The Kounotori is a limited express train service operated by the West Japan Railway Company between Shin-Ōsaka and Kinosaki Onsen in Japan since 12 March 2011. It replaced the previous Kitakinki services.

Shin-Ōsaka Station is a major interchange railway station in Yodogawa-ku, Osaka, Japan. It is the western terminus of the high-speed Tōkaidō Shinkansen line from Tokyo, the eastern terminus of the San'yō Shinkansen and one of the main railway terminals in the north of Osaka. The Shinkansen lines are physically joined, and many trains offer through service.