GanS

Does anyone know if this is easy to get to for an afternoon? Basically we're landing Osaka ITM (internal flight from Niigata) on Tue 19th Apr; around 12.30. We are staying at the Westin Miyako in Kyoto that night.

What we'd love to do is get from Osaka ITM to the Aquarium (Osaka Bay area), then back out to Osaka Shinkansen station and onto Kyoto for that evening.

Is this realistic ??

GanS

I guess a slightly less clueless way of asking the same question is to ask if OSAKA AIRPORT in www.hyperdia.com is the same as Osaka ITM (and not, for example, Kansai). If so the trip seems to take an hour, 30 mins of which is a bus from airport to Osaka station, which I guess we'd have to take anyway....

Any thoughts (including positive or negative reviews of aquarium) welcomed!

Many thanks

KimJapan

Osaka's domestic airport is Itami. The aquarium is in the Tempozan area, You'd be able to be at the aquarium by 2 I'd say if your flight arrives at 12:30. You can send your bags to the Westin from Niigata, keeping only a carryon with one night's stuff in it (as bags usually arrive next day).

The shinkansen leaves from Shin-Osaka station, not Osaka station. You'd need to subway to Osaka station, then take a local train for one stop to Shin Osaka station, then change to the shinkansen. There are, however, plenty of trains (not shinkansen) between Osaka station and Kyoto, so you don't need to take the shinkansen...the time spent changing trains and waiting for the next one will about equal the time it takes to go directly on an express (27 minutes on the JR Kyoto line, for example, but there are tons of trains on that route).

The aquarium...we liked it when we took our then 5 year old. It's pretty well done, and the Tempozan area is interesting with shops and restaurants and a huge ferris wheel. On a Tuesday, there won't be huge crowds like on a weekend.

KimJapan

You will find the Osaka Aquarium pages useful...here's the one on access.
http://www.kaiyukan.com/eng/location/index.htm
Using hyperdia, use OSAKA AIRPORT and OSAKAKO for station names.

GanS

Thank you!

Is it of interest to adults, or just somewhere to take the kids ?

(we liked the Monterey Aquarium in California....)

institcher

This one has a more stark, modern look than the way I remember Monterey Bay. You go in at the top and wind your way down to the bottom. We saw divers feeding fish. Really pretty place. There were lots of cute school kids (dressed in different colors which seemed to denote their class). It has appeal for both adults & kids.
I think the huge ferris wheel is there as well - certainly not something for someone w/a fear of heights.

KimJapan

Yes, I think of interest to adults...at least we liked it. It's certainly something that most tourists don't actually see, as tourists tend to stick to the temples, shrines, museums, and gardens of Kyoto when in the Kansai area.