spreadyourwingsandflyy

Hi! I’m back! 😀

So continuing on from my other post: Hotel Monterey Grasmere Osaka

While in Osaka, my family and I traveled to OCAT in Namba from KIX via the airport limousine (and lucky us, OCAT is located next to the hotel which we stayed in!!!)

Side note though, for those who don’t know just like how I didn’t (😅)…

Airport limousine = airport bus 😀
So it’s literally a bus/coach.

This post will focus mainly on taking the airport limousine out of KIX, and back to KIX (from OCAT in Namba) ~

Of course, there are also other methods of traveling out of KIX that can be used such as via:

• high-speed ferry

or

• train
  • JR Line: The Limited Express “HARUKA” goes to Tennoji/Shin-Osaka/Kyoto
  • JR Line: Kansai Airport Rapid Service to Umeda in Osaka (takes longer than Haruka)
  • through the Nankai Electric Railway Line

A brief summary of the acronyms used here:
KIX –> Kansai International Airport
OCAT / Namba(OCAT) –> Osaka City Air Terminal located in Namba district

OCAT is a bus terminal, really. Not an airport of sorts although the name says “air terminal” which kind of gives the airport-feels~

The terminal itself is underground, with various berths for different bus lines that stops here. Above the ground, it’s the OCAT Mall – with restaurants, a bookstore, etc. (Oh and a McDonald’s :P)

Also, OCAT is located right above/next to JR-Namba and a short distance from Namba Station (Yotsubashi/Midosuji/Sennichimae Lines) ((Y15, M20 and S16 respectively)). These are also linked to Namba Walk, which can link to Dotonburi!! 😀

Osaka City Air Terminal (basement of OCAT Mall)

So this airport limousine is operated by KATE (Kansai Airport Transportation Enterprise); and KATE basically runs A LOT of bus lines, and the one between KIX and Namba(OCAT) is just one of the many. Besides KIX to Osaka, they also have bus lines running to Kyoto, Nara, Wakayama, Hyogo, Okayama, Tokushima and Kagawa. For some destinations, the drop-off points are at specific hotels! You can check out their website for more info 😀 (link below)

To take the airport limo from KIX, head to Level 1F (same level as the Arrival Hall) and exit via the main exit. You’ll see a road and maybe plenty of buses around when you exit the airport.

To get a ticket, head over to one of the ticket machines along the wall (note that the machines are outside, not within the air-conditioned area of the terminal). If I remember correctly, there should be a language option on the machines + the machines allow the purchase of round-trip tickets, besides the single-trip tickets.

Once you have your ticket, you can head over to the limousine once it has arrived and is ready for boarding! I didn’t manage to take a photo of the airport limousine (we were rushing to get the tickets and board the bus :\) but yes, basically it’s a big bus, like a coach.

Tickets! (These are our return tickets from OCAT to KIX)

For your luggage, there will be a staff *or two* who will assist in grouping your multiple luggage together and tagging them. After you have collected the tag, just hand your ticket for checking to the ticket staff and head up the bus! 🙂

On the bus!

From KIX to Namba(OCAT), we spent about 1850 yen per person (round trip tickets) and the journey was approximately 50mins long (one way).

I was seated on the left side of the bus, so here’s a few photos of how the view (inclusive of the sea) was like!

 

And here’s a glimpse of OCAT Mall:

 

For more information regarding the airport limousine from KIX, check out the following sites!

KATE: http://www.kate.co.jp/en/

Guide to KATE: http://www.kate.co.jp/en/guide/

Timetable for the airport limousine: http://www.kate.co.jp/en/timetable/

 

Also, to see what are the other choices of transportation to and from KIX, check this out:

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2033.html

 

Hope this post helped give an idea on how traveling via airport limo out of KIX is like!! ^_^

 

Updated on 10 March 2019 – it seems like I’ve entered the wrong ticket price previously!!! It’s 1850 yen per person for a round trip (both to and from KIX are covered), not 3700 yen (1850 yen per way x 2)!!

Also, I just checked out KATE’s site. There’ll be a price update for round trip tickets from 1 April 2019 onwards, to 1900 yen per round trip per person!