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Kansai Airport to Osaka City Centre

A 30 mile bay crossing that Japan has been building toward since the 2025 World Expo.

Kansai International sits on an artificial island in Osaka Bay, roughly 30 miles from the city centre, with a 50 to 70 minute journey by rail or road. The water crossing makes it a strong candidate for electric air transport.

SkyDrive, backed by Suzuki and Toyota, is the leading Japanese programme and demonstrated at the 2025 Osaka World Expo. Japan’s Civil Aviation Bureau has been working on eVTOL airworthiness criteria in parallel with the FAA and EASA.

Japan is a genuinely promising market: dense cities, constrained road networks, high tolerance for new transport technology, and strong domestic manufacturing support behind the aircraft.