Kansai Airport: What No One Tells You (but Should)

Kansai Airport: What No One Tells You (but Should)

canai International is a lot easier to navigate than airports in Tokyo but if you want to breeze through this place like a local on your first visit I’ve got just the tips and hacks you need a few years ago I used to pass through this airport what seemed like every single weekend and I’ve learned what works and what doesn’t so in this video I’m going to cover your arrival basics hints for what to do when you’re waiting for your flight as well as pointers for catching your flight home first things first maybe you’re starving or you stink after that long flight or perhaps you just want to le it into Osaka ASAP but luckily you can fix all those problems in the same place unless you have a VIP helicopter or you want to burn time waiting for the limousine bus to leave you’ll probably want to take the train into Osaka or Kyoto the route up to the station is super simple once you exit the customs area find the nearest escalator or lift head up to the second level and make a right over the bridge here’s where you can pick up a rail pass or just buy a single ticket and you should be hurtling away from the airport in no time at all but before you leave let’s say you want to grab a snack i mean you didn’t come all the way to Japan to miss out on matcha KitKats now did you the convenience stores inside the terminal buildings are way too small and always rammed with other tourists just like you so I totally recommend heading past the railway station to the Aerop Plaza building where there’s a handy and reasonably sized Lson and for you smelly travelers if you really can’t face doing anything before you’ve cleaned yourself up good and proper after that ridiculously long flight well Nautica the airport cafe lounge is also over here opposite that Lawson for a small fee you get to use their showers and if you feel like staying a bit longer the lounges or private booths are good spots for getting yourself and your phone recharged for those of you who don’t want to get to Wasaka 2 days ago the ground floor aka 1F is a hub for getting all of your vital tasks done and dusted before you get out of here you can find places to pick up a SIM card so you can hook back up to your social media IV feeds or get your hands on a pocket Wi-Fi unit if mcking about with SIM card settings isn’t your particular cup of Earl Grey hot atms that can handle international cards are right here too so you can get some cold hard cash straight off the bat lastly if you feel like you’re carrying too much baggage head over to the luggage forwarding desk and they’ll happily send it on to your hotel for a small fee of course so let’s talk about transport because I think this is very simple cuz there are only five options that I can come up with i’m not going to include taxis here because ordinarily these are stupendously expensive like I mean total wallet emptiers so don’t even think about it unless you’re in a group if you have lots of luggage or it’s quite heavy or you just don’t want to break your jetlagged brain working out the trains go to the ground floor aka 1F that place we just went to go and take a limousine bus to your destination if your luggage quantity isn’t insane and you’re heading further south of Osaka like the Namba area you should take the Nankai Railway and yes you should take the limited express called the rapid it’s got like a colon and then a T i don’t get it either but the design of that train is utterly ridiculous nankai’s bit of the station is orange so use the gates under that orange bit if you’re heading to northern Osaka like the Umida area or you want to catch the Shinkansen from Shinosaka or you’re going straight to Kyoto don’t pass go don’t collect 200 quid just take the Hara Limited Express this is a JR train so make sure you head to the part with the blue and if you’re heading for Coobe or you just want to take something that isn’t a train or bus to get off this particular island the Bay Liner Speed Ferry is just a pretty amazing choice foreign visitors can get a spectacular discount on tickets and it’s actually my favorite way of coming to Cansai Airport while we’re talking about the railway station a few words of wisdom if you’re taking JR’s Haraca Limited Express you don’t actually need to reserve a seat just buy an unreserved ticket and line up early on the platform for the unreserved cars the train starts empty here so as long as you’re not at the end of the queue you can take your pick of the seats and non-reserved seats are cheaper too for reasons the Haka can get noisy so if you want a better chance at peace and quiet I highly recommend the green car aka first class and if you want a drink or snacks to take on the train there’s a small shop as well as vending machines down on the platform but for a much wider selection I do recommend that sneaky Lawson convenience store that I mentioned earlier most people miss this but there’s a dinky model of the Haka train so check it out on the way through whichever way you choose to get into Osaka or Kyoto you might feel worried about having the same cookie cutter trip as everyone else but that’s where today’s sponsor can help you magical Trip can take you on a wide variety of tours while you’re in the Canai area and you can be sure that you’re going to get a properly unique experience if you’re visiting Kyoto do you fancy a deep dive into the local food culture with a tour around Nishki Market or maybe you’re in Osaka how about you pedal through the highlights of the city with a cycling tour or are you in N where you want to uncover some of those hidden gems that most tourists completely overlook well these are just a few of the amazing options open to you with Magical Trip and they have tours in lots of other cities too one thing I really like about Magical Trip is that they deliberately keep their tour groups small this means you’ll have plenty of time to ask their expert guide all of your difficult questions about the place you’re visiting the history the culture really just about anything and when you’ve got a small group it’s really easy to make friends with fellow travelers along the way so if you’re feeling like you could do with a friendly face to show you around go and check out the tours that Magical Trip can offer you i put the link in the pinned comment as well as a coupon code or just scan the QR code on screen now let’s talk about domestic flights because if you’re super savvy you’ll know that for many destinations in Japan taking the Shinkansen is not cost-ffective it’s not fast or sometimes it’s not even possible at all i know rail passes are useful but you still can’t take Shinkansen to Okinawa kai airport is home to the purple and pink lovers Peach Airlines who operate exclusively out of Terminal 2 i’ve used Peach in the past to access a ton of super destinations for dirt cheap prices and if you do a bit of homework you’ll know which airports are close to the cities and which of them aren’t sendai New Chitos for Saparo and Fukaroka airports are very or reasonably close to downtown for example I’ve got a few tips for catching domestic flights here at Cansai if you’re heading to Terminal 2 you can either walk over to the second island yes really it’s possible or like everyone else you can just take the shuttle bus remember that Aerero Plaza building I mentioned before the stop is right outside make sure you factor in an extra 50 minutes for your travel plans coming to the airport because of that shuttle bus you don’t want to risk missing the flight now just because Pete flights go out of terminal 2 not all of the lowcost carriers use it jet Star for example flies from Terminal One so if it’s a toss-up between the Aussie Orange and the pretty and pink go with the color that won’t send you on the shuttle bus if you do have to go over to terminal 2 and you plan on getting something before flying I’d recommend doing that in terminal one beforehand because there aren’t that many options over in terminal 2 and you remember that bay shuttle that gives you a super quick connection to Coobe well if you’re off to terminal 2 it can be quicker to arrive on that boat since the shuttle bus from the port goes there first although I do like Cansite International I still go by the motto if you’ve never missed a flight you’re spending too much time in airports but what if you have no choice you might find yourself with a few hours to spare before your flight and if that’s you I totally recommend heading over to the Sky View observation hall you just need to hop on a free bus outside terminal 1 it leaves from stop number one which is right at the far end away from where you exit the terminal after a short ride you’ll find a well stocked shop that’s heaven for the AVge Geek hiding inside a few bits and pieces about the airport itself but the main event of course is the grandstand view of the airplane comingings and goings feel free to bring a drink and some snacks and enjoy the show for as long as you like now if you do have a few hours to spare you might want to get your luggage off your hands if it’s too early to drop it at check-in and that’s easy to arrange with plenty of luggage lockers available in terminal one over in terminal 2 aka Peach Airport they also have a set of lockers hidden away in the corner next to the toilets usually you can use these lockers for several days at a time so don’t be afraid to leave huge suitcases if you’re doing a side quest to somewhere far away before coming back to Canai airport of course the other reason why you’ve got extra time might be that you have an early flight the next day or you’re just arriving very late you can find your two accommodation options back in the Ara Plaza building that I’ve mentioned far too many times already the Hotel Nico Cansai Airport will empty your wallet a lot quicker than that taxi ride you were dreaming of earlier but it has capacious rooms but if you want to empty your wallet as slowly as possible First Cabin makes up for the lack of space by being surprisingly luxurious after you’ve been pummeling those feet for days on end I do recommend a long soak in the bath here now all good things must come to an end so eventually you’re going to find yourself back here before going home but before you get on your flight there are still some hacks to be followed and quirks to hunt down so listen up just like the convenience stores the restaurants here in Terminal 1 seem to be perpetually busy the food court is especially chaotic at times so it’s not exactly the most relaxing place to eat so if you’d rather have a calmer meal time or perhaps you don’t like the food selection on offer Erl Plaza again yes it can come to the rescue here you’ll find one or two extra restaurants without the crowds that you get over in the terminal building as well as a handy branch of nao hidden down a side corridor for possibly the best fast food option in the entire airport airports can be noisy and overwhelming at times but happily kicks has you covered if you have sensory issues and you need to take a break head up to level two towards domestic departures and you’ll find this dedicated booth with a lovely sofa for taking some time out now let’s head up to level four next because that’s where you need to get to for check-in for international flights one minor annoyance at this airport is that it’s hard to get in an elevator on level two the same level you come in on after getting over from the railway station just like department stores there really aren’t enough lifts here so pro tip for you push the button to go down first and drop to level one before going up to level four it should be quicker than getting an empty elevator to come to you they’re usually always full there’s a way to skip all this fafery which is to take a limousine bus to come here because then you’ll get dropped off at level 4 anyway so you’ll just need to walk over to the check-in desk it’s worth mentioning that if you stay at a hotel near the airport most likely it’s going to offer a free shuttle bus to come here and again it’ll drop you off at departures on level four and for the smart cookies who shipped their bags here in advance congratulations so your reward is an extremely minimal luggage lugging to the check-in desk because the pickup point is right here at the end of the floor don’t you just love it when a plant comes together and while you’re waiting to check in look up because there are a couple of secrets hiding in this area above your head you’ll see several flying sculptures showing off the airflow because this whole terminal is basically shaped like a wing the other well look very closely on top of the check-in desks and you’ll find firefighting water cannons cool right still not as cool as the actual farm on top of Osaka Station check that out in this video see you

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