If you are able to deciper Japanese, please use Tenrikyo Church Headquarter's webpage that offers wealth of information on transportation to Tenri. Here is the link:  https://www.tenrikyo.or.jp/yoboku/traffic_information/

Overseas Department Staff Pickup

If you are traveling to Jiba as a registered member of a pilgrimage group organized by Mission Headquarters, such as the Boys and Girls Association of America's Children's Pilgrimage group, the Overseas Department may be able arrange for a pickup at your airport for transportation to 38 Moya. You must have at least five people arriving at the same terminal and same time. A pickup must be arranged in advance and there is no guarantee that a staff will be available for pickup. There is a 2000 yen fee for adults and 1000 yen fee for children from 6 to 12 years old. The pickup is available for Kansai and Itami airports. 

Please contact Mission Headquarters in America or refer to the application for the Children's Pilgrimage for more information.

Transportation from Kansai International Airport to Tenri 

The distance between Kansai International Airport to Tenri is roughly 45 miles (70 kilometers). Here are some options for transportation from the airport to Tenri. 

Airport Limousine Bus 

According to their website, it is "first come, first served" from Kansai International Airport to the Nara region. Tickets can be purchased at the ticket window near the bus stop. Here is the time schedule for the bus to Nara.

https://www.kate.co.jp/en/timetable/detail/NR

The airport limousine bus does not go to Tenri. You will need to get off at either 1) Yamato-Saidaiji Station (map link) and take the Kintetsu train(s) to Tenri, or 2) JR Nara Station (map link) and take the JR train to Tenri.

If you get off at Yamato-Saidaiji Station, a) take a Kintetsu train bound for Tenri if available, or, b) take a Kintetsu train bound for Kashiharajingu-mae and get off at Hirahata Station, walk over to the platform for the Tenri-bound trains (elevators available) and take the train from there.

If you get off at JR Nara Station, take the JR train (Manyo-Hahoroba Line, previously known as Sakurai Line) to Tenri.

Here are the train schedules for Yamato-Saidaiji, for Hirahata, and for Nara Station. 

Cost: the bus will cost 2400 yen and the train ride will cost either 430 yen if you opt to take the Kintetsu train or 210 yen if you opt for the JR train. 

---TIP--- "I always take the airport limousine bus to JR Nara Station and take the JR train. That way, I don't have to transfer trains at Hirahata, especially with all my luggage." K.K.

---TIP--- "One thing to think about when deciding between getting off at Yamato-Saidaiji or JR Nara: the last train for the night. The last train for Tenri from Yamato-Saidaiji leaves at 12:20 AM. The last train for Tenri from JR Nara leaves at 10:57 PM." T.H. 

*On certain days of the year, there are Airport Limousine Buses that go directly from/to Tenri (that is, Tenri Station, which is its last stop). Here is the flyer for it (sorry, only in Japanese; timetable in blue is for the buses leaving the airport). It does say "those with reservation are given priority for the ride from Tenri to KIX."

Train

Trains are not generally recommended if you have luggage to carry around. At the least, avoid rush hours. You can send your luggage through a forwarding company, which have desks at the airport (although you would need to arrange beforehand for a place to accept your luggage). These are generally very reliable.

There are three general routes to take (note: if you take the Limited Express along any of these routes, the prices will be higher): 

Nankai to Kintetsu route: 1800 yen

  1. From Kansai International Airport's Nankai Station (map link), take a train to Nankai Nanba Station.
  2. Walk to the Kintetsu Railroad's Osaka Nanba Station (10 minute walk). From there, take the Kintetsu train to Yamato-Saidaiji Station.
  3. Transfer to a) a train to Tenri, if available; b) a train bound for Kashiharajingu-mae and tranfer to a Tenri-bound train at Hirahata Station.

Nankai to JR route: 1830 yen

  1. From Kansai International Airport's Nankai Station (map link), take a train to Shin-Imanomiya Station. 
  2. Transfer to the JR Shin-Imanomiya Station, and take the Yamatoji Line train bound for Nara. 
  3. At Nara, transfer to the Sakurai Line (also called Man-yo Mahoroba Line) any train is fine; exit train at Tenri. 

JR route: 1910 yen 

  1. From Kansai International Airport's JR Station (map link), take a train to Tennoji Station.
  2. Transfer to the Yamatoji Line train bound for Nara.
  3. At Nara, transfer to the Sakurai Line (also called Man-yo Mahoroba Line) any train is fine; exit train at Tenri. 

Here are the train schedules for Yamato-Saidaiji, for Hirahata, and for JR Nara Station. 

Google Maps should be helpful in figuring out the best route to save you time. Use Directions and enter Tenri as your destination. 

Transportation from Osaka International Airport (Itami) to Tenri 

The distance between Osaka International Airport (also known as Itami) to Tenri is roughly 33 miles (53 kilometers). Here are some options for transportation from the airport to Tenri. 

Airport Limousine Bus 

You can purchase a ticket at their ticket machine, or according to their website, you can use your credit cart (Visa, Amex, MC) to pay for your ride ("tap to ride").  If you have time, I'd recommend buying a ticket at a ticket machine, so that you can guarantee a seat on the limousine bus when it arrives for pickup. Here is the time schedule for the bus to Nara.

https://www-hankyu-kankobus-co-jp-e.athp.transer.com/limousine/timetable/T/#from

There is one bus during the entire day that goes to Tenri Station, leaving Itami at 6 PM. For all other buses, you will need to get off at either 1) Yamato-Saidaiji Station (map link) and take the Kintetsu train(s) to Tenri, or 2) JR Nara Station (map link) and take the JR train to Tenri.

If you get off at Yamato-Saidaiji Station, a) take a Kintetsu train bound for Tenri if available, or, b) take a Kintetsu train bound for Kashiharajingu-mae and get off at Hirahata Station, walk over to the platform for the Tenri-bound trains (elevators available) and take the train from there.

If you get off at JR Nara Station, take the JR train (Manyo-Mahoroba Line, previously known as Sakurai Line) to Tenri.

Here are the train schedules for Yamato-Saidaiji, for Hirahata, and for Nara Station. 

Cost: the bus will cost 1750 yen and the train ride will cost either 430 yen if you opt to take the Kintetsu train or 210 yen if you opt for the JR train. 

---TIP--- "I always take the airport limousine bus to JR Nara Station and take the JR train. That way, I don't have to transfer trains at Hirahata, especially with all my luggage." K.K.

---TIP--- "One thing to think about when deciding between getting off at Yamato-Saidaiji or Nara: the last train for the night. The last train for Tenri from Yamato-Saidaiji leaves at 12:20 AM. The last train for Tenri from Nara leaves at 10:57 PM." T.H. 

---TIP--- "On our recent trip to Tenri, the flight arrived too late at Itami for the last limousine bus to Nara. So we took a limousine bus to Osaka, then took a train to JR Nara. Then a taxi from JR Nara to Tenri. It was stressful, but my daughter was able to navigate us through the process mostly using Google Maps. We also had to inform Kaigaibu and 38 Moya that we were getting in late." M.Y.

Train

Trains are not recommended if you have luggage to carry around, especially from Itami because the route inevitably involves transversing through the heart of Osaka. At the least, avoid rush hours. You can send your luggage through a forwarding company, which have desks at the airport. These are generally very reliable. And if your route involves taking a local bus, remember that these buses do not have any space for luggage!

---TIP--- "Personally, I have never taken the train from Itami to Tenri. If you really want to try, do a little research on Google or any of the Japanese train navigation apps to get a sense of which trains to take. Trains in general take 2 hours while the limousine bus gets you to JR's Nara Station in 80 minutes and the train ride from Nara to Tenri takes 13 minutes." T.H. 

 

Transportation from Kyoto to Tenri 

If you are coming to Tenri from Tokyo by Shinkansen, you will most likely get off the Shinkansen at Kyoto Station and travel to Tenri by train. There are two options to get to Tenri from Kyoto by train: Kintetsu Train and JR Train. 

Kintetsu Train 

You can purchase a ticket at their ticket machine, or use an IC card if you have one. Below is a weekday timetable for trains departing from Kyoto Station. 

https://eki.kintetsu.co.jp/english/T2?myFunc=timetbl&USR=PC&sf=Kyoto&dw=0&submit=%C2%A0%C2%A0Search%C2%A0%C2%A0

  1. Take the "Tenri Express" train. Easiest by far because the train's final destination is Tenri. No transfer needed.
  2. Take the "Kashiharajingu-mae Express" train. Transfer to a Tenri-bound train at Hirahata Station

---TIP--- "The two routes above are the easiest to manage. However, the last "Kashiharajingu-mae Express" train leaves at 10:01 PM. If you miss this train, then, take a "Kintetsu-Nara Express" train or "Yamato-Saidaiji Express" train and transfer at Yamato-Saidaiji Station. From there, a) take a Kintetsu train bound for Tenri if available, or, b) take a Kintetsu train bound for Kashiharajingu-mae and get off at Hirahata Station, walk over to the platform for the Tenri-bound trains and take the train from there. The 11:23 PM train is the last train departing Kyoto that will get you to Tenri." T.H. 

JR Train

If you have a JR Rail Pass and prefer to take JR, take a train on the Nara Line, bound for Nara. From Nara, transfer to a Sakurai Line (also called Manyo-Mahoroba Line) train and get off at Tenri.