How to Travel from Tokyo to Osaka

It’s more than 550 km (342 miles) far away from Tokyo to Osaka, for which Shinkansen is the easiest mode of transportation to shuttle between the two places. Besides, flights, highway bus, and train transfers are also practicable for travelling.

Most Convenient: Shinkansen Bullet Train, about 2.5h & JPY 13,870

Shinkansen is absolutely the most convenient way to travel from Tokyo to Osaka, as all the stations are in the city center, so it’s toilless to reach/leave the train station in the first step. On the other hand, the bullet trains run fast likewise, not much slower than a plane. In this case, the fare is always not cheap.

Features: Fast, Convenient, Expensive

Departure Station: Tokyo Station
If you are going from Haneda Airport, the nearer Shinagawa Sta. is also accessible for Shinkansen to Osaka.

Arrival Station: Shin-Osaka Station

It’s similar to that from Tokyo to Kyoto, as the Shinkansen trains stop over at Kyoto, the previous station before reaching Shin-Osaka Sta. In the same way, Nozomi series is the fastest with the most trains every day, while Kodama series is the slowest with much less trains.

Shinkansen Train Series		Nozomi	Hikari	Kodama
Speed/Duration		2h 24-30min	2h 54min	3h 54min
Ticket Fare	Non-reserved seat	JPY 13,870	JPY 13,870	JPY 13,870
Ticket Fare	Reserved seat	JPY 14,520 / 14,720	JPY 14,200 / 14,400	JPY 14,200 / 14,400

Tips: Kodama trains from Tokyo Sta. to Shin-Osaka Sta. usually depart hourly. The last train is at 19:57, but after 15:57, there is no Kodama train to Osaka any more within the 4 hours.

See also: Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto

Another Option: Tokyo to Osaka Air Travel, overall 4.5h & JPY 9,900-17,800

A flight is definitely the fastest approach to travel to Osaka from Tokyo. However, it takes about 4.5h at least in total as the travelling time from Tokyo downtown to the departure airport, time for checking in, the airborne hours, time from the airport of arrival to Osaka downtown, etc. are included.

Tokyo Airports: Narita Airport / Haneda Airport

Osaka Airports: Kansai International Airport / Itami Airport
(Itami Airport operates domestic flights only.)
All the 4 airports are accessible for flights from Tokyo to Osaka, combined in pairs between each other.

	Haneda to Itami	Narita to Kansai	Haneda to Kansai	Narita to Itami
Duration	1h 5-20min	1h 30-40min	1h 15-30min	1h 20-25min
Density of Runs	30 flights a day	6-7 flights a day	16 flights a day	2 flights a day
First Flight	06:25 All Nippon Airways (ANA)	08:00 Jetstar Japan	07:05 Japan Airlines (JAL)	17:35 ANA
Last Flight	19:15 ANA	20:40 Peach Aviation	21:00 ANA	18:25 JAL
Ticket Fare (economy class)	JPY 15,800-17,800	JPY 9,900-11,000	JPY 13,900-17,100	JPY 15,880-16,700

The information above for reference only as they are subject to change.
For the air routes from Narita to Kansai Airport, they are mainly budget flights. Thus, it’s relatively cheaper.

Airport to Osaka downtown:

Kansai Airport limited express train Haruka is the best choice to reach Osaka / Shin-Osaka Sta. in 47-55min, costing JPY 2,410 to Osaka Sta. or JPY 2,590 to Shin-Osaka Sta. (unreserved seats).

From Itami Airport, you have to take the monorail first and transfer once to reach Umeda / Hankyu Umeda in the northern area of Osaka City. Transfer to Osaka Metro Midousuji Line / Kita-Osaka Kyuko Railway at Senri-Chuo, which would reach Umeda in about 48min. Otherwise, transfer to Hankyu Takarazuka Line at Hotarugaike, which could reach Hankyu Umeda Sta. in around 29min totally.

Of course, airport bus is always a useful way to get to some sites in the city.

Cheap Highway Bus/Night Bus: 7-9h & JPY 4,900-9,000

Highway bus, especially the night highway bus, is a cost-effective method to travel from Tokyo to Osaka. It takes a long time relatively on the way, but is at a lower price compared with other vehicles. The night highway bus enjoys a popularity, for the time is utilized effectively and hotel expense can be saved. Meanwhile, if you sit for a long time, you would probably be tired and it might be hard to fall into sleep. Thus sleeper bus, at a more expensive price, is also nice for your choice.

Departure stations: mainly Shinjuku Expressway Bus Terminal & Tokyo Sta. Bus Terminal

Arrival stations: Osaka Sta., Umeda, Namba, Universal Studios Japan...

Frequency: about 5 day buses departing in the morning every day
More night buses departing during 21:00-24:00, depending on the specific routes & bus operators (night buses arrive in Osaka during 06:00-08:00 the next morning)

Duration: 7-9 hours or so

Ticket fare: JPY 4,400-6,700 for the ordinary class on day buses
JPY 5,500-9,000 for the ordinary class on night buses

Viable Train Transfers: 6-8.5h & JPY 9,000-15,000

This is a demanding way to travel from Tokyo to Osaka. It’s workable indeed if you prefer to a long train journey instead of the Shinkansen train, flight or highway bus. It’s not a direct route that requires you transfer for once or twice at least, in which case that Hamamatsu, Nagoya, Maibara, etc. are the most popular stations to transfer.

It’s advised to search the transfer plan through the map or Japan train app. The routes are varied relying on the departure & arrival stations and the time you are going to depart. At the same time, the ticket fare is also varied in accordance with the train types, number of transfers, the total duration, etc. Generally, it takes about JPY 8,910-16,000.