I'm surprised that it took abmj-jr till page 2 to suggest a guidebook.

A lot of your questions are answered in any good guidebook. I highly recommend getting a Kyoto city guidebook, which will answer a lot of your questions and provide detailed information on potential things to see and do, both in Kyoto and in neighboring cities.

One of the great things about Japan is that you don't have to stay in an expensive hotel to get a clean and safe environment. At about US$100 or less a night for a single, your room will be plain and small, but it will have all the basics--Western-style furniture, TV, often a broadband or Wi-Fi connection, a private bath that looks as if it was carved out of a single block of plastic, often a breakfast buffet included.

And I'd like to reiterate: DON"T TAKE A CAB FROM EITHER NRT OR KIX. They're both really far away from the cities they serve.