Access Osaka大阪 · Osaka

Day Trips

日帰り · HIGAERI

Kyoto, Nara, Kobe and Himeji — the fare, the journey time and the station.

Himeji Castle, an hour from Osaka
Photograph by Martin Falbisoner, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Osaka's strongest argument is not what is in it but what is half an hour away. Kyoto, Nara, Kobe and Himeji are all day trips, and all four are easier from Osaka than from each other.

The four

Kyoto — roughly half an hour, and a full day at minimum. Nara — about three quarters of an hour, smaller and walkable. Kobe — about half an hour, the closest and the least visited. Himeji — about an hour, and the one castle in Japan that is neither reconstruction nor ruin.

The thing to check before buying a ticket

Several different companies run these routes and their tickets do not cover each other. Nara in particular is served by two separate lines arriving at two different stations at two different distances from the park. Decide the operator before the fare.

What people get wrong

Doing Kyoto and Nara on the same day. It is technically possible and it is the most common regret in Kansai.

This section is being written. The guide above is the section for now. New articles are published across the site about twice a week rather than a section being filled in a day, so this page grows steadily — it is worth looking in again. In the meantime the sixteen sight pages and the plans by trip length are finished, and they are the best place to start.

Coming next in this section

  • How do you get from Osaka to Kyoto, and which operator should you use?
  • How do you get from Osaka to Nara, and which station do you want?
  • Is Himeji worth the journey from Osaka?
  • Is Kobe a sensible day trip from Osaka?

About what you read here. Everything on Access Osaka is general information and our own editorial opinion. We research carefully and we say when the evidence is unclear, but we can be wrong, things change, and no article can know your particular situation. Please do your own research and make your own judgement rather than treating anything here as the final word. Prices, products and specifications around the topics we cover change constantly, and what suits one person will not suit another. Check current details yourself, and where a decision involves real money, safety or something you cannot undo, it is worth confirming with a qualified professional before you act.