KIX (Kansai) to Himeji
 

Hello - First thank you for this forum and opportunity to gain advice from such a wide group of people.

I am arriving in Kansai on the 30th of April mid afternoon. My daughter is in Himeji and unable to meet me at the airport. What is the easiest and least expensive way for me to get to Himeji? She can meet me at a main point in Himeji.

I will be in Japan - based out of Himeji for 3 weeks - until May 20th when I return to Canada (Victoria, B.C.). We are planning on going to Hiroshima and Kyoto. As she is on a student budget - and her bf just lost his job with GEOS - we are looking for economical tourist things for my trip - suggestions? ideas?

Thank you for your time and access to this terrific forum.
Take care,

The cheapest way would probably be to take a limousine bus from KIX to JR Osaka station, and then take the Kobe Line train from JR Osaka to JR Himeji

JR Kobe Line - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Take an Express train to save on time.

Thank you for your reply.

It has been suggested that I take the Limo bus directly to Himeji and thus avoid up & down stairs with luggage. As I will be completing a VERY long day of 14+ hrs of flying, the least amount of confusion is better - thoughts on this route?

Any other MUST see/do events/activities? We are going to Hiroshima and will be looking for a nice inexpensive hotel/motel to overnight - Google my best bet? or do you have any suggestions?

Thank you again
Cheers

If there is a Limo bus to Himeji, then take it. I didn't realized they went that far out.

Thank you so much :)

The bus is great. We took it for my wedding and it made it easy for my elderly parents to get there after a 30 hour trip. Enjoy your trip.:ywave:

Thank you bELyVIS - Can I assume that the bus can store my luggage under neath - that this is not an issue? Being an airport bus I wouldn't expect this to be a problem. I will be bringing 2 suitcases and my carry on.

Cheers

Whatever you have is stored underneath.

yup..
I also prefer using limousine bus rather than the trains..
although it takes more time but the cost is the cheapest..

Definitely take the bus limousine :3

That's what I did when I went to Tokyo and it's AWESOME. You don't have to worry about anything, they take your luggage and drop them off with you. You just sit back and relax in the bus, I had fun seeing the view, they have BIG windows. It's nice for when you arrive after being tired, great first impression of Japan!~

Home from Japan
 

Well the Limo Bus to Himeji was definitely the way to go HOWEVER - I was advised by the bus person when I arrived in Kansai to get a return ticket as I would be returning to the airport to come home. So for 5000Y I purchased a return ticket. Imagine my surprise when I went to board the bus to the airport in Himeji only to be told my ticket had expired. No where did it say in English or Japanese at the Kansai airport ticket machine that the ticket was only valid for 14 days from purchase. So it was another 3200Y for my ticket back to the airport. A very nice Japanese lady (who spoke very good English) spoke to the Bus people once we got to the airport and they refused to give me the difference in ticket (1800Y). "So sorry" was the reply. It is very unfortunate that this was my last experience in Japan. Barring that, the trip was amazing :)

Thank you again those who replied to help me get to Himeji :)

If that was the worst think to happen on the trip, then it sounds like a smashing success.

Yes it truly was an amazing trip. I loved Himeji, we took the bus (approx 3800Y each way) to Hiroshima and spent the night at a fabulous hostel - Reino Inn Hostel, ventured to Kyoto and did a trip to Nara. The transportation system in amazing linking the cities. It was truly a trip of a life time :)

Thank you again for your posts and assistance.
Warm Regards