Originally Posted by evergrn

Especially on a short trip like this where every minute's precious, you'll really want to stay in one hotel. If you have to do all of Kyoto, Hiroshima and Miyajima on this trip, then I think the only way this works is if you do Hiroshima/Miyajima on Mar6 and Kyoto on Mar7. This means you'll spend all of day2 in Kyoto, then make your way straight to KIX at the end of the day. I think it makes the most sense to stay right at/near Kyoto Station from the standpoint of being able to store your bags with the front desk on Mar7 and then pick it up at the end of the day to take the express train straight to KIX. The second most sensible place to stay is at Shin-Osaka as abmj-jr had suggested. Unfortunately, everything in Shin-Osaka is business hotels. There's nothing wrong with business hotels as long as you're okay with a cubbyhole less than 20m2. Some biz hotel rooms are bigger than that actually, but you'll have to search around. As others have said, biz hotels are clean and come with all the amenities you need; but I guess I've outgrown them. The third option would be Crowne Plaza at Shin-Kobe that abmj-jr mentioned. That's my hotel of choice in the Kansai area, and the hotel is an IHG property so you'll get your points and the American brand. But then it may be a bit inconvenient with the bags and stuff on Mar7. You'll have to backtrack to Shin-Kobe at the end of the day to retrieve your suitcase, or take a chance and hope that there's a suitcase size locker available at the Kyoto Station. Btw, if you're only going to be bringing 1-2 small bags, then this is a moot point because smaller lockers are usually available at train stations. In that case, I'd rec CP Shin-Kobe more than the other two options.