Airport Guide to Kansai (KIX)

Airport Overview

Terminal Transfer | Getting into Town | Car Parking | Information Desks | Airport Facilities

Osaka Kansai Airport is located on a man-made island in Osaka Bay. It was opened to relieve Osaka Airport on the mainland. It’s just off the coast of Izumisano, and about 38km (24 miles) from central Osaka. The complex has a lot going on – its own power station, water purification plant, a base for the Japanese Coast Guard and a large international post office.

The airport is spacious and well-designed with plenty of restaurants and shops, lounges, kids’ play areas and massage booths. Although on an island, there are several public transport options for getting to the mainland.

As one of the highest-rated airports in the world, Osaka Kansai Airport is unlikely to disappoint. Most of the flights to Osaka Kansai Airport are regional though, with busy routes to Beijing, Taipei, Bangkok, Tokyo, and other Asian cities.

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Terminal Transfer

The airport has one terminal, divided into four floors. The second floor handles all domestic arrivals and departures. International arrivals go through immigration and baggage claim on the ground floor, while the third and fourth floors handle international departures. At 1.1 miles (1.7km) long, it’s the longest terminal in the world, but there’s a sophisticated driverless shuttle system to get you from one end to the other. The cars leave every couple of minutes.

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Getting into Town

Train: The train station is directly in front of the main terminal building, accessed via the walkway on the second floor. The JR West service and the Nankai service travel regularly and widely, with ticket prices depending on how far and how fast you want to travel. Both services have a number of lines that go all over the area, so make sure you study a map carefully. You can buy tickets for both lines from the vending machines near the exits or at the counters in the station.

Ferry: There’s a high-speed ferry that operates regularly between Kansai Airport and Kobe Airport, about 30 minutes away, which costs JPY 1,800 (£14). You can buy tickets from the desk on the first floor.

Bus: Buses leave from just outside the international arrivals section on the ground floor. You can buy tickets from the vending machines on the first floor.

Taxi: There are several taxi companies operating from the airport, with cars leaving from just across the road from the arrivals section on the ground floor. Taxis from different stands go to different areas, and it’ll cost anything from JPY 4,500-60,000 (£36-£48) depending on how far you’re going.

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Car Parking

There are two multi-storey car parks, P1 and P2, above the railway station, which you access via the walkways connecting from the second floor of the terminal building. It’ll cost you JPY 100 (less than £1) for the first 15 minutes, JPY 3,000 (£24) for the first 12 hours, and thereafter JPY 4,000 (£32) for every 24 hours. There are also two ground floor car parks, P3 and P4, next to the Aeroplaza hotel complex. It’ll take you about five minutes to walk there from the terminal building.

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Information Desks

There’s an information desk in the middle of the international arrivals section on the ground floor.

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Airport Facilities

Money and communications: ATMs and currency exchange are found throughout the airport, but not after you’ve gone through to the departure gates.

Luggage: There are left-luggage facilities on the first and fourth floors which cost JPY 600 (almost £5) a day for a suitcase and JPY 1,000 (£8) for larger items. A cheaper option is the coin-operated lockers on the second floor, which cost JPY 300 (£2.40) per day for a small locker. There’s also a porter service available.

Conference and business: Several airlines have lounges with business facilities. There is also a dedicated business centre near the northern end of the fourth floor, which offers fax and photocopying services, a meeting room at JPY 15,000 (£120) an hour, and computer workstations.

Other facilities: There’s a large kids’ play room as well as several smaller play areas. There are massage booths in the terminal building as well as the hotel complex. There’s also a post office and a doctor’s office on the second floor, a player room on the fourth floor, and a dentist’s office in the Aeroplaza hotel complex.

Wi-Fi: There’s free Wi-Fi throughout the airport.

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