How To Travel From Osaka To Nagoya – The Fastest And Cheapest Options

The city of Nagoya is one of the most important industrial and financial centers in all of Japan. Because of this, it sees a lot of travel to and from the city.

If you’re in Japan and need to get from Osaka to Nagoya, you’re probably wondering about the travel options you have available to you.

What is the fastest way to get from Osaka to Nagoya? What about the cheapest? Is there some way to get the best of both worlds?

If you’re wondering about these questions – don’t panic! You’ve come to the right place.

In this article, we’re going to take you through all the common methods of travel from Osaka to Nagoya so that you can find the best option for your journey.

We’ve made sure to offer a broad range of options, adding in approximate prices and travel times. 

How Far Away Is Osaka From Nagoya? 

The trip from Osaka to Nagoya isn’t so far, with a distance of around 173.4km which converts to around 107.7 miles. If you were to travel by car, an average journey is going to take you around 2 hours and 20 minutes. 

However, because both locations are heavily populated cities, you’ll likely find that it can take a lot longer to get in or out of either city. Because of this, many travelers opt for other methods of transportation such as trains, planes, or buses. 

In the section below we’re going to be taking a look at all the options, you’ll have available to you, splitting them up into the fastest and cheapest, depending on what’s important to your personal journey. 

Fastest Options For Travel

Traveling From Osaka To Nagoya Via Shinkansen

The king of Japanese travel is the Shinkansen, the high-speed bullet train network that is renowned worldwide for its speed and efficiency.

This is going to be the easiest way to travel from Osaka to Nagoya. The average journey of getting the Shinkansen from Osaka to Nagoya will take around 50 minutes, 

There is a slower route available if you catch either the Hikari or Kodama train, with the Hikari train taking around 60 minutes and the Kodama train taking 70 minutes.

The reason for the slower times here is because of additional stops, and you’ll still end up at the same place by the end of your journey.

The average cost of a train ticket from Osaka to Nagoya costs 6480 yen (45.15USD) for a one-way ticket but can be cheaper if you look for an off-peak ticket.

It’s important to note here that because the Shinkansen train is such a fast way to travel, tickets are often booked in advance – so it’s best to pre-book before seats sell out. 

Another important thing to remember here is that the Shinkansen doesn’t stop at Osaka central station, but at Shin-Osaka Station, but you’ll be able to get a free train linking Shin-Osaka and Osaka central station once you arrive. 

A Note On The Japanese Rail Pass

A popular choice for travelers is to purchase a Japanese Rail Pass. You can purchase one of these tickets in three different distinct bands – either the 7, 14, or 21-day pass.

These will offer you unlimited use of specific trains across the country for the time period you’ve purchased. Here are some average prices for each band of pass you can buy:

• 7-Day JR Pass: 44,810 Yen (312.05 USD)
• 14-Day JR Pass: 72,310 Yen (503.55 USD)
• 21-Day JR Pass: 91,670 Yen (638.37 USD)

There’s no point in buying a Japanese Rail Pass if you’re looking for a single journey, but it can be quite cost-effective if you’re planning on making multiple journeys during your time in Japan. 

Traveling From Osaka To Nagoya Via Plane

You might be wondering if you’re able to catch a quick flight from Osaka to Nagoya. If this is your intended mode of travel, you should know that there is no efficient way to get from one to the other.

You can catch a flight from Osaka to Tokyo, then get a connecting flight from Tokyo to Nagoya – but this is going to take you over three hours and flights can cost up to 500 USD. 

So then, all of the other options are going to be faster and cheaper – making it not worth your time or money to catch a connecting flight.

This method is however much cheaper than getting some of the longer bus journeys that we will cover in a later section of this article. 

Cheapest Options For Travel 

Traveling From Osaka To Nagoya Via Local Train

If catching the Shinkansen is too expensive for you, then another great option is by catching a local train.

You can use the Limited Express Kintetsu train that will take you from Osaka-Namba Station to Nagoya Station. It’s a bit of a longer trip, taking approximately 2 hours and 20 minutes, but it’s much cheaper. 

A one-way ticket using this service will cost you around 4340 yen (30.21 USD) with slight differences depending on the time of day you’re traveling. We would recommend this option if you want a fast but inexpensive option.

Traveling From Osaka To Nagoya Via Highway Bus

Next up we have the cheapest option on our list, which is especially great if you don’t mind a long journey.

Highway buses are a great option that is readily available in different parts of Japan, but you will have to worry about traffic, especially during the busiest times of the day. 

One of the most important things to note about highway buses here is that they can vary massively in terms of price.

The lowest bus ticket you’re likely to be able to get will cost you around 2000 yen for a one-way journey, which is the same as  13.92 USD.

This is an extremely cost-effective way to travel between the two cities, but you will have to deal with a slightly longer journey.

This method of transport is the main reason why we told you not to go for a flight in an earlier section of this article.

A plane from Osaka to Nagoya via Tokyo (see also ‘How To Travel From Tokyo To Nagoya: The Fastest And Cheapest Ways‘) takes around 3 hours and can cost up to 500 USD, whereas you can get a bus for a small fraction of this price and it will take you around the same amount of time. 

Final Thoughts 

So there you have it! Those were the fastest and cheapest options you have available to get from Osaka to Nagoya.

The fastest option is always going to be the Shinkansen, while the cheapest will always be the highway bus or local train.

We would recommend taking a long look at the options, as well as taking some time to look over different pricing points to find the best deal for you! 

We hope that this article has given you some insight into the best ways to travel from Osaka to Nagoya, and we hope that your journey is stress-free and simple! Good luck!