Shin-Imamiya Station — Local services in Osaka

No LIFTS. Online will show there are lifts but not everywhere is accessible especially if you are relying on JR LINES. Rinkai Lines has a few more lifts but only at the main entrance and exit. Side exit / entrance is 3-4 flights /floors worth of stairs, testified by other reviewers.

There are different company using the platform. One is by JR WEST and another is by Rinkai Line. Both will try to sell you tickets to your destination, and later tell you it’s not refundable when you realize you got the wrong ticket.

You’re recommended to plan your itinerary and decide which line you prefer to take before asking for information because anyone will sell you a ticket.

eventually you will get to the destination with more than 1 way, do take note some lines do not need to transit, this is important if you are traveling with luggage / strollers / kids or wheelchair.

In the ticket policies unused tickets are refundable fully / partially, however it is not easy to communicate there if you do not speak native Japanese. And attitude are less friendly to tourist...

I rode Nankai Rapiit from here to KIX airport. It was going smoothly at first until I reached here, Shin Imamiya Station. I had to take Nankai Koya Line from here to Haginochaya Station. For the first timer, it was quite difficult to know which platform to go. Luckily there was an officer, who showed us the platform. There was no clear signboard of the location.

On our last day at Osaka, we also took Nankai Rapiit (round trip) from here to the airport. Before boarding the train, you should exchange the mobile voucher with the physical ticket. The exchange process must be done at the departure station, which in our case is Shin Imamiya Station. The counter for the exchange process is located on the upper floor of the platform, which is quite discomfort. You have to bring your luggages upstairs (there's no elevator from 2nd floor to the 3rd floor at West side) just to complete the exchange process. And go down the stairs to go through the gate and straight to...

Shin-Imamiya is a railway station near Osaka, where (international) tourists often switch from JR lines to one of the local railway lines. Luckily, I had found guidance on the internet days before, since information on the station are conflicting. The higher level is referred as 4th level by JR, but as 3rd level by the Nankai line.

If you have sufficient time it may not be an issue to find the local railway ticket counter. But with the tight transfer times in Japan this easily can become a challenge, if you have to catch a certain train.

Some more international symbol signs for guidance could help a lot, in order to get to the destination platform in time.

Even though English is my 2nd language, I would be happy to see some advise...