Suggestions? Four hours at KIX
 

On an upcoming itinerary, my agent booked me for a four-hour layover in KIX (connecting from ANA from S. Korea to UA). Do you have any suggestions about I can spend those four hours? Optimally, I'd love to leave the airport to see something in/around Osaka, but I don't know if that's realisitic.

KIX has a huge culinary offering landside, for example prime Matsusaka beef and seafood at the Teppan Icho located upstairs at the Hotel Nikko KIX. Of course you could head for the Rinku Outlet mall nearby but I would avoid going to central Osaka due to experiences of rush hour delays on the KIX bound trains.

I would also do the Rinku town outlet mall, or grab a massage at the Nikko..........

You've already received some excellent advice above. I'd repeat the suggestion to explore the shop/dining options at the airport or check out the outlet mall. KIX is not actually in Osaka, but rather on a manmade island in the bay. The train into Osaka takes a good half hour or more, depending on which train you use, and dumps you out at a rather uninteresting part of town. To actually see anything, you would need to make a connection or take a long cab ride. Probably not worth the time and effort if you only have a total of 4 hours.

Fortunately, there are lots of things to see and do at and around the airport. You can at least enjoy a good Japanese meal and look through some of the shops. To get you started, here is a link to the info site:

http://www.kansai-airport.or.jp/english/

JR