Travel in Kyoto
 

My husband and I are flying into Kansai Airport in Osaka and spending 2 days in Kyoto. We arrive 9:45PM. Can we get through customs and immigration in time to catch a train that leaves 2 hours later? We can stay at airport hotel if necessary.

How difficult is it to travel on the trains with 2 suitcases plus hand luggage. I'm told there is no space for luggage on trains. How can this be?

If anyone has information about this please let me know.
Thanks.
Perry

It's hard to travel on trains with more than a carry on. First, there aren't a lot of escalators or elevators and no place to put them. But at the airport you should be able to ship your bags to your destination for about $20 each. It will arrive 24 hours later.

I took the train from Kansai airport to Osaka with a couple of luggage and that was not a pleasant experience. I should had taken the shuttle bus where there is plenty of space for luggage and is a door to door service.

From Osaka I went to Kyoto by the bullet train but forwarded my luggage(with the help of the hotel concierge) to the ryokan in Kyoto. Train travel was so much easier then. I would seriously consider a shuttle bus or some other bus services to Kyoto instead of the train if you have a few luggage to carry or drag.

Will you have 2 pieces each + hand carry or 2 total?

As long as you can carry them up stairs in the stations, you can manage on the trains.

We have traveled on many, many trains in Japan, always with our luggage and sometimes having to help our children with theirs. We have NEVER had any issues with storing the bags once we got on the train. We always have one rolling bag + a backpack or handbag each.

However, Japanese don't like to haul their suitcases and there is a very extensive suitcase delivery network in Japan. For about $20 you can have your bags forwarded from the airports or hotels to your next destination overnight.

We took the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Hiroshima and from there to Kyoto, and back to Tokyo with our luggage and it was no problem at all. There is space to store luggage on the trains. We each had one big piece and carryons.

What train at 11:45? Two hours would be plenty of time. The last Haruka Limited Express departs Kansai airport at 10:18 bound for Kyoto and beyond (i.e. no change of train).

Looks like the last train is at 11:08PM and would require two train changes (including a change from Nankai line to JR).

Your best bets, since you will miss the Haruka, would be taking a bus that goes to Kyoto hotels, staying at the airport hotel, or staying at a hotel at Osaka station.

I expect that there will be escalators and/or at the airport train station, or at worst you would be carrying your luggage downstairs.

You might find luggage space, otherwise you should be able to manage, as lucy described. I don't recall seeing luggage storage at the ends of the cars on the Haruka but there is overhead space. It's an airport train so there will be quite a few people with luggage.

Hanuman, I suppose that the unpleasantness you experienced was during train changes and you were using local trains. Or was it on-board?

... escalators and/or <i>elevators</i> ...

Mrwunrfl,

We, my family and I, had 1 samsonite luggage and one carry-on per person and even using the escalators was a hassle and the stairs were even worst. It was a local train from Kansia airport to Osaka and on the train, which had a few stops with lots of people boarding, we had to almost sit on our luggage inorder to stop them from rolling around(no luggage rack that I could see)! We also had to stand all the way since I couldn't figure out how to sit and look after the luggage at the same time especially as more and more people were boarding the train. After we got of at the station in Osaka it was a short walk to the Ritz Carlton(our hotel) but with each of us towing luggages it was not that comfortable.

On my return trip I discovered the airport limousine bus or something like that which was so much more convenience. The bellboy at the hotel would load my luggage and upon arrival at the airport they, the driver, would help load the luggage on to a trolley for us.

Ouch, that would be a difficult trip managing a family with luggage on the train and in the city after after a long flight. Some of the JR local trains are not much more than subway trains and present some difficulty for me with my one large rolling backpack. I don't think the limited express or rapid trains would have improved your trip enough.

The airport limo bus is hard to beat with door to door service and somebody else doing the heavy lifting.

Thanks for all the help out there. I'm told by several Japanese sources that this year, anyway, there is a Haruka train at 23:30. Too early to know what the schedule will be next year. We have 1 large rolling case each plus 1 hand luggage each. Any one want to recommend a hotel they loved. We want to stay pretty close to transportation.

While we are on the subject, since I have only 2 days in Kyoto, would you suggest that I skip Nara &amp; concentrate time in Kyoto?

Take the Haruka express from KIX to Kyoto.

Our plane landed ~3:30pm, zipped thru customs, got yens at ATM, validated the JR pass, then easily caught ~4:50pm Haruka express, arriving in Kyoto ~6pm.

Haruka express is meant to carry air travellers with luggages.

The last Haruka is at 10:18 pm, and a quick look at the schedule seems to indicate that this last Haruka doesn't run daily. The schedule published now goes through October, but it doesn't change by more than a minute here and there when the new one comes out. It is updated every 6 months, in April and October...but you can pretty much count on the schedule now being accurate.

There are other trains after that, just not Harukas. While the Haruka does have baggage space, keep in mind that you will need to maneuver through ticket turnstiles and up and down escalators and stairs.

Other trains don't have nearly as much baggage space as the Harukas do, and you'll notice that almost no one has bags with them on the trains. People just don't need the hassle of managing bags in the stations, up and down stairs, on and off escalators (when they are available). Trains that aren't special airport trains or shinkansens only have overhead baggage storage and that's only big enough for a carryon really. It is possible to put suitcases behind the last row of seats...but it's tight, and there is only space for 4 suitcases for the entire car.

The limo buses are excellent, and connect to most major hotels. They also run later than the Haruka. We've used the Haruka, cheaper local trains, and the limo buses over the past 10 years....and for the last 5 - 6 years, we've been only using the limo buses...they are just easier with bags for us. Last bus to Kyoto station is 11:06 pm.

In Kyoto, the Miyako and the Granvia are popular with international guests.