Travel Information

Transportation

To Kansai International Airport

There are currently direct frights from Amsterdam, Helsinki, London, Munich, and Paris in Europe as well as Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco, and Vancouver in North America to Kansai International Airport. Recently, there was an announcement that the direct fright from Zurich will be added in March, 2020. If you choose connecting frights via Tokyo or other countries, your options may be wider. For more information, visit the following website.

Kansai International Airport

To Center of Osaka

Kansai International Airport located on Osaka Bay is about 50 km southwest of the center of Osaka. You can reach the center of Osaka conveniently by JR (Japan Railway). As shown by the light green line in the attached figure, if you ride in a rapid train with a normal ticket and no reservation, it takes you to Osaka Station in 65 minutes by going through the Osaka Loop Line clockwise after Tennoji Station. Note that the destination of the train is not Osaka Station but Kyobashi Station.

Do not ride in the express train “Haruka” with mandatory reservation, because it takes you to Shin-Osaka Station and further to Koto Station. In addition, do not ride in trains of Nankai Railway shown by the dark green line, unless you stay near Namba Station, because their destination is not Osaka Station but Namba Station. Another option to access the center of Osaka is to use airport limousine buses. For more information, visit the following website.

Access from/to Kansai International Airport

Travel Information in Osaka and Kansai Region

The following website of Osaka Convention and Tourism Bureau has much information on not only Osaka City but also Osaka Prefecture.

Osaka information

The official guide book and map of Osaka provided by the bureau will be distributed to all the participants at the registration desk on site. The official guide map was already distributed at the registration desk of ECOS 2019 in Wrocław, Poland. You can also download them from

Osaka map

The official video introducing Osaka provided by Osaka Prefectural Government was partly shown at the closing ceremony of ECOS 2019 in Wroclaw, Poland. You can also watch it at the following YouTube site.

Promotion movie

If you extend your trip to Kansai Region including not only Osaka Prefecture but also Kyoto, Nara, Hyogo and Wakayama Prefectures, visit the following official website provided by Kansai Tourism Bureau.

Kansai region

Travel Tips

The electricity voltage in Japan is 100 V AC. 60 Hz is used in west Japan including Osaka and Kansai Region. The plug type in Japan is the same as that in the North America with 2 pins.

From the beginning of June to the middle of July, we have a rainy season in many places of Japan including Osaka. It is advisable to bring an umbrella with you in this season.

The average maximum temperature in Osaka in this season is about 30 °C and not so high, but it is sometimes very humid. It is advisable to bring a bottle of mineral water or green tea with you. It can be bought cheaply in convenience stores and vending machines.

There is a big network of underground passages along which there are many shops and restaurants near Osaka Station of JR. Be careful not to be lost. The map showing the underground passages is obtained from

Osaka tourist map

For your safety travel, the following website gathers links for information and news regarding weather conditions and transportation delays that may affect your travel plan.

For your safe travel

VISA

Note that you are responsible for the VISA application to enter Japan. If you need to obtain any documents from Japan for the VISA application, you should register for participation early enough in advance of the due date for registration at low rates, i.e., May 15, 2020, for the following reasons.

For the general information on the necessity and application of a VISA, refer to the following website provided by Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.

VISA general information

However, the documents necessary for the VISA application depend on your nationality. For the individual information on the VISA application, click on the button for your nationality in this website.

For details of the VISA application in your country, visit the website of Japanese Embassy or Consulate General linked from the following website.

Websites of Japanese Embassies, Consulates and Permanent Missions

If you need to obtain any documents from Japan, request when you make Online Registration. These documents are at most

1. Letter of Guarantee (Since this document can be omitted for your visit to attend the international conference, it will not be issued.)

2. Invitation Letter

3. List of Visa Applicants (This document is necessary if you have accompanying persons.)

4. Details of Company/Organization (This document will be replaced by Certificate for Conference Chair’s Employment.)

5. Itinerary in Japan

These documents will be issued and sent you with your additional payment of the processing fee by Nippon Travel Agency.

The travel agency will contact you after your payment. It will take a week or more for the documents to arrive after shipping from Japan, depending on the situation of the postal delivery service in your country. In addition, according to the aforementioned website, it will take approximately 5 working days for Japanese Embassy or Consulate General to issue a VISA after your application. However, if your application has any problems, it will take more than a month to issue a VISA.