Kansai vs Itami Airport: Can You Fly Into Itami From Abroad?
Both airports are run by the same company, Kansai Airports, and its Kansai Airports official site: airport labels footer tags each one. It reads “Kansai International Airport International/Domestic” and “Osaka Itami Airport Domestic only”. Kobe Airport, the third airport in the group, is tagged International/Domestic.
So the real choice only exists for flights inside Japan. If you fly from Sapporo, Tokyo, Fukuoka or Okinawa to Osaka, you can often pick either airport. Then the hotel area, the time of day and the bus fare decide it.
Kansai vs Itami Airport side by side
Kansai sits on an artificial island in Osaka Bay. Itami is inland, north of Umeda, on the edge of the city. The photo below shows the long Terminal 1 building at Kansai, where most airlines check in.
Kansai opened in 1994 and runs both international and domestic routes around the clock. It handles about 30 million passengers a year. Itami opened in 1939 and served about 16.29 million passengers in FY2025, all on domestic flights. The table puts the main facts next to each other.
| Item | Kansai (KIX) | Itami (ITM) |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | International and domestic | Domestic only |
| Opened | 1994 | 1939 |
| Passengers a year | About 30 million | About 16.29 million (FY2025) |
| Operating hours | 24 hours | 7:00 to 21:00 |
| Terminals | Terminal 1 and Terminal 2, free shuttle bus | North, Central and South; buildings open 05:30 to 22:00 (Central 22:30) |
| Bus to Osaka Station (Umeda) | 60 min, 1,800 yen | 30 min, 730 yen |
| Bus to Kyoto Station | 85 min, 2,800 yen | 50 min, 1,500 yen |
| Trains | JR Haruka, JR Kansai Airport Rapid, Nankai | Osaka Monorail, then Hankyu at Hotarugaike |
Kansai has two terminals. Terminal 1 takes 85 airlines, from JAL and ANA to Korean Air and United Airlines. Terminal 2 is for Peach and Jetstar. A free shuttle bus runs between them from Aeroplaza in 7 to 9 minutes. Kansai-Airport Station, for JR and Nankai trains, is joined to the 2nd floor of Terminal 1.
Itami is one long building in three parts: North, Central and South. The North and South Terminals open from 05:30 to 22:00, and the Central Terminal from 05:30 to 22:30. The Osaka Monorail station is connected to the terminal. For lounges, lockers and the arrival steps, see our guides to Kansai Airport and Itami Airport.
Which flights use each airport
Itami handles domestic flights only. Our airport database answers the common question directly: there are no scheduled international flights from Itami. Itami’s international routes moved to Kansai when the new airport opened in September 1994.
The photo shows the name sign on the roof of Itami’s terminal, a short ride from Umeda. Kansai Airports counts 4 companies flying scheduled domestic routes from Itami to 35 destinations, with 185 flights a day in the Summer 2026 plan. The airport’s Q&A lists reservation centres for JAL, ANA, Amakusa Airlines and IBEX Airlines.
The Osaka Itami Airport flight schedule search lists the Japanese cities first. They run from Sapporo (New Chitose), Tokyo Haneda, Tokyo Narita, Fukuoka and Okinawa (Naha) to small airports such as Hakodate, Matsumoto, Yakushima and Ishigaki. If your domestic flight is on JAL or ANA to one of these, check whether it leaves from Itami before you book a hotel.
Kansai covers both kinds of flight. Most international airlines use Kansai Airport Terminal 1. The low-cost carriers Peach and Jetstar use Kansai Airport Terminal 2, for their domestic flights as well. So a cheap Peach flight to Sapporo leaves from Kansai, not Itami.
Immigration and customs happen at the first airport you land in. If you fly into Kansai and then on to Itami, you clear both at Kansai. You never queue for immigration at Itami.
The third airport is Kobe Airport, also tagged International/Domestic. Its new Terminal 2 opened in April 2025, and the first international charter flight arrived the same month. At the start of Summer 2026, 3 companies flew 28 international charter flights a week there. The Port Liner reaches Sannomiya in 18 minutes for 340 yen. A high-speed boat crosses the bay to Kansai in 31 minutes for 1,880 yen.
For the same question in Tokyo, see getting from Narita or Haneda into Tokyo.
Bus fares to Umeda, Kyoto and Sannomiya
Limousine buses run from both airports to the same three city stops. From Itami, every ride is shorter and cheaper, because the airport is much closer to the city. The chart compares the adult fares.
| Item | Value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Itami → Osaka Station | 730 yen | 30 min |
| Kansai → Osaka Station | 1800 yen | 60 min |
| Itami → Kyoto Station | 1500 yen | 50 min |
| Kansai → Kyoto Station | 2800 yen | 85 min |
| Itami → Kobe Sannomiya | 1200 yen | 40 min |
| Kansai → Kobe Sannomiya | 2200 yen | 65 min |
The gaps come straight from each airport’s own access pages:
- Osaka Station (Umeda): Itami 30 min and 730 yen; Kansai 60 min and 1,800 yen. Itami is 30 min quicker and 1,070 yen cheaper.
- Kyoto Station: Itami 50 min and 1,500 yen; Kansai 85 min and 2,800 yen. Itami is 35 min quicker and 1,300 yen cheaper.
- Kobe Sannomiya: Itami 40 min and 1,200 yen; Kansai 65 min and 2,200 yen. Itami is 25 min quicker and 1,000 yen cheaper.
The Itami buses need no reservation and board first come, first served. IC cards and contactless credit cards work on board. The Kyoto bus from Itami charges the same 1,500 yen to Shijo Omiya, Nijo Station, Shijo Kawaramachi, Kyoto City Hall and Demachiyanagi. That helps if your hotel is in the middle of Kyoto rather than at the station.
At Kansai, buses leaving the airport also need no reservation. Our Kansai Airport limousine bus page lists every route with first and last buses. The route pages give the details for Kansai Airport to Osaka Station, Kansai Airport to Kyoto and Kansai Airport to Kobe.
Children pay less. From Itami to Osaka Station a child pays 370 yen, and to Shin-Osaka 300 yen.
Trains and the quickest ride into Osaka
The fastest way into the city depends on the area of Osaka. From Kansai, the JR Haruka reaches Tennoji in 30 minutes. From Itami, the bus to Shin-Osaka takes 25 minutes. The cheapest fares are 970 yen from Kansai on the Nankai Airport Express to Namba, and 600 yen from Itami by bus to Shin-Osaka. That is 370 yen apart.
The picture matches four common trips to the quickest or cheapest way. Kansai’s trains come from the Kansai Airport official train access page:
- JR Haruka: Tennoji about 30 min, Shin-Osaka about 50 min, Kyoto about 75 min. With the HARUKA One-way Ticket, sold only to holders of a foreign passport, Tennoji costs 1,300 yen and Kyoto 2,200 yen.
- JR Kansai Airport Rapid Service: Tennoji about 45 min and Osaka Station about 65 min. No limited express ticket is needed, so an ICOCA card works.
- Nankai Rapi:t: Namba in 34 min on the Rapi:t α, for 1,670 yen. That is the 970 yen fare plus a 700 yen regular seat ticket. All seats are reserved.
- Nankai Airport Express: Namba in about 43 min for 970 yen, with no extra ticket.
The Nankai Rapi:t limited express official page adds a rule worth planning around. If you buy the limited express ticket on board, you pay 300 yen more. Buy it at the station machine before you board.
Our pages on the Haruka airport express, Kansai Airport to Namba and Kansai Airport to Shin-Osaka list every option. For the slower trains, an ICOCA card saves buying a ticket each time.
Itami has no direct train into Umeda. The Osaka Monorail, in the photo, leaves from a station connected to the terminal. It reaches Hotarugaike in 3 minutes for 200 yen. There you change to the Hankyu line into Umeda. The bus to Namba takes 30 minutes for 730 yen, the same fare as the Umeda bus.
Opening hours and late flights
Itami closes at night; Kansai does not. That one rule decides many late arrivals.
The figure shows Itami’s 14 operating hours, from 7:00 to 21:00, set in the airport’s service regulations. The same rules cap the airport at 370 take-offs and landings a day, of which 200 can be jets. Kansai Airports describes Kansai as an international hub that can operate fully 24 hours.
Flights do sometimes touch down at Itami after 21:00, mostly on stormy evenings. The airport treats these as delayed flights under a temporary extension. Its Osaka Itami Airport notice on delayed flights after 21:00 counts 144 of them in FY2025. Since April 2025, airlines pay a night-time noise control charge of twice the landing fee for each one.
For you, this means an evening flight into Itami that runs late is not normal service. Airlines plan the last arrivals to land before 21:00. A domestic flight scheduled after 21:00 cannot use Itami, so look at Kansai instead.
The terminal buildings keep their own hours. At Itami, the North and South Terminals close at 22:00 and the Central Terminal at 22:30. Kansai Terminal 1 never closes, though some entrances and exits shut at night. If you have an early flight, Kansai is the airport where you can wait inside overnight.
The last bus from Kansai Terminal 1 to Itami leaves at 19:10. If you land at Kansai in the evening and fly on from Itami the next morning, plan to stay near Itami or in Umeda.
Getting between Kansai and Itami
A limousine bus links the two airports directly, run by Kansai Airport Transportation Enterprise and Hankyu Kanko Bus. The Kansai Airport Transportation timetable: Osaka (Itami) Airport gives about 1 hr 10 min to 1 hr 15 min between Itami and Kansai Terminal 1. From Hotarugaike Station it takes about 1 hr 20 min to 1 hr 25 min.
The flow chart shows a typical connection. You land at Kansai, clear immigration and customs, collect your bags and take the bus to Itami. The fares and times are the same in both directions:
- Fare: 2,200 yen for adults and 1,100 yen for children, one way.
- Round trip: 4,000 yen, valid for 14 consecutive days from the date of first use.
- Booking: none. Buses board first come, first served.
- From Kansai Terminal 1: 8 buses a day, first at 7:30, last at 19:10.
- From Itami: 9 buses a day, first at 7:00, last at 20:20.
At Itami the bus leaves from Bus Terminal no. 5. Coming from Kansai, it stops at both the South and the North Terminal, so get off at the one your airline uses. Japanese timetables and signs call Itami 大阪(伊丹)空港 (Osaka (Itami) Kuko), meaning Osaka (Itami) Airport. The English timetable shortens it to Osaka Airport.
From Kansai Terminal 2, our route database lists 6 buses a day, first at 9:47 and last at 18:54. You can also take the free shuttle to Terminal 1 and board there. See Kansai Airport to Itami Airport for each stop.
Every bus leaves the island over the bridge in the photo. Your bags are the part to plan. On one ticket with one airline, bags are normally checked through. On separate tickets, you collect them at Kansai and check in again at Itami. To travel light, you can send luggage from the airport to your hotel instead.
Which airport to choose
Choose by your flight and your hotel, not by reputation. Two questions settle most trips.
The picture asks whether your flight is international and whether it lands or leaves after 21:00. In detail:
- Flying in from abroad or out to another country: Kansai. Itami has no scheduled international flights.
- A domestic flight and a hotel in Umeda, Shin-Osaka or northern Kyoto: Itami. The bus costs 730 yen to Osaka Station, 600 yen to Shin-Osaka and 1,500 yen to Kyoto.
- Landing or leaving after 21:00: Kansai. Itami’s hours end at 21:00.
- Peach or Jetstar domestic flights: Kansai Terminal 2.
- A hotel in Namba or Tennoji: Kansai works well too. The Nankai Airport Express costs 970 yen to Namba, and the Haruka reaches Tennoji in 30 minutes.
- Arriving at Kansai and flying on from Itami: take the limousine bus for 2,200 yen. Allow about 1 hr 10 min to 1 hr 15 min. The last bus from Terminal 1 leaves at 19:10.
If you stay in Kobe, also look at Kobe Airport, which sits 18 minutes from Sannomiya by Port Liner. If you have bags to store for a day between flights, our guide to coin lockers in Japan lists the airport lockers.
Itami or Kansai Airport: what 98 people in Japan chose
On 13–14 October 2026, japan-japan.com ran an online survey of people living in Japan about 32 travel choices. 130 people answered. We removed answers that looked machine-written, one from outside Japan and most of those that contradicted themselves, which left 98. Shares below are of the 98 respondents unless a smaller group is named; they describe these people, not all travellers in Japan. See all 32 comparisons and how we asked.
Asked whether they would fly from Itami or Kansai Airport, 33.7% (33 people) said it depends on the destination and the flight. 15.3% (15 people) chose Itami and 13.3% (13 people) Kansai Airport; 36.7% (36 people) had used none of the Kansai airports.
FAQ
Can you fly into Itami Airport from abroad?
No. Itami has no scheduled international flights, and the airport labels itself Domestic only. Fly into Kansai, clear immigration there, and take a domestic flight from Itami or Kansai if you go on.
Which airport is closer to central Osaka, Kansai or Itami?
Itami is closer. The bus from Itami reaches Osaka Station (Umeda) in 30 minutes for 730 yen. From Kansai the same trip takes 60 minutes and costs 1,800 yen.
How do I get from Kansai Airport to Itami Airport?
Take the limousine bus from Terminal 1. It costs 2,200 yen and takes about 1 hr 10 min to 1 hr 15 min. There are 8 buses a day from 7:30 to 19:10, and you do not need to book.
Can I land at Itami Airport after 9 pm?
Only when a flight runs late. Itami’s operating hours are 7:00 to 21:00, and landings after that count as delayed flights. Airlines have paid a charge of twice the landing fee for them since April 2025.
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