Travel from Kansai airport to Himeji

Hi ! Can you please tell me the easiest way to reach Himeji from Osaka Kansai Intl Airport ? I will be landing at 3.00 pm. I will have a Japan Rail Pass. But would also like to know other options to reach Himeji without the JR Pass.

Thanks... Sanchita

The standard way would probably be to take the limited express Haruka to Shin-Osaka, and then the Shinkansen to Himeji. This is fully covered (excepting the Nozomi Shinkansen) by the countrywide JR Pass, and also covered (including the Nozomi) by the JR West Kansai Wide and Sanyo passes. This takes about an hour and a half.

Another option is to take a JR Rapid for the Shin-Osaka/Himeji section instead of a Shinkansen. This is slower (about two hours) but cheaper, and is also covered by the regular Kansai pass.

Finally, there are buses: http://www.kate.co.jp/pc/e_time_table/e_himeji_tt.html#from

A nationwide Japan Rail Pass does not cover a Shinkansen "Nozomi" or "Mizuho" ride.
According to current timetables,
if you take Haruka 26 / 28 / 30
(departing at 16:16 / 16:46 / 17:16, arriving to Shin-Osaka at 17:07 / 17:38 / 18:07),
you can catch Shinkansen Sakura 569 / Hikari 477 / Sakura 571
(departing at 17:20 / 18:05 / 18:20 at Track 21, arriving to Himeji at 17:50 / 18:42 / 18:50).

In Shin-Osaka Station, you can go up via elevator or escalator to the concourse, pass through a transfer gate to Shinkansen and go up via elevator or escalator to the Track 21 & 22 platform.

In Himeji Station, you can go down via elevator to the Shinkansen concourse, pass through a transfer gate, go down via elevator to the non-Shinkansen concourse and pass through Central Gate for North Exit and South Exit.
Tourist Information Center "Himeji Kanko Navi Port" is near North Exit of Himeji Station.
http://www.himeji-kanko.jp/en/spot/kanko.html

By the way, will you stay overnight in Himeji City?
Even if your plane arrives (almost) as scheduled around 15:00, Himeji Castle and Koko-en garden will get closed by the time you reach them or soon after that.
The exterior of the renovated Main Keep of Himeji Castle has already appeared, but visitors cannot get inside the Main Keep until the ground opening scheduled on 27 March 2015.

Thank you so much for the detailed replies...will be immensely helpful to me !