Know Your Trains: Haruka and Rapi:t

Edit 7 October 2019: Updated prices to reflect the increase in Japan's national sales tax.

A Nankai 50000-series "Rapi:t" train at Namba Station.
Picture taken by the author on Sunday, 20 November 2016.

Previously on Sekai Ichi, I wrote a "Know Your Trains" article on the two limited-express trains travelling between Narita International Airport and Tokyo: the Narita Express and the Skyliner.  Since I've shifted my focus to the midwestern Kansai region, I figured that I might as well do the same for the trains that serve that area's major airport.  Kansai International Airport opened in 1994, on a man-made island in Osaka Bay, and has become the third-busiest airport in Japan behind Haneda (1st) and Narita (2nd), both in the Tokyo area.  I have never personally used Kansai Airport, as it has not yet attracted as many direct flights to the US, but I do know that, like with Narita, there are trains from both Japan Railways and other companies competing to bring passengers into the Osaka area.

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A 281-series "Haruka" train on the Umeda Freight line
By W0746203-1 [CC BY-SA 4.0 ], from Wikimedia Commons

The Haruka (はるか) is a limited-express train operated by JR West.  It travels directly between Kansai Airport and several locations in Osaka and Kyoto, with departures every half-hour.  The stops made by the Haruka include Tennoji Station in southern Osaka (30 minutes, ¥2,270 reserved), Shin-Osaka Station in northern Osaka (50 minutes, ¥2,910 reserved), and Kyoto Station (80 minutes, ¥3,430 reserved).  A few trains make additional stops in between, and even go as far as Maibara, but these run mainly in the morning or evening for local commuters.

The Haruka is supplemented by the Kansai Airport Rapid service, which makes more stops along the Hanwa and Osaka Loop lines, including Tennoji (55 minutes, ¥1,080) and Osaka (70 minutes, ¥1,210).  These trains depart every 15 minutes and do not require a limited-express fee, but are liable to be more crowded than the Haruka.

Num.	Name (English)	Name (Japanese)	Line	Haruka
S47	Kansai Airport	関西空港	JR Kansai Airport (S)	X
R45	Hineno	日根野		O
			JR Hanwa (R)
R37	Izumi-Fuchu	和泉府中		O
O20	Tennoji	天王寺		X
			JR Osaka Loop/ Umeda Freight (O)
A46	Shin-Osaka	新大阪		X
			JR Kyoto (A)
A38	Takatsuki	高槻		O
A31	Kyoto	京都		X
			JR Biwako (A)
A30	Yamashina	山科		O
A29	Otsu	大津		O
A27	Ishiyama	石山		O
A24	Kusatsu	草津		O
A22	Moriyama	守山		O
A21	Yasu	野洲		O
A19	Omi-Hachiman	近江八幡		O
A13	Hikone	彦根		O
A12	Maibara	米原		O

Haruka trains are made up of either six or nine 281-series cars.  Unlike the Narita Express, the Haruka features unreserved seats in addition to regular and Green Car reserved seats.  In the ordinary cars, the seat layout is 2+2 across, and seat pitch is 97 cm (40 in).  Both versions have a Green Car at the front end (facing Kyoto).  In the Green Car, the seat layout is 2+1 across, and seat pitch is 116 cm (46 in).  There are luggage storage areas at the front and/or back of every car, however they do not provide any locks for luggage items.

Service	Total Cars	Non-Reserved Cars	Reserved Cars	Green Cars
Haruka	6	2 (Cars #5-6)	3 (Cars #2-4)	1 (Car #1)
	9	3 (Cars #4-6	5 (Cars #2-3, 7-9)	1 (Car #1)

JR West also sells a discount ticket for foreign visitors.  The "ICOCA & Haruka" bundle combines a one-way or round-trip ticket on the Haruka, including direct transfers to a other major stations in the Kansai area, with an ICOCA debit card with ¥1,500 of credit.  If you already have an ICOCA card, you may present it and save ¥2,000!  Prices for this ticket, including the ICOCA card, start at ¥3,120 for a one-way ticket between Kansai Airport and Tennoji Station, or ¥4,240 for the same round-trip.  More information: (English)

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A Nankai 50000-series "Rapi:t" train at Imamiya-ebisu Station.
By Ogiyoshisan [GFDL or CC BY-SA 3.0 ], from Wikimedia Commons

Competing with the Haruka is the Rapi:t (ラピート, Rapīto), a limited-express train operated by Nankai Railways.  The Rapi:t runs between Kansai Airport and Namba Station in south-central Osaka, taking 40 minutes or less, and costing ¥1,450 for a one-way ordinary ticket.  There are two types of services, "Rapi:t α" (alpha) and "Rapi:t β" (beta).  The Alpha skips a couple of stops made by the Beta, and thus saves about three minutes.  However, they mostly run during the evening (for Namba) or morning (for Kansai Airport).

The Rapi:t is supplemented by Airport Express service, which makes a few more stops along the Nankai Main Line.  Between Kansai Airport and Namba, it takes 45 minutes and costs ¥930.  These trains depart every 15 minutes and do not require a limited-express fee, but are also liable to be more crowded than the Rapi:t.

Num.	Name (English)	Name (Japanese)	Line	Rapi:t α	Rapi:t β
NK32	Kansai Airport	関西空港	Nankai Airport (NK)	X	X
NK31	Rinku Town	りんくうタウン		X	X
NK30	Izumisano	泉佐野		X	X
			Nankai Main (NK)
NK24	Kishiwada	岸和田		I	X
NK11	Sakai	堺		I	X
NK05	Tenchagaya	天下茶屋		X	X
NK03	Shin-Imamiya	新今宮		X	X
NK01	Namba	難波		X	X

Rapi:t trains run using six 50000-series cars.  There are two seating classes on Rapi:t trains.  Regular seats are arranged 2+2 across, with a pitch of 103 cm (41 in), and the armrests in between seats may be pulled up or down as desired.  Rapi:t trains also have first-class seating, called "Super Seats", which are arranged 2+1 across, have a pitch of 120 cm (47 in), and cost only ¥210 above the regular fare.

Service	Total Cars	Non-Reserved Cars	Reserved Cars	Super Seat Cars
Rapi:t	6	0	4 (Cars #3-6)	2 (Cars #1-2)

Nankai Railway also sells a variety of discount tickets for foreign visitors.  While most of them are only sold through tourism bureaus in other Asian countries, they also sell discount one-way tickets online to all non-Japanese nationals.  The "Kanku-Webtoku" is a one-way ticket, valid between Kansai Airport and Namba Station in either direction, and costs ¥1,140 (¥1,360 for a Super Seat), a discount of about ¥300.  More information: (English)

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So, analysis?  The Rapi:t is cheaper than the Haruka, but it has its limitations.  Its terminus of Namba Station is far-removed from other cities in the Kansai region.  To get to Kyoto with the Rapi:t, for example, you would have to transfer to the Midosuji (M) subway or Osaka Loop (O) line, and then to the JR Kyoto (B) line, for a total travel time of 100 minutes or more.  Whereas, if you were to take the Haruka, you would only need to board one train for 70 minutes.  Plus, if you take the "ICOCA & Haruka" discount ticket into account, the Haruka may even be cheaper.  All things considered, I would recommend the Haruka in most situations, although as always, the best train to take for your itinerary depends on where you are going!

Tips

• The Haruka does not stop at Osaka Station, which is more centrally located than Tennoji or Shin-Osaka.  However, Osaka is connected to the aforementioned stations by JR lines, so you would only need to buy one combined ticket to get there.
• The Haruka is also recommended for those who want to travel between Osaka and Kyoto, and have a JR West regional pass that covers limited express trains between the two cities, but not the Tokaido Shinkansen.  Between Kyoto and Shin-Osaka, it takes 30 minutes and costs ¥1,230 for an unreserved seat.  As discussed before, regular Special Rapid trains take just as long and are cheaper, but are liable to crowd up faster.
• Shin-Osaka Station, one of the stops served by the Haruka, is also a stop on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen.  If you need to use the Shinkansen to get to somewhere after arriving at Kansai Airport, then the Haruka should be a priority choice for leaving the airport.

Trivia

• The reason why Haruka does not stop at Osaka Station is that, in order to connect between the Osaka Loop Line and Tokaido Main Line, it uses the Umeda Freight Line, a short connecting line which bypasses Osaka Station.
• The pronunciation of "Rapi:t", with a long 'i', is based on that of the German word "rapide", which also means "rapid".
• Nankai have launched special promotional liveries for the Rapi:t on special occasions.  These include a red theme for the TV anime Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn, a white/pink theme for the airline Peach Aviation, and a black theme for the film Star Wars: The Force Awakens.  The Gundam theme, which ran for six months in 2014, also included a redecorated interior, as seen below.

The interior of the Gundam-themed Rapi:t train from 2014.
By Rsa [GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0], from Wikimedia Commons