The is a limited express train service operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West) between and in Japan since 12 March 2011. It replaced the previous Kitakinki services.
The name means "stork", and was chosen because the stork is the prefectural bird of Hyà Âgo, and the city of Toyooka in particular has close involvement with stork breeding programmes.
14 down services (Kounotori 1–27) from Shin-Osaka and 13 up services (Kounotori 2–26) to Shin-Osaka run daily, with the journey time from Shin-Osaka to Kinosaki Onsen taking approximately 2 hours 45 minutes.
Kounotori services stop at the following stations. (Stations in parentheses are not served by all trains.)
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Kounotori, Kinosaki, Hashidate, Maizuru, and Hamakaze constitute the of limited express services connecting the northern Kinki/Kansai () region with the Keihanshin metropolitan area.
The following rolling stock is used on Kounotori services.
289 series EMUs converted from former dual-voltage 683 series trainsets were introduced on Kounotori services from 31 October 2015, replacing the remaining JNR-era 381 series trains.