One of the services making up JR West's "Kitakinki Big X Network [ja; fr]" in northern Kansai, it connects Kyoto Station and Kinosaki Onsen Station via the San-in Main Line.

Kyoto - Nijō - Kameoka - Sonobe - Hiyoshi - Ayabe - Fukuchiyama - Wadayama - Yōka - Ebara - Toyooka - Kinosaki Onsen Kinosaki services are operated with 287 series electric multiple unit (EMU) trains based at Fukuchiyama Depot.

[2] 183 series EMUs were formerly used on some services, but were withdrawn by the start of the revised timetable on 16 March 2013.

Also, when the service began, the neighborhood in which the station stood was known as Kinosaki.

Both are derived from the region's well-known area of hot springs.