About the Kinki Region
The Kinki region lies in west-central Honshu and is also known as Kansai. Regions can be divided in several ways. For this article, the totals cover seven prefectures, including Mie: two urban prefectures (fu) and five regular prefectures (ken).
The scenery shifts from big cities such as Osaka and Kobe to the historic towns of Kyoto and Nara, then on to Lake Biwa and the Kii Peninsula. Visitors arrive from Japan and abroad, and the Shinkansen, conventional lines, subways and private railways all carry commuters, students and sightseers.
So which stations in Kinki see the most passengers? See where a station you know appears in the ranking.
This page draws on the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), National Land Numerical Information (Station Passenger Data) (国土数値情報（駅別乗降客数）) to present the Kinki rankings for 2019, 2021, 2023 and 2024.
TOP50 Stations in the Kinki Region by Daily Passenger Entries and Exits
Select Kinki on the map of Japan to display the TOP50 for the whole region. Kinki in this article means the seven prefectures that include Mie.
For prefectural rankings, choose the button for Mie, Shiga, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, Nara or Wakayama. You can also pick any of the four years.
Stations that share a name but differ in railway operator or line are listed as separate entries.
What the Ranking Shows
Osaka (大阪) on the West Japan Railway Company (JR West, 西日本旅客鉄道) Tokaido Main Line (東海道線) had the most daily passenger entries and exits in Kinki in all four years.
The daily figures were 845,370 in 2019, 589,958 in 2021, 694,156 in 2023 and 751,006 in 2024. They fell in 2021 and recovered in 2023 and 2024, but the 2024 figure has not returned to the 2019 level.
Among the 52 stations that were in the Kinki TOP50 in 2019 or 2024 and have figures for both years, Kyoto (京都) on the JR Central (Central Japan Railway Company, 東海旅客鉄道) Tokaido Shinkansen (東海道新幹線) recorded the largest rise in rank. It rose 16 places, from 60th to 44th. Its daily passenger entries and exits were 73,134 in 2019 and 83,475 in 2024.
Historic towns and cities packed with large stations may exist in your own country too. Compare them with Kinki’s stations as you explore the ranking.
Kinki's Stations on a Map
Use the station passenger map to locate any station that catches your eye in the ranking.
Compare how stations cluster in the big cities with how they are spread through the mountains and along the coast.
Explore Japan and the Other Regions
The national edition lets you search for a station by name to find its national rank. Compare the other regional articles to see how the leading stations and the scale of passenger numbers differ.
- Japan Station Ranking by Daily Passenger Entries and Exits
- Chubu and Hokuriku Region Station Ranking by Daily Passenger Entries and Exits
- Chugoku Region Station Ranking by Daily Passenger Entries and Exits
Methodology and Notes
Each row in the ranking is a combination of station name, railway operator and line. Stations with the same name are not combined when the operator or line differs.
Ranks are calculated only for stations that have a positive passenger count recorded in the given year. The number of eligible Kinki stations was 1,758 in 2019, 1,758 in 2021, 1,759 in 2023 and 1,762 in 2024.
The 2023 data includes 6 stations recorded as 0 passengers. These are excluded from the ranking. Because the number of eligible stations varies by year, keep this in mind when comparing ranks across years.
Stations with identical passenger counts share the same rank, and the next rank is skipped.
Source
Visible World by Data processed the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), National Land Numerical Information (Station Passenger Data) (国土数値情報（駅別乗降客数）) for use in these rankings.
The figures shown are based on the data published for each year. For current train operations and station status, please check the information provided by each railway operator.
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