subway & busses, Osaka

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I had this experience with the Rainbow Sightseeing Bus tour. It was conducted by a pleasing Japanese lady as our tour guide. Tour Information in English are not available on this sightseeing tour , nevertheless, I can imagine the sincerity in what she is saying even it was spoken in Japanese language. I believe that her actions speak louder than her words.

So, if you are interested to tour the Osaka City tourist attraction, then go with the Rainbow Tour Bus. You may get your ticket on the same day of the tour at the Municipal Traffic Information Center at the Umeda Subway Station (JR Osaka Station). They are open from 8:00AM till 7:00PM daily.

One-Day Pass
One-Day passes are available every day except on No-My-Car-Days.

No-My-Car-Day Discount Pass
A special discount ticket is available for use during Osaka City's official No-My-Car-Day, on which day people are encouraged to use the subway rather than personal automobiles. (The Japanese language uses "my car" as a loan phrase to refer to personal automobiles.) No-My-Car-Day falls every Friday and on the 20th of every month. If the 20th of the month falls on a Sunday or a National Holiday, the following day is a No-My-Car-Day.

Validity:
Both tickets are valid for unlimited travel for one full day on subways, the New Tram, and city buses.

The main subway system around the Osaka area. It is easily connected to both the JR West lines and other private railway lines. Most attractions around the city is easily reached by subway rather than the JR West lines.

If you feel hassled by putting change every time you take the subway, you may opt to purchase a Rainbow card in 1,000 yen, 2,000 yen or 5,000 yen denominations. However, the card cannot be topped up or recharged such as Octopus cards in Hong Kong.

The Osaka Municipal Transportation Bureau operates 7 subway lines and 1 New Tram line, providing the fastest and easiest way to get around Osaka. However, the different exits at the stations do pose as a challenge to those who ain't good at directions.

To get around in Osaka the subway is a convienient way. The subway has several lines which are color coded and easy to use.
The one way tickets start at 200 yen though, so if you want to go 1 or 2 stops consider to go walking....

For everything about the subway, how to use it, how to buy a ticket and more see the website of the Osaka Municipal Transportation Bureau.

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The metro-system is easy also for tourists, becaúse the names of the stations are also printed in our spelling on the top of each schedule. We got a map by the tourist-office and bought a dayticket, I think it was 600 YEN. The metro partly goes high above the street on stilts in the outskirts of Osaka and close to the port.
The cruiseport has its own metrostation within walking-distance of just about 400 meters.

The Osaka subway makes getting around this vast urban landscape quite easy. Most fares in the central city area are 230 yen. The main north-south line is the Midosuji line (the red one) and the main line going east-west is the Chuo line (the green one). Umeda and Namba stations are major hubs with the JR and Kintetsu lines. Also at Umeda, you can get on the Hankyu line (which can take you to Kyoto).

The Surutto Kansai card is a must. We bought the 3000yen stored value card. It comes in 1000, 2000, 3000, 5000. What it is good for is that you use it on all the buses, trains (except JR) and subways in Kansai area, including Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, Kobe etc. It doesn't give you a discount, but at least you don't have to fiddle for change or worry about the fare amount. It deducts automatically when you insert it into the machine beside the driver when you get down. Convenient. And it makes for a good souvenir too, coze each time the fare is deducted, it will be printed on the reverse side of the card.

You can buy this card at the train (except JR) and subway stations.