Kansai International Airport

KANSAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

The Kansai International Airport (KIX) is a major international airport of Japan and the gateway to Kansai region and to the other parts of Japan. One interesting fact: the airport stands on a man-made island located in Osaka Bay.

KIX airport provides practically everything. I listed here the service facilities that would be helpful upon your arrival at KIX Airport.

Information Counters

This is where you go when you think you’re lost or doesn’t know where to start. The staffs are friendly and speak decent English. Information counters are identified by their (?) marks.

I remember the moment we arrived at the airport the first thing that we looked for was a Currency Exchange shop and just a couple of steps from this shop is the Information Counter. We went to the Counter to ask where we could buy tickets and rent a Wi-Fi router. They happened to be just a couple of steps away.

Tourist Information Center

Tourist Iformation Centre and Travel Desk

Basically, they provide tourist information (Kansai and throughout Japan) that you might need. They also handle tickets and hotel reservation; we bought our Kyoto City Bus One Day Pass here. For more information visit Kansai Tourist Information Center.

Currency Exchange

There are a number of currency exchange shops at the airport. Japan is a cash-based society; trains, buses, vending machines and most stores only accept cash. So exchange at least an equivalent of 10, 000 yen or higher. Don’t worry about keeping large amount of cash; Japan is an incredibly safe country.

Rental Services

Near the Tourist Information Center are the Wi-Fi router rental shops. Although there are plenty of Wi-Fi hotspots in Japan we still opted to rent a Wi-Fi router due to its convenience.

Wi-Fi routers are pretty useful specially when exploring; this will prevent you from getting lost (google maps). For us, we used the router for looking up nearby restaurants and food shops that are “must try” since we forgot to search for places to eat in Osaka and Kyoto beforehand.

Transport Services

Ticket Vendos for Nankai and JR Lines

There are a number of options to get to and from the KIX airport: bus, train, car, taxi and high-speed ferry. But it all depends on where you’re going to or coming from and how much are you willing to spend. As for us, we prefer the train and bus.

Train lines from the KIX airport bound for:

Nankai Line

Namba Station – Approx. 34-45 minutes by Nankai Line

Osaka Station (Umeda) – Approx. 65 minutes by JR Line (Kansai Airport Rapid Service)

Shin-Osaka Station – Approx. 50 minutes by JR Line (Airport Express HARUKA)

Tennoji Station – Approx. 30 – 45 minutes by JR Line

Kyoto Station – Approx. 75 minutes by JR Line (Airport Express HARUKA)

Nara Station – Approx. 65-85 minutes by JR Line (with transfer at Tennoji Station)

Hyogo Station – Approx. 1 hour and 45 minutes by JR Line (with transfer at Osaka Station)

Wakayama Station – Approx. 30 – 45 minutes by JR Line (with transfer at Hineno Station)

Limousine bus services from the KIX airport bound for:

Osaka Station (Umeda) – 1,550 yen / Approx. 1 hour to 1 hour and 30 minutes by Kansai Airport Transportation Enterprise (KATE)

Kobe – 1,950 yen / Approx. 1 hour and 10 minutes by KATE

Kyoto – 2,550 yen / Approx. 1 hour and 25 minutes to 2 hours (depends on your destination in Kyoto) by KATE

Nara – 2,050 yen / Approx. 1 hour and 5 minutes to 1 hour and 25 minutes (depends on your destination in Nara) by KATE

Wakayama – 1,150 yen / Approx. 40 minutes by KATE

The high-speed ferry has only one route which is KIX to Kobe airport; it costs 1,850 yen (930 yen for children). Travel time is about 30 minutes. While the taxi can be very convenient it is also a luxury. Price depends on the size of the taxi and standard fare ranges from 13,000 to 15,000 yen.

-goodnight-

donna

Kyoto City Bus Basics

GETTING AROUND KYOTO

Bus terminal outside the Kyoto Station.

The most convenient way to explore Kyoto is by bus. The city has a very extensive bus system which could be complicated and overwhelming at first, but they can get you anywhere as long as you know which bus to board. To help you with, you should get yourself a copy of the Kyoto City Bus Travel Map BUS NAVI (there are two sightseeing maps, the simplified one and the more detailed map). They are available at the Kansai International Airport and Kyoto Bus Information Center, outside the Kyoto Station. You could also download them from Bus Navi 1 and Bus Navi 2 and study them in advance.

Major Bus Routes

1) From Kyoto station to Kiyomizudera Temple/Gion: Bus Nos. 100 or 206

-From Hankyu Kawaramachi Station: Bus No. 207 and get off at Kiyomizu-michi

2)  From Kyoto / Hankyu Saiin Station to Ninna-ji Temple: Bus No. 26 and get off at Omuro Ninna-ji (the bus stops right in front of the temple)

Ryo-anji and Kinkaku-ji Temples can be reached from Ninna-ji Temple by Bus No. 59

3) From Hankyu Kawaramachi station to Ginkaku-ji Temple: Bus Nos. 5, 17 or 102 and get off at Ginkakuji-michi

-From Kyoto station:  Bus Nos. 5, 17 or 100

4) From Kyoto Station to Otagi-Nenbutsuji Temple: Bus No. C6

5) From Kyoto Station to Nijo Castle: Bus Nos. 9, 50 or 101

How to Ride the Kyoto City Bus

1) Kyoto buses have designated bus stops, which I find incredibly awesome because we don’t have that here. Here in PH, you can ride the bus anywhere! Going back, all bus stops have signs that display schedule of buses that stop at that area (written in Japanese and English). Major bus stops have signs that indicate the approach of the next bus.

Bus stop near Kawaramachi Station

Sign of an approaching next bus

2) Once your bus has arrived, get on the bus from the rear door and exit at the front.

3) Pay the exact bus fare when you get off. There’s a payment box beside the driver: within the flat fare zone costs 230 yen for adults and 120 yen for children (6-12 yo). If you think you're going to ride the bus more than 3 times, I recommend you purchase the Kyoto City Bus One-Day Pass. The One-Day Pass, which costs 500 yen, will let you ride the bus (only for the Flat Fare Zone) as many times as you want valid only for one day.

Ticket vendo

There’s a screen in the bus that displays the route and the next bus stop and at the same time there’s also an announcement of the next stop.

***Kyoto City buses are mostly green colored while Kyoto buses are beige. 

-goodnight-
donna