flyingcrazy

Hello everybody,

Ill be in Seoul for a few days in January for work.

Ive always wanted to fly into KIX cause it is one of the world's only island airports so I am planning on buying a return day air fare with Peach Air to tick that off my bucket list.

However Ill have a whole day in Osaka to please myself and aside from taking pics around the airport, I was wonderinf if anyone had an suggestions on what to do in Osaka for the day?

Thanks a lot,

FC

pdxkankuu

What are your interests? Hobbies? What do you enjoy doing in other countries?

And if you've never flown into KIX, the view when landing is pretty cool. Looks like you're landing on the water right up until the last minute. =D But hey, sometimes I'm easily amused.

RichardInSF

KIX is rather far from Osaka itself, 45-60 minutes each way via train. It's also just another large city. I'd propose that instead you spend 75 minutes each way on the Haruka express (you can buy a discount round trip ticket at KIX) and go to Kyoto instead -- you could tour a few of the famous temples depending on how much time you have.

abmj-jr

+1. It is only another 25-30 minutes on the Haruka and you arrive at the beautiful and iconic Kyoto Station. From there, one or two of the big tourist draws would be easy.

flyingcrazy

I like to do what the locals do! Travel on public transport, chill out at a cafe, have some local beer and street food!

flyingcrazy

That would be awesome.

So after immigration I just walk to the station (signposted im guessing) and purchase a ticket at a machine to Kyoto?

My main reason for Osaka is to land at KIX, after that I just wanna experience Japan for a day!

nishimark

Another thought. Take the high speed ferry from KIX to Kobe and hang around there for the day. Kobe is a large city, though not as big as Osaka. An advantage to this plan is that you could get views of the island airport from the ferry.

armagebedar

And Kobe is also another island airport, if you care to tick another one off.

evergrn

When do you land and when do you fly back out? The train to Kyoto (Haruka) only runs like every hour, although I think it runs more often in the evening. Depending on how your flight times and train departures work out, an 8hr stop can translate to merely ~3hr (best case 4hr) in Kyoto. From Kyoto Station, you'd have to hop on a cab to get to most historical sights. Although if I only had 3hr in Kyoto, personally I'd be quite content to just hang out at the Kyoto Station complex. Awesome design, tons of food and shopping, ramen arcade, great place to hang out on the rooftop.

High-speed ferry to Kobe only takes you to Kobe Airport, correct? Is there one that will take him direct to the city? From Kobe Airport, you'd have to catch another train to get to Sannomiya, which is the center of Kobe. But the ferry ride would be cool, and Kobe is an awesome city. Not a bad plan for OP.

nishimark

Here's ferry info:
http://www.kobe-access.jp/en/ferry.html

From Kobe airport, where the ferry lands, to Sannomiya station, main train station, center of Kobe, is a few minutes by a monorail called Port Liner.
http://www.knt-liner.co.jp/en/

Around Sannomiya area is a large variety of things to do/see/eat, etc.

acregal

Timing is really important here. For something like this, I don't really recommend Kyoto - the timing can be really difficult here, leaving the OP time to see two or three places at most. The OP is likely to spend as much time on the train or bus as seeing the sights.

RichardInSF

The station is well signposted but you should buy your ticket from an agent. If you buy the tickets from a machine, the round trip to Kyoto costs Y7,000. If you buy a one day JR West Kansai pass from the agent by showing your foreign passport, the round trip is Y2,300. Savings is about $50 and the lines are almost always pretty short. You ride the same train, the Haruka limited express, either way.

pdxkankuu

The craft beer scene is slowly growing in Japan. Here are a couple links for bars in Osaka with craft beers if that's your thing.

http://bento.com/kansai/kf-beer.html
http://beerinjapan.com/bij/858/beer-in-osaka/