Originally Posted by abmj-jr

Nara is an easy local train ride from Osaka - about 45 minutes, depending on the train and line. It is also only about an hour from Kyoto. Himeji is a bit further from Osaka but still an easy day trip. I think I would deduct 1 day from Tokyo and maybe 1 from Fukuoka and add the time to the rest of the trip, perhaps stopping in Hiroshima on the way through. If you spent a night and 1-1/2 or 2 days in Hiroshima and Miyajima, you could even do Himeji on the way back to Osaka. That is assuming you can fit your luggage in a train station coin locker while you do the half-day tour at Himeji. Otherwise, it is an easy backtrack from Shin-Osaka.

For a good place to have lunch in Himeji, keep your eye peeled on the right side of the main street as you walk to the castle for a tonkatsu place about half-way from the station. Obviously, it will be on the left if you are coming back from the castle. The tonkatsu special is quite good and so is the katsudon but whatever they have for the daily special ("kyo no ranchi") will undoubtedly be good. It will be very busy between 12:00 and 1:00 pm with sararimen and OLs on their lunch break.

JR