KIX Questions
 

Hello,

I am looking for your help!

I will have a 5-hr layover in KIX (ICN-KIX-SFO) in July. Two questions:

1) Is there any Star Alliance lounge with shower facilities?
2) What's the best way to spend 5-hr layover? Anyway to make a short trip to get a nice meal or something? I am a pretty efficient traveler so I think I can free up 3 hours or so for layover tour :) Think it's still too short for a trip to Namba but any place cool that is near the airport?

Thank you!

There are buses from the airport island to the mainland just across the bridge, but it's not terribly interesting or pedestrian friendly - and it's not impossible to get to Namba and back in five hours. That's what I'd do - follow the advice on the six hour thread:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/japan...kix-osaka.html

Keep an eye on the clock as you're entering the country - If you're not running on schedule, just eat something in the landside restaurants at the airport. They're about as good as what you're likely to find just across the bridge.

I doubt there are lounges there. Lounges are lousy. Non-ANA *A carriers use crappy contract lounges. If you are *G (or flying F) then you can use ANA but it's very basic.

There are no F lounges in KIX.

There's also a TG lounge, which is marginally nicer than the NH one. The KIX lounge situation is, on the whole, quite dire, but it's not such a problem as immigration is efficient and there's no real reason to stick around on a layover of more than an hour or two.

From gate to Namba is ~60 minutes assuming you aren't faffing around with luggage, and I'm perfectly comfortable with showing up at KIX 45 minutes or so before departure, meaning you've got a solid two hours to enjoy Osaka on five hour layover.

You can buy a 1 day Kansai Rail pass for 2000Y and use the express train to get into, around and out of the city. I've done short transits in KIX and it's been perfect. If you had just slightly longer you could have gone all the way to Kyoto and back, its all covered in the 2000Y.

Aha, did not notice it. All the way at the end. But it does have limited hours: http://loungeindex.com/Asia/Japan/KIX/index.htm

An alternative idea, though I've never done it.

Take the high-speed ferry to Kobe.
http://www.kansai-airport.or.jp/en/access/ferry/

Port Island, where the ferry lands, doesn't have a lot of interesting places as far as I know, but one idea would be the Oriental Hotel a short taxi ride away.
http://www.kansai-airport.or.jp/en/access/ferry/

Maybe not what you're looking for, but thought that I'd throw it out as an alternative. The ferry ride might be refreshing.

Sorry, wrong link for restaurants at Oriental Hotel in post above. Here is the correct one.

http://www.kobe-orientalhotel.co.jp/...ant/index.html

Right on
 

I haven't taken the ferry for years (and that was the old one -- but I enjoyed it). But if you go across to UKB on the ferry as nishimark says, you could also just take the Port Liner to Sannomiya (central Kobe, maybe Y550 ??) and walk around a bit. Lots of cheap (and expensive) eats everywhere, plenty of shops etc. to kill a couple of hours. I didn't bother to look at the ferry schedules. Whichever option you choose, I hope you get out of KIX for a while. Have a good trip !

With a 5-hour layover, I think Kobe is definitely a bit ambitious. I think going to Nanba is your best bet if you're really itching to get out and explore a bit. But even that might be ambitious. You really have to allow close to an hour from the time your plane arrives at the gate till the time your train leaves, esp since the express train (Nankai Rapid) only leaves every 30min or so. Then the train ride is another 45min into Nanba. And then it's another 45min back to KIX and you're going to want to be back ~75min before your flight. That means you're left with only 90min or less in Nanba. And that whole Nanba complex is such a zoo that it'll take you a bit of time just to get yourself oriented and 90min will pass by before you know it.

Not sure about showers inside Star Alliance lounges, but KIX does have a shower facility for sure in their main terminal building. If you decide to stay put at KIX for your layover, I think there's enough stuff there to keep you occupied. Good deal of shops and decent restaurants.

KIX immigration can be very quick, depending on the time of day, as it's often not very busy. I'd make a plan and if you get out of immigration within a certain time go for it. If delayed, then hang around the airport.

Kobe ferry is only 30 minutes, add 10 for the shuttle bus to the ferry.
http://www.kobe-access.co.jp/en/timetable.html

With decent conditions, you could potentially arrive in Kobe within 1 hour 15 minutes of landing and get a boat ride as a bonus.

Also, if you get back to the airport with little time to spare from wherever, tell the people at the security checkpoint about your flight and they'll personally hustle you through. They are generally very kind and helpful.

Quoting myself in another thread
--------------
Here is the action plan as I outlined to my wife:

- get yourself out from the plane
- go thru customs and immigration
- get yens from the Post Office ATM
- put your carry-on siutcase either in coin locker at buggage storage at KIX
- hop on the bus, go to the outlet area, get relaxed in onsen, trash yourself with food, just time there for good
- return back to the airport, retrieve the suitcase, go thru the immigration and head to Thai Airways lounge - it is better than ANA lounge.
- fly to the destination.

+1 !

Actually, this may be the best plan if you really want to get out of KIX during a 5-hr layover. Only thing is, I'd skip the Prime Outlet (boring stores and not much food) and instead go next door to this complex called Leisure Land Seacle. It's next to the Rinku Town train station, just on the other side of the water from KIX and a few minutes ride from KIX. Lots of J-brand stores and good cheap eats. It's complete with a huge ferris wheel. Onsen there may be worth a try, but I'm not convinced it's real onsen.