) 3,780 (reserved) / 4,340 (green seat) (seats for Ltd. Exp. Haruka) | 1 hrs 32 mins | Ltd. Exp. Haruka to JR Kyoto - Kyoto City Subway Karasuma Line to Shijo |
| Shijo (cheap) | 2,090 | ~ 2 hrs | JR Kansai Airport Rapid Service to Osaka - JR Special Rapid Service to Kyoto (JR) - Kyoto City Subway Karasuma Line to Shijo |
| Sanjo (fast) | 2,250 (unreserved) 2,970 (reserved) / 3,530 (green seat) (seats for Ltd. Exp. Haruka) | 1 hrs 46 mins | Ltd. Exp. Haruka to Tennoji - Osaka Loop Line to Kyobashi - Keihan Main Line Ltd. Exp. to Sanjo |
| Sanjo (cheap) | 1,510 | 2 hrs | Nankai Airport Express to Shinmamiya - JR Kishuji Rapid Service to Kyobashi (Osaka) - Keihan Main Line Ltd. Exp. to Sanjo |
By bus
| Destination | Cost | Time | KIX Terminal |
| JR Kyoto | 2,550 (adult) / 1,280 (child) | ~ 1 hrs 20 mins | T1&2 |
| Kyoto Shijo Karasuma | 2,550 (adult) / 1,280 (child) | ~ 2 hrs | T1&2 |
By taxi
JR Kyoto - 32,000 yen ~ 2 hrs
Shuttle services to Kyoto - 3,600 yen per person with SKYGATE SHUTTLE
Shuttle services to Kyoto - 3,500 yen per person with YASAKA TAXI
Kansai Airport to NARA: costs, times, routes
Judging from the information below, there are no buses to JR Nara Station, and the service that we found from Kansai International Airport probably doesn't make sense for the traveler. There appear to be no direct train services between KIX and JR Nara. There is quite a large difference in cost between the fastest and cheapest services, but a negligible difference in time. Maybe it just depends on how badly you want a seat.
By train
| Destination | Cost | Time | Example route |
| JR Nara (fast) | 2,360 (unreserved) / 3,080 (reserved) / 3,640 (green seat) | 1 hrs 20 mins | Ltd. Exp. Haruka to Tennoji - JR Yamatoji Rapid Service to Nara |
| JR Nara (cheap) | 1,480 | 1 hrs 23 mins | Nankai Airport Express to Shinmamiya - JR Yamatoji Rapid Service to Nara |
By bus
| Destination | Cost | Time | KIX Terminal |
| Kinetsu Gakuenmae Station | 2,050 (adult) / 1,030 (child) | 1 hrs 20 mins | T1 |
NB* From Gakuenmae Station take the Kintetsu Nara Line to Kintetsunara ~ 30 mins / 260 yen. From there it’s a 20-min walk to JR Nara Station. This doesn’t look like a convenient option!
By taxi
JR Nara - 25,000 yen, ~ 1.5 hrs
The example routes from Kansai International Airpot displayed in the tables above, are just that; examples. There are other routes that can be followed, but where possible, we tried to pick up the fastest and the cheapest. Sometimes the cheapest options meant transferring between stations too many times to make them a sensible option. Also, sometimes there isn't a great deal of difference between fastest and cheapest. For trains, head to the Terminal 1 building of KIX.
Resources
Kansai International Airport homepage: http://www.kansai-airport.or.jp/en/index.asp
Hyperdia (for detailed train routes/prices/schedules): http://www.hyperdia.com/
If you've got any advice regarding the cost of getting to and from Kansai International Airport, please write it in the comments sections below. We'd love to hear from you.
Twitter: City_Cost_Japan
Images (cropped)
KIX - Hideyuki KAMON Flickr License
Kyoto Toomore Chiang Flickr License
Nara Mith Huang Flickr License
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