JR Special Rapid Service, most useful train among Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe and Himeji.

Kobe, Himeji
2011.04.24
Many passengers are waiting for Special Rapid Service in Osaka station. Special Rapid is very popular for both commuters and the travelers.

Special Rapid Service is the fastest local train that is operated between Tsuruga (=敦賀) and Kamigori (=上郡) via Kyoto (=京都), Shin-Osaka (=新大阪), Osaka (=大阪), Sannomiya (=三ノ宮), Kobe (=神戸) and Himeji (=姫路). Especially JR West compete with Hankyu (=阪急) and Keihan (=京阪) between Kyoto and Osaka, with Hankyu and Hanshin (=阪神) between Osaka and Kobe. So JR West have to offer fast and good quality of services. As a result, the time required by this train is faster than Shinkansen between Osaka and Kyoto. Since Shinkansen do not have a station in downtown Kobe, this trains is faster than Shinkansen between Osaka and Kobe too. Of course this train is fully covered by Japan Rail Pass. Let’s see the details.

Route, schedule and travel time

Special Rapid Service runs the route and stop at these stations in the map below:

Operation route map (Click to view large)

In day time, Special Rapid Service train runs every 15 minutes between Yasu and Himeji. Some of this train services are extended service to Mabara, Nagahama, Tsuruga to east, and Banshu-Ako, Aboshi and Kamigori to west.

Find your hotels in 218 cities throughout Japan!!!

Hotels in Kobe
Hotels in Himeji

When you move between Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe and Himeji, this train service is a primary choice. If you take Shinkansen from Kyoto to Shin-Osaka, it takes only 13 minutes. It seems to be much faster than Shin-Osaka. But you have to change trains at Shin-Osaka if you go to somewhere in Osaka. You have to spend 10 more minutes to transfer at Shin-Osaka. Unless your destination is Shin-Osaka, Special Rapid is more convenient.

If you go to Kobe, it takes 15 minutes by Shinkansen. But Shin-Kobe station on Shinkansen is not located in downtown. You need to take subway to Sannomiya.

Shin-Kobe station guide. How to change the Shinkansen and Kobe city subway.
If you access to Kobe or leave from Kobe by the Shinkansen, this post shows you everything you need. You can find how to change the Shinkansen and subway with lots of photos.
jprail.com
2017.08.12

Even in case of going to Himeji, it may be very close. It takes 30 minutes by Shinkansen and takes 1 hour by Special Rapid. But if you take Shinkansen, you must get Shin-Osaka first. And Shinkansen between Shin-Osaka and Himeji does not run very frequently. It depends on your schedule in this case. If Shinkansen’s timetable fits in your schedule, take Shinkansen. Otherwise take Special Rapid Service.

Accommodation

Special Rapid Service is operated by 223 or 225 series. 225 is newer but the seat layout and the interior are same.

Images

Interior
Seat layout
The washroom is equipped in this train set.
Information screen is equipped and it is shown in a few languages.

In these above photos, the train is empty. But please see the photo below. This is the real shot. This is not the morning and evening peak times. It is a daytime scene. But this train is very busy even other than the peak hours.

Comments

  1. Sabrina says:
    March 15, 2015 at 2:47 pm

    Hi,Takeshi

    Me & my family are going to Kyoto with luggages.We stay around Nipponbashi station area.How to go to Kyoto?

    Thanks

  2. Jaswant says:
    March 6, 2015 at 2:32 am

    Dear Takeshi,

    I will be arriving at Kansai airport on 27 March. I will stay overnight before moving to Himeji the next day.
    I will be spending 7 days here. What is the best way to move around surrounding areas inluding Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto, Universal Studios etc.

    Thank you.

    Jaswant

  3. Fadzlin says:
    February 27, 2015 at 5:46 am

    Hi Takeshi san,

    I will be visiting Osaka from Singapore in June and Ive just started doing research on transportation system in Osaka/Kyoto.

    I will be travelling with my wife.

    I will be arriving Itami Airport on 15 June and my accommodation is very near to Komagawa-Nakano Station (T31). I will be staying here for 6 nights (15 June to 21 June).

    This is my plan for the trip
    —

    Day 1
    _____

    – Travel from Itami Airport to Komagawa-Nakano Station (T31) to check-in.

    – Travel from Komagawa-Nakano to explore Osaka downtown area and sights and return back to accomodation.

    Day 2
    ______

    – Travel from Komagawa-Nakano to explore Osaka downtown area and sights and return back to accomodation.

    Day 3
    ____

    – Travel from Komagawa-Nakano to visit Universal Studio and return back to accomodation. Visit Osaka downtown area at night.

    Day 4
    ____

    – Travel from Komagawa-Nakano for day trip to Kyoto and explore Kyoto. Return back to accomodation and visit Osaka downtown area at night.

    Day 5
    ____

    – Travel from Komagawa-Nakano for day trip to Kyoto and explore Kyoto. Return back to accomodation and visit Osaka downtown area at night.

    Day 6
    ____

    – Travel from Komagawa-Nakano to explore Osaka downtown area for shopping and return back to accommodation

    Day 7
    ____

    – Check out of accomodation. Travel from Komagawa-Nakano to Itami Airport for flight back to Singapore.

    Based on my rough itinierary above, what do you recommend for us to purchase and how do I get to Kyoto from Komagawa-Nakano station if I want to use the Special Rapid Service?

    I thank you so much in advance for your help, Takeshi san.

    Best Regards,
    Fadzlin

  4. ukie says:
    February 14, 2015 at 9:45 pm

    Hi Takeshi,
    I will be arrive early morning 09:00am in Kansai on March.
    Do you know how can I get to Takayama directly from Kansai?

    Thanks,
    Ukie

  5. Kelcee says:
    February 14, 2015 at 7:19 pm

    Hello,

    I will be making my way to Kyoto from Osaka on the 24th of march, does this service go both ways or is it a one way service. Above it reads the time from Kyoto to Osaka but I just want to make sure the train goes the other way too, from Osaka to Kyoto.

    Thank you.

  6. Diane Tomlin says:
    February 9, 2015 at 6:14 pm

    Hi Takeshi,
    We will arrive in Kobe by cruiseship on Sun Mar22. We want to go to Kyoto for the day. Which rail line would get us there the fastest and how would we access it from the port? In Kyoto we would walk and use taxis since we have some mobility issues and don’t think buses would be good for us.
    So my main question is the most efficient way to get from the port in Kobe to downtown Kyoto.
    Thank you

    • Takeshi / JPRail says:
      February 9, 2015 at 10:08 pm

      Hi Diane,

      You can take this train, Special Rapid. This is the fastest and most frequent train service between Kobe and Kyoto. It runs every 15 minutes. One way fare is around 1000 yen.
      I’m not familiar with cruise ship terminal. But Sannomiya station can be accessed by taxi in 5 to 10 minutes from the port. This station may be accessed by subway or local train service. I don’t know the location. But you will find it when you arrive in Kobe.

      Special Rapid is a commute train. You may not be able to get a seat. If you want to secure the seat, Shinkansen is considerable. It’s pricey. You have to pay another 2300 yen on top of base fare ticket. And also there is no online booking system. You have to book upon arrival. Shinkansen’s station is Shin-Kobe. It’s one station away from Sannomiya by subway. You may get this station by taxi from the port directly.

      You can find Shinkansen timetables at the links below:
      http://english.jr-central.co.jp/info/timetable/_pdf/eastbound.pdf
      http://english.jr-central.co.jp/info/timetable/_pdf/westbound.pdf

      Cheers,

      Takeshi / JP Rail

  7. Christopher says:
    January 22, 2015 at 7:14 am

    I will be in osaka on 1 May till 4 May. I plan day trips to go to Hemeiji on 2 May (10am return 7pm) and Kyoto ( 10 am return 7pm)on 3 May. But i just found out it is the Golden week. Will it be too crowded or impossible to travel?

    • Takeshi / JPRail says:
      January 22, 2015 at 12:34 pm

      Hi Christopher,

      It will be very crowded but possible to travel. Long ling up is expected for some attractions. So if you don’t like it, I don’t recommend to visit during this period.

      Cheers,

      Takeshi / JP Rail

  8. Detty says:
    January 19, 2015 at 10:08 pm

    Hi Takeshi,
    I have more questions in regards to getting Kansai Thru Pass or not.
    In July ,we will stay for 2 nights in Hilton Tokyo, go to Hakone (no hotel booked yet) for 2 nights, then go to Osaka for 5 nights. We stay at Hilton Osaka. From Osaka, we plan to take day trip to Kyoto for 2 days and 1 day to Nara. Is it cheaper for us to buy Kansai Thru Pass or buy individual tickets as needed? We want to buy reserved seats since we want to sit together as family.

    Thank you for your advise

  9. Keith says:
    November 19, 2014 at 3:00 am

    Hi Takeshi,

    I will be traveling on the 21st from Kyoto (Karasumaoike) to Mito station. (Osaka)

    Is this the fastest way? special rapid service to osaka, change to osaka loop and change to kintetsu osaka line?

    I will be staying in Mito for a few days and visiting Osaka. Wondering if any pass will help me save money?

    Thanks a lot! Your website has been very helpful towards me already.

  10. Chris says:
    October 6, 2014 at 6:41 pm

    HI Takeshi San,

    Thanks for your information and help!

    Best regards,

    Chris

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