Itami (ITM) on the Osaka Monorail, and the change at Hotarugaike
Osaka Airport is station 11, the western terminus of the Monorail Main Line. Hotarugaike, one stop away, is the change for the Hankyu line.
- The Osaka Monorail's Main Line starts at the airport. Osaka Airport is station 11, the western terminus.
- The next station is Hotarugaike (12) - one stop, and the interchange with the Hankyu Takarazuka Line into Umeda.
- The line then runs Shibahara-Handaimae, Shoji, Senri-Chuo, Yamada, Bampaku-kinen-koen, Unobe, Minami-Ibaraki, Sawaragi, Settsu, Minami-Settsu, Dainichi, to Kadomashi (24).
- Senri-Chuo is the change for the Kita-Osaka Kyuko / Midosuji subway line straight into central Osaka.
- Bampaku-kinen-koen is where the Saito Line branches off, and where Expo Park and the Tower of the Sun are.
- PiTaPa and ICOCA IC cards work, and so does contactless credit card payment.
- The monorail is elevated the whole way, so the ride is a view rather than a tunnel.
- This airport is domestic only, despite being named Osaka International.
The monorail starts at the door
- Osaka Airport is station 11 on the Osaka Monorail Main Line, and it is the western end of the line, so every train from here starts empty.
- The station is attached to the terminal, which is why the monorail is the default way out for anyone not taking a limousine bus.
The line, and the changes that matter
- Hotarugaike (12) is one stop away and is the interchange with the Hankyu Takarazuka Line, which runs into Osaka-Umeda. For central Osaka this is usually the fastest route.
- Senri-Chuo (15) is the change for the Kita-Osaka Kyuko line, which becomes the Midosuji subway - the main north-south line through Umeda, Shinsaibashi and Namba.
- Bampaku-kinen-koen (17) is Expo Park, the Tower of the Sun and the Expocity complex, and it is where the Saito Line branches off towards Handai-byoin-mae and Saito-nishi.
- The line ends at Kadomashi (24), having run right around the northern suburbs.
Paying
- PiTaPa and ICOCA work, as do the other national IC cards.
- Contactless credit card payment is accepted.
- Ordinary tickets, commuter passes, group tickets and discounted tickets are all sold, and the operator publishes a fare search.
Which Osaka airport is this
- Itami is the close one, about 13 km north of central Osaka, and despite the name "Osaka International Airport" it now handles domestic flights only.
- Kansai (KIX) is the international one, on an artificial island 50 km south-west, and it is a completely different journey.
- Kobe (UKB) is the third, on another island to the west.
- Check the code on your ticket. ITM and KIX are 60 km and about 90 minutes apart by bus.
Worth knowing
- Itami is hemmed in by houses and has a strict curfew: no flights between 21:00 and 07:00. That is why the last departures are early.
- The limousine buses are the other main option, running to Umeda, Namba, Kyoto, Kobe and Nara, and they take luggage.
- For Kyoto, the bus is usually better than the monorail, because the monorail heads the wrong way.
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