Kyoto station to Kansai airport?

My flight would be due to leave at 9.50am...the earliest Ive seen that I could get to the airport, by limo bus, is 7.35am...

So I have the following questions...

a) Can I easily book the Station to Airport limo return trip when I arrive at Kansai airport?

b) Is there any service that can get me there earlier?

c) Is 2 hours 15 minutes a safe time to arrive at the airport before depature...allowing for check-in etc?

Take JR Haruka Limited Express from Kyoto station to Kansai Airport. If you take 6:22 train, you can arrive at the airport at 7:42.

hi Dave!
Please find my responses below:

a)didnt get the question..if you want to book a limo bus, its easy, theres a vending machine, just take the tickets from there or else there will be people there(in blue uniform) who can help you. you can easily book limo bus from kansai airport too.

b) As the lady said, Haruka. Its just a little bit costly than limu some 600 or 800yen. If you have a huge baggage, i suggest you take limo bus, than Haruka coz carrying ur luggage in JR station(from entrance to Haruka platform) could be pain. i think you have enough time to go by limu.

c)Actually, u only need 1 hour max for all formalities at the airport(max 1.5 hours), so dont worry.

When I last visited Japan in 2005, I found that Kansai was very crowded and took a long time to go through the checkin and security stuff. After that I had to take a train/tram to reach the terminal. It took me almost one and half hours. So, to be safe, two hours would be my recommendation.

Thanks for the info everyone, but does anyone have a reliable timetable for Haruka?

Ive seen two, which seem to have completely different times.

One says the earliest kyoto - kansai airport train is 5.45, which would be perfect for me.

Also, can one book Haruka tickets at Kyoto station, how far in advance?

Ltd Express Haruka:
no 1 lv Kyoto 05.46 h arr KIX 07.11 h
no 3 lv Kyoto 06.22 h arr KIX 07.42 h
no 5 lv Kyoto 06.46 h arr KIX 08.16 h
( do not get worried no 2, 4 and 6 are from KIX to Kyoto )
Minimum is 60 min prior flight AFTER check-in, so haruka no 3 should be oK, no 1 the 'safer' choice.

Checking on the Japanese timetable I normally use, I see Haruka that leaves Kyoto at 5:46 and arrives at Kansai Airport at 7:11. Or the later one mentioned by JLady would be OK for your flight time as well.

Actually, unless something changed, you need to be at the airport (= check-in counter) at least two hours ahead of your departure time (for international flights), so, though it also depends on the season/day of the week, but if I were you, I would take the earlier one, just to be on the safe side :)

For limited express trains like Haruka, I believe you can book starting one month prior to the day when you take the train.

For myself, I prefer trains over buses particularly when I head OUT to the airport because I wouldn't have to worry about traffic conditions and such :)

Thanks for the feedback.

Its important because it effects which airportvI choose to use in my twin centre, Kyoto/Tokyo holiday...I was gonna startband finish my holiday from Narita, but now might choose Kansai...

So after I arrive in Japan I can feel certain I can reserve Haruka tickets? I just like to leave nothing to chance and go in prepared!

Yes you can book haruka train already in Tokyo. In Narita / out KIX saves you one return train ride ( by shinkansen Yen 13 000 ). So if your open-jaw flight is same price or not more expensive than equivalent of Yen 13 000, then it is a good option.

Do you happen to have a link to the timetable so I can print out all the to and from info?

www.hyperdia.com with an English link. KIX is to be input kansai airport and clock is 24 hour ( not am/pm )

If you need a timetable to printout, main connections under:
http://www.japanrail.com/JR_timetableandfare.html