ITAMI AIRPORT

Itami Airport is the common name for Osaka International Airport. Itami Airport is a domestic airport servicing Kansai. The name Itami Airport comes from its location and airport code.

Itami Airport (formally known as Osaka International Airport (大阪国際空港 Ōsaka Kokusai Kūkō) (IATA: ITM, ICAO: RJOO) is the primary domestic airport for the Kansai region of Japan, including the major cities of Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe. It is classified as a first class airport. The international airport servicing Kansai is Kansai Airport (Kansai International Airport).

Itami Airport (伊丹空港 Itami Kūkō) obtains its name because most of its land is located in Itami, Hyōgo Prefecture. Itami Airport also has the official airports code of ITM, thus reinforcing the use of the name Itami Airport. The Itami Airport terminal complex is located in Toyonaka, Osaka Prefecture, and the only access from the Itami side is via a long tunnel that passes below the runway and apron.

Despite its "international" designation, the airport's scheduled air traffic is entirely domestic. Kansai International Airport (27mi away) took over Osaka's international traffic in 1994 and competes with Itami Airport for domestic traffic. Itami Airport also faces competition from Kobe Airport (16mi away), a smaller domestic airport opened in 2006, nevertheless in FY2006 it was Japan's 5th busiest airport and Kansai region's busiest.
During 2005, this airport had 66,259 aircraft movements (32 cities). The total number of passengers was 18,948,300. Freight volume was at 154,412 tonnes total.

Itami Airport - Ground Transport

Rail
The only direct rail connection to the airport is the Osaka Monorail, which stops in the northern suburbs of Osaka. Most travelers take the monorail to Hotarugaike Station (3 min., ¥200) and connect to the Hankyu Railway, or to Senri-Chuo Station (12 min., ¥320) and connect to the Kita-Osaka Kyuko Railway (jointly operated with the Osaka Municipal Subway Midosuji Line). Hankyu runs express trains from Hotarugaike to Umeda Station in central Osaka, a 16-minute trip.

There have been plans to connect the JR Takarazuka Line and Hankyu Takarazuka Line to Itami Airport, as well as to extend the monorail to central Itami, but these plans have never been realized. Hyōgo Prefecture is currently studying the feasibility of building a separate light rail connection between the airport and central Itami, which would connect to the JR Takarazuka Line and possibly the Hankyu Itami Line.

Bus
A number of scheduled buses run to and from the airport daily. The following travel times are approximate and may be longer due to traffic jams.

Shin-Osaka Station: 25 min., ¥490
Osaka Station: 30 min., ¥620
Namba Station: 30 min., ¥620
Tennoji Station: 30 min., ¥620
Sannomiya Station: 40 min., ¥1,020
Kyoto Station: 55 min., ¥1,280
Nara Station: 65 min., ¥1,440
Kansai International Airport: 70 min., ¥1,700