Side trip to Kyoto - fly into Narita or Kansai Airport?
Aug 28th, 2006, 10:05 AM
#1
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Side trip to Kyoto - fly into Narita or Kansai Airport?
My husband and I are planning a 3 day side trip to Kyoto on our way to visit Seoul, Korea in October.
I priced airfares to each airport and found that it is slightly more expensive (about a $100pp) to fly into Kansai than Narita. Does the higher fare make up for the convenience of Kansai Airport to Kyoto?
Thanks.
I priced airfares to each airport and found that it is slightly more expensive (about a $100pp) to fly into Kansai than Narita. Does the higher fare make up for the convenience of Kansai Airport to Kyoto?
Thanks.
Aug 28th, 2006, 10:17 AM
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Absolutely fly to KIX.
Direct train from KIX to Kyoto every 30 minutes, takes 75 minutes and 3690yen.
From NRT, you need to take train to Tokyo (~45 minutes), change to Shinkensen (~140 minutes). Total time about 4 hours with connection and cost about 14,500yen.
Final cost will be about the same, but save the time, save the trouble connecting in Tokyo.
Direct train from KIX to Kyoto every 30 minutes, takes 75 minutes and 3690yen.
From NRT, you need to take train to Tokyo (~45 minutes), change to Shinkensen (~140 minutes). Total time about 4 hours with connection and cost about 14,500yen.
Final cost will be about the same, but save the time, save the trouble connecting in Tokyo.
Sep 1st, 2006, 04:18 AM
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Another option is Nagoya airport. When I visited Japan, airline prices from Nagoya there were substantially less than from Narita or Kansai. Also, Nagoya is much closer to Kyoto than Narita (although not as close as Kansai).
Sep 1st, 2006, 08:06 AM
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Nagoya's international airport is called Centrair
http://www.centrair.jp/en/
It's been open for a couple of years. United, for example, has daily flights from San Francisco. You need to take the Meitetsu train into Nagoya itself to switch to the Shikansen to Kyoto. Nagoya has little of touristic interest, but it's a transportation hub and can be a good base for daytrips (e.g., to Takayama, Matsumoto, Nakasendo, Gifu/Hikone/Inuyama and other places around Biwa-ko, Ise, Nara, or Kyoto).
http://www.centrair.jp/en/
It's been open for a couple of years. United, for example, has daily flights from San Francisco. You need to take the Meitetsu train into Nagoya itself to switch to the Shikansen to Kyoto. Nagoya has little of touristic interest, but it's a transportation hub and can be a good base for daytrips (e.g., to Takayama, Matsumoto, Nakasendo, Gifu/Hikone/Inuyama and other places around Biwa-ko, Ise, Nara, or Kyoto).
Sep 1st, 2006, 09:37 AM
#8
I thought about recommending Nagoya. It is a nice airport with good access to the city by the excellent Meitetsu. It would be only 20 minutes longer trip from NGO to Kyoto but it would require a change of trains and change of station from the Meitetsu Nagoya station to the JR Nagoya station and then finding the shinkansen tracks.
The are connected, and it is only a couple of minutes walk, but rkkwan's solution means no change of trains (and it is a decent limited express and it is an airport train so would probably have a couple of extra luggage racks).
You also would be able to take a bus from KIX.
Also, you wouldn't be able to get the shinkansen tickets (or JR Pass) until you got to the JR station. The trip would cost more, also, about twice as much IIRC. It is possible, but not likely, that the fare to Nagoya would be enough to make a difference.
Based on the OPs consideration that it might be worth $100 going out of the way a bit (i.e. OP is willing to give up some time/convenience to save $100) then I would think that it would have to be at least $150 cheaper to fly to Nagoya, instead of KIX, to make it worthwhile.
OP will be only making a 1-hour time change, so won't be too boggled on arrival to Japan. Might be ok to figure out the station change and all of that in Nagoya. That would require handling baggage at Nagoya station.
Coming from Seoul you might see if there are flights coming into Itami (ITM) and or leaving from Seoul Gimpo (GMP). I don't know the city codes for those two places (like TYO for Tokyo) that would help search all four combinations in one shot, but the info is out there, I assume.
The are connected, and it is only a couple of minutes walk, but rkkwan's solution means no change of trains (and it is a decent limited express and it is an airport train so would probably have a couple of extra luggage racks).
You also would be able to take a bus from KIX.
Also, you wouldn't be able to get the shinkansen tickets (or JR Pass) until you got to the JR station. The trip would cost more, also, about twice as much IIRC. It is possible, but not likely, that the fare to Nagoya would be enough to make a difference.
Based on the OPs consideration that it might be worth $100 going out of the way a bit (i.e. OP is willing to give up some time/convenience to save $100) then I would think that it would have to be at least $150 cheaper to fly to Nagoya, instead of KIX, to make it worthwhile.
OP will be only making a 1-hour time change, so won't be too boggled on arrival to Japan. Might be ok to figure out the station change and all of that in Nagoya. That would require handling baggage at Nagoya station.
Coming from Seoul you might see if there are flights coming into Itami (ITM) and or leaving from Seoul Gimpo (GMP). I don't know the city codes for those two places (like TYO for Tokyo) that would help search all four combinations in one shot, but the info is out there, I assume.
