Originally Posted by
linglingfool
Consider doing Hiroshima and Miyajima as a day trip on your last day. We took the 7:20am non-stop from Kyoto station, left our luggage at Hiroshima station, spent the early part of the day hiking on the island and the afternoon walking around the peace park and the museum. This eliminated a check-in/out cycle, and the day didn't feel too rushed even though we were leaving.
Granted, we flew out of HIJ instead of KIX, but you could catch a 5:15 Shinkansen from Hiroshima and be at Kansai by 8:00.
I actually wouldn't recommend this. Even if you take the 7.20am bullet train from Kyoto getting into Hiroshima at 9am and then you start making your way towards Miyajima around noon... imo you want ~6hrs or more from the time you get off train at Miyajimaguchi until the time you get back on the train. Trying to catch a 5~5.30pm bullet train from Hiroshima would make for a rushed trip imho. Plus, having to tow the suitcase around on the last day... what if all the large lockers are occupied, etc, etc... too much to worry about when you're about to catch a flight that night.