Getting to Osaka and Around by Metro, JR and Kansai Trains

Osaka sits at the center of an extraordinarily dense web of JR, municipal subway and five private railway networks (Nankai, Hankyu, Hanshin, Kintetsu and Keihan). Knowing which company serves your destination saves long underground walks through mega-stations.

From Kansai International Airport (KIX) to the city

KIX sits 40 km south-west of central Osaka on a man-made bay island. Choose your airport train based on whether your hotel is in the south (Namba/Shinsaibashi) or the north (Umeda/Shin-Osaka):

• For Namba and Shinsaibashi (Nankai Electric Railway): board either the retro-futuristic blue Nankai Limited Express Rapi:t (all-reserved seats, ~34 to 38 minutes to Nankai Namba Station) or the cheaper commuter Nankai Airport Express (no seat reservation required, ~45 minutes on the same tracks).
• For Tennoji, Osaka Station (Umeda) and Shin-Osaka (JR West): take the JR Haruka Limited Express (reaching Tennoji in 35 minutes, the underground Umekita platforms at Osaka Station in 47 minutes, and Shin-Osaka in 50 minutes) or the standard JR Kansai Airport Rapid Service.
• Airport Limousine Bus: helpful if you are carrying heavy suitcases directly to major hotels near Osaka Station, Namba OCAT or Universal Studios Japan.

Arriving by Shinkansen: Shin-Osaka vs Osaka Station

All Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen bullet trains from Tokyo, Nagoya, Hiroshima and Fukuoka stop at Shin-Osaka Station, north of the Yodo River. Shin-Osaka is not the same station as central Osaka Station (Umeda); to reach downtown, transfer at Shin-Osaka to the JR Kyoto Line (4 minutes to Osaka Station) or the red Osaka Metro Midosuji Line (7 minutes to Umeda, 13 minutes to Shinsaibashi, 15 minutes to Namba).

Getting around the city and out to Kyoto, Nara and Kobe

Within Osaka, the Osaka Metro Midosuji Line (Red, M) and the circular JR Osaka Loop Line handle 80 percent of visitor journeys. Tap in and out with an IC card (ICOCA/Suica) or a contactless bank card. For day trips across Kansai, private railways often beat JR by dropping you closer to the sights: take the Kintetsu Nara Line from Osaka-Namba directly to Kintetsu-Nara Station (right by Nara Park), and take the Keihan Main Line from Yodoyabashi or the Hankyu Kyoto Line from Osaka-Umeda directly into downtown Kyoto (Gion-Shijo and Kawaramachi).