I'm a frequent lurker, but rare poster. However, I can't find the answer I need despite looking all over the web.

I'm going to be in Kyoto for a conference in early December with 2 colleagues. Our flight leaves KIX at 8:15am on a Sunday morning. We'll be travelling KIX-NRT-ORD, so we should probably be at the airport by 6:15am. Unfortunately, looking the JR Haruka Airport Express and the Kansai Airport Limo timetables, the earliest train leaves Kyoto Station at 5:15am or 5:50am, getting into KIX by 7:15am.

That's going to be cutting it close. Would taking a taxi be the best option? That seems to be a prohibitively expensive choice. Or, would I be taking several trains overnight ... starting around midnight?