How to take the new Gran Tenku sightseeing train from Osaka to Koyasan

A luxury sightseeing train, the Gran Tenku connects Nankai Railway's Namba Station in Osaka to Gokurakubashi Station in Wakayama. From there, you hop on a quick cable car ride up to Koyasan Station and there will be buses taking you to the town centre – where the tourist information centre is – as well as the surrounding temples and attractions including Kongobuji, Garan, Okunoin and Daimon Gate. 

The Gran Tenku is an elegantly designed train, featuring a calming wooden interior adorned with crafts made by artisans living along the route. More importantly, the train is fitted with huge windows offering an immersive view of the scenery outside.

There are four cars. The premium car features the top-of-the-line Grand Seat and Grand Seat Plus; each sofa-booth can accommodate up to four people. The Scenic View Seats offer window-facing sofas with tables, while the Rest & Relax Seats are your standard train option. Lastly, one carriage serves as the cafe car, selling refreshments and souvenirs.

There are toilets and Wi-Fi onboard, and all seats are reserved.

There are two roundtrips daily; each one-way journey takes roughly 90 minutes. The train departs the newly designed Platform 0 at Nankai Railway's Namba Station at 9am and 12.45pm, with arrivals at Gokurakubashi Station (pictured above) expected at 10.30am and 2.20pm respectively. 

On the return trip, the train leaves Gokurakubashi Station at 10.46am and arrives at Namba at 12.13pm, and again at 2.58pm and arrives at 4.28pm. On weekends and holidays, the train departs at 10.47am and 2.58pm, and arrives at 12.13pm and 4.26pm respectively.

If you're doing this as a day trip, you'll need to take the first train out to Koyasan and the last train back. This will give you roughly three hours in Koyasan, which is a rush, to be honest. If you can, spend the night in Koyasan.

Note that the Gran Tenku does not operate on Wednesdays, nor on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month. However, the train will run if these days happen to be a public holiday. If a holiday falls on a Wednesday and the train operates, services on the next day will be suspended.

To ride the Gran Tenku, you’ll need to pay the limited express surcharge in addition to the basic fare.

For both the Rest & Relax and Scenic View Seats, a one-way journey from Namba to Koyasan (including the final cable car ride from Gokurakubashi to Koyasan Station, plus the aforementioned surcharge) costs a total of ¥3,130. 

For the two premium tiers, you have two options. One of which is all-inclusive, complete with meals coinciding with the travel time, as well as free flow soft drinks and alcoholic beverages for the entire journey. Do note that these seats require a minimum of two people.

The Grand Seat with breakfast or afternoon tea will set you back ¥25,460 for two adults. Lunch is ¥29,860 for two. If you choose the Grand Seat Plus, the price increases by ¥3,000 for two adults.

The other option is drink-only: ¥14,020 for two adults on the Grand Seat and ¥17,020 for the Grand Seat Plus. This ticket includes one drink of your choice.

For the two lower category seats, tickets are available up to three minutes before departure. For the premium options, however, seats with meals have to be booked four days in advance whereas the drink-only tickets can be purchased up to one day ahead.

Ticket sales open 30 days in advance for Rest & Relax and Scenic View Seats and 40 days for the two types of Grand Seats.

Tickets are sold online. Same-day reservations are also available at the terminal stations Namba and Gokurakubashi, as well as Koyasan Station.