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

Kobe, Himeji
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.

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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.

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. eug says:

    Hello!

    I am really confused by the numerous passes that Japan has and hopefully, you can help me out here! I am planning to:

    7th – Osaka to Kyoto
    8th – Kyoto
    9th – Kyoto
    10th – Day trip from Kyoto to Nara
    11th – Day trip from Kyoto to Kobe and Himeji, and back to Osaka at night

    I am planning to buy the 4 consecutive days JR Kansai Area Pass but I do not know if that will be the best deal for me! Thank you!

  2. Ahmad Razlin says:

    i want to go to himeji & kobe

    Which train is more convinient. Shinkanzen or Special Rapid

    Prefer not big crowd in the morning

  3. YV Chong says:

    Hi Takeshi San,

    I have a free day at Osaka and would like to travel to Kyoto for a return day trip. I am travelling without JR Pass. Can I buy ticket from ticket counter? What is your suggestion?

    As I am not sure where to stay at Osaka yet so please provide few options.

    The main places I would like to visit at Kyoto are Arashiyama Bamboo Forest and Fushimi Inari.

    Thank you for your time.

  4. Ecine says:

    Hi Takeshi,
    Thank you so much for the above post. It is very helpful!
    I have bought the 7-day Whole Japan Rail Pass.

    Could you advise on the route to take to best utilise the JR pass for the below itinerary.

    Day 1- Tokyo (staying at Shinjuku)
    Day 2- Osaka (staying at Shinsaibashi subway station) -USJ
    Day 3- Osaka – Nara
    Day 4-Osaka – Kobe – Himeji (planning to take JR Special Rapid Services from Osaka – Sannomiya – Himeji since it is covered by JR pass)
    Day 5-Osaka – Kyoto (staying at Nakagyo, Maruta Machi)
    Day 6- Kyoto-Takayama
    Day 7-Takayama to Tokyo

    Thank you!

    Regards
    Ecine

  5. Ariel says:

    Hi
    Am visiting Japan with the following itin:

    Day 1-3 Tokyo (Narita-Ueno Keisei Skyliner; Suica/pasmo)
    Day 4 Tokyo to Kyoto (Nozumi)
    Day 5-7 Kyoto sights
    Day 8 Kyoto to Shin-Osaka
    Day 9 shin-Osaka to Kobe (return trip)
    Day 10 Shin-Osaka to Nara (return trip)
    Day 11-13 Osaka sights
    Day 14 Shin-Osaka to KIX

    Am confused which pass to get with the above schedule, especially when we hit Kyoto, and will be staying at Shin-Osaka to visit Kobe and Nara, and return via kix. Pls advise.. thank u!

  6. Alma says:

    Hi,
    I am visiting from 8-15 Dec and am confused about what pass gives me the best value of visiting Osaka, Kyoto, Himeji, Arima Onsen. Below is my itinerary, please kindly advise. I am staying near Shin-Osaka, therefore I make my from-to at Shin-Osaka.
    Day 1: Kansai Airport to Shin-Osaka
    Day 2: Shin-Osaka to/from Himeji (day trip)
    Day 3: Shin-Osaka to Arima Onsen
    Day 4: Arima Onsen to Shin-Osaka to Kyoto
    Day 5: Kyoto to Nara
    Day 6: Arashiyama
    Day 8: Kyoto to Kansai Airport

    Thanks for your kind advice in advance.

  7. TEE says:

    Hi
    we intend to buy 5days JR west Kansai Hiroshima PAss. Starting point & ending point are from Hiroshima. Will be staying in Osaka and Kyoto 2nights each. Does this JR pass cover Osaka and Kyoto city? Which station is covered by this JR pass in these city? How can I get the information?
    thank you.
    Regards
    TEE

  8. Gina says:

    Hi! We’re excited about our Osaka trip but just so confused whether to get JR WEST Pass or Kansai Thru Pass. We will be arriving in Osaka, and will stay there for 3 days w a day trip to Nara before going to Kyoto and stay there again for 3 days. After Kyoto we will be going straight to Kobe and stay there for 2 days and go back to Kansai via the bay shuttle. Please advise which pass is best to get. By the way we will be staying in Namba area in Osaka, near Kyoto Station in Kyoto and near Sannomiya station in Kobe. We also plan to have a day trip to Himeji when in Kobe.

  9. N Lee says:

    Hello,
    I plan to take the miyakoji rapid train from Nara to Kyoto. I wonder whether it is convenient as I have 2 medium size luggages with me. Thks for advise.

    • Hi N Lee,

      This is a sort of commute trains. There is no luggage space. You can ride this train with luggage. There is no restrictions. But you may have to keep your luggage around you and you may need to stand up because it’s a commute train.

      Cheers,

      Takeshi / JPRail.com

  10. Sherly says:

    Hello Takeshi-san,
    Do you have any idea whether the Special Rapid service from Kyoto to Kobe/Sannomiya is usually crowded in the morning?

    Thank you.

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