I am staying at a hotel called Hotel MyStays Sakaisuji-Honmachi. You probably won't have heard of it before.

http://www.mystays.jp/e/location/sak...nmachi/access/

The above link gives me some indication of which stations to be getting to from KIX, but how do I decide which line I need from the airport anyway? And then, do I really walk with luggage from, say, Nanba station, or do I get a taxi?

Will taxi drivers even be likely to know obscure hotels like that? I guess I could give them a map? But I don't speak Japanese.

I never had this problem on my forays into Tokyo, because they have the Friendly Airport Limousine Bus which stops at my very hotel. Plus it seems easier to get to Tokyo/Shinjuku station from NRT than it does to Osaka station from KIX.

No direct trains! Unbelievable! Even London has direct trains, and I mean, that's...London!

I am looking at the JR West Airport Rapid Service to Osaka Station (change first at Hineno ), and then get a taxi from there to my hotel.

So you're complaining that you chose a cheap hotel and now you expect that such a ...... location has a direct train from the airport. The direct train you are looking for is Shin-Osaka. What exactly is your complaint here?

Most people do it in reverse, they first look at where a hotel is located and then book it.

I am not complaining, I am just a little surprised that passengers have to change trains twice from the airport just to get into the city (i.e. Osaka or Shin-Osaka). Why is there not a train that goes directly from KIX to Osaka without a train-change in between?

The hotel is located fairly close to Nanba, within walking distance. I don't expect a direct train to the hotel, just a sensible routing into the city. And Osaka's trains don't give me that from KIX.

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It sounded a bit like one. Why not simply ask about the best way to get to your hotel? More than likely that someone knows the answer, so much knowledge here....

You obviously missed the Haruka, every 30min, that most take from Kansai to Osaka and Kyoto.

That's a 15 minute walk - longer if you're pulling suitcases. Rapit train to Namba, then taxi to the hotel would be a good option IMHO.

Printing a map is a good idea. If you don't, you may struggle to get the taxi driver to understand what you're saying - But if you do get that across, he may well know it. If he doesn't, he'll pull it up on his GPS or call his dispatcher for advice. Not so different from taking a taxi in any place.
Presumably you were staying at a bigger "city hotel" rather than a no frills business hotel. MyStays and their like aren't served by Limo Bus in Tokyo either.

I wonder why it seems that way. I've never found it to be a challenge.

But there are direct trains to central Osaka. And there are hotels at the stations served by those trains. I cannot see how London even compares.

Thanks Scott. The cooking class sounds great. We only have a week in Japan so have decided that this trip we will visit Hiroshima and Kyoto and save Tokyo for next time. Very much looking forward to this trip. And thanks to all the kind replies here I feel much more confident about train travel.

Molly

I stay ONLY at low-cost obscure hotels, but they almost always have maps on their websites, giving directions from the nearest major transit stop or landmark, so I just print out the Japanese version and hand it to the cabdriver.

As for not having a direct train to downtown, you have to understand that a sprawling city like Osaka (or Tokyo) has no single downtown. It has several major business centers

Passengers do not have to change trains twice. There are more railway companies than JR Rail.Take the Nankai railway...direct service from KIX to Namba. Fastest train is 37 minutes, direct.

If you are using Hyperdia to plan routes, use Kansai Airport as departure and NAMBA(NANKAI) as destination.

Problem solved.

http://www.howto-osaka.com.e.iv.hp.t...ansai-airport/