So here's the plan. I'm flying into Osaka (KIX) arriving Mar 5 at 630PM from HNL and departing back to HNL on Mar 7 9PM. I know, I know, short trip, but here's what I'm thinking. I was going to use the 6th to visit Hiroshima/Miyajima then the 7th to visit Kyoto (of course this could be reversed). Here are my concerns:

Hotels seem quite pricey in Osaka. Would it be more beneficial to stay a night in Hiroshima and a night in Kyoto? Any recommendations on that as well, I usually like to stay around 80-100 a night plus free wifi.

What are some good food recommendations in both of the cities?

Obviously this is just a preliminary plan at this point and subject to change as I get closer to the date. Let me know what you all think?

Kyoto is old Japan and is hard to do in one day.
Arashiyama is a nice taste of old Japan outside of Osaka.
How do you plan to get to Hiroshima from Osaka?
Might be cheaper to take Peach Air rather than the bullet train.
I mention bullet train because the regional will take you too long on your schedule.
Too much in such a short time.
I would stay the entire time in one place.
Osaka and Kyoto and connected to each other.
Hiroshima will require flying or train time and would eat up your time.
Would recommend the Smile Hotel in Osaka. It's reasonable, includes a different Japanese breakfast buffet every day and is located right outside of the subway station.
In regards to food...just look around. there are countless places and most are good. Go where it's busy and don't worry if you don't know the language.
Have fun it's one of our favorite countries!

Disagree with the above. One day for Kyoto and a half-day for Hiroshima (forget Miyajima) is doable if very rushed.

What kind of hotel are you looking for that seems pricey?

If I were doing this, I'd find an inexpensive business hotel out by Shin-Osaka Station and stay there. It makes for an easy connection one day on the bullet train to/from Hiroshima and another to Kyoto. I'd also get a JR Kansai Area Wide Pass. The Rail Pass would cover your trip to Kyoto and your return to KIX from Kyoto at the end of the trip, your trip from KIX to Shin-Osaka upon arrival and the round-trip on the bullet train to Okayama on the way to and from Hiroshima. You would have to pay out of pocket for the round-trip from Okayama-Hiroshima-Okayama as the Wide Area Rail Pass only goes as far as Okayma.

Examples: http://www.japanhotel.net/Rates.aspx?HotelID=383

https://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/t...s/kansai_wide/

Frankly, you might be better served to skip Hiroshima and concentrate your short stay in and around Kyoto but I assume in the above that you really want to visit Hiroshima.

My advice would be to just visit one centre as your time is so limited. Why waste more of it travelling between different cities? Which of the two centres to choose would be largely down to personal interest.

Such a long trip for just a short stay!

I typically like to stick to the American brands when overseas, simply because I know what to expect. Obviously, in this case, it wouldn't make much sense.

In terms of time, here's what I think. I go through cities very quickly. I'm only 21 so I'm typically awake early and running around through 9/11PM. I went through Tokyo with someone else and we covered all the main attractions in 1.5 days.

That train pass looks great however. I was surprised by the price of the bullet train, but that pass obviously helps lower that cost, which is great.

Were you phred in a prior life?

Never mind. Forum inside joke.

The reason I suggested what I did was to minimize travel time just getting to the shinkansen (bullet train) station to begin your rail trips on both days. The shinkansens do not stop at some of the main, inner city stations such as Osaka. For your purposes, a hotel near Kyoto Station, Shin-Osaka Station (outside of Osaka) or Shin-Kobe Station would work best, since you will basically just be sleeping there. I can't think of an American brand near any of those but there is an ANA Crown Plaza next to Shin-Kobe Station that has reasonable rates. ANA hotels are pretty used to western visitors and Shin-Kobe is pretty convenient if you are using a Rail Pass.

Hotels like Hilton or other American brands will not be convenient to the shinkansen stations. I have stayed at that little business hotel near Shin-Osaka that I referenced up-thread so I used it as an example. It has no amenities other than being right across the street from the station and they will not speak much English. Maybe something else would work better for you.

The trip from KIX to either Kyoto or Shin-Osaka upon arrival is very straight forward, just a direct ride on the JR Haruka airport express. Shin-Kobe is almost as easy but would require a transfer at Shin-Osaka from the Haruka to a Hikari or Sakura shinkansen for the short run onward to Shin-Kobe. If you get the Kansai Area Wide Pass (not the similarly named Kansai Area Pass which is more restrictive) at the JR Service Center at KIX, the agent can reserve seats for the Haruka to Shin-Osaka or Kyoto or both the Haruka and the onward shinkansen to Shin-Kobe, all at once.

If you decide to cram Miyajima into your single day at Hiroshima, the Kansai Area Wide Pass will not work there. You would have to pay for the local train to Miyajima-guchi (the ferry port) and the ferry to Miyajima. Neither is very expensive.

For reference, the shinkansen to Hiroshima from Shin-Kobe will take about 1.25 to 1.5 hours each way. To Kyoto will be about 30 minutes if you can get a direct train, 45 minutes if you have to transfer at Shin-Osaka. The Haruka from Kyoto to KIX is about 75 minutes.

Don't worry about finding an American-brand hotel if you're just going to sleep there. Japan isn't some impoverished Third World country with questionable sanitation and safety standards. A Japanese business hotel will provide you with a small but clean room with private bath and maybe a breakfast buffet. What more do you need? Best of all, you can easily spend less than US$100 person a night, especially outside of Tokyo and with the weak yen. I stayed in Hiroshima for only about $65 a night three years ago when the yen was stronger.

For the purpose of completeness, exactly what are all the "main attractions" of Tokyo?

There are at least three large business hotels within 2 minutes walk of shin-Osaka station. But it might be better for the OP to go straight to Hiroshima from KIX.

Meiji Jingu Shrine, Sensoji, Imperial Palace and gardens, Skytree, Yasukuni, walked through Ginza and Asakusa, a couple museums (IDR which ones specifically, I would if I saw a list or looked through my pictures) and few food places, Tokyo Tower and various known photography locations. I'm sure there's much more, but in terms of what I was interested in at the time I was satisfied.

In regards to the hotel, I'm a seasoned international traveler (been to Japan 4 times now) so of course I know Japan isn't an impoverished country. I guess what I was really getting at is I typically stick with the US brands because 1. I accumulate points with them and 2. I know I'm going to receive the same expected service with the same and expected amenities. Not saying that I'm stuck with just staying with them though.

There's two ways I'm seeing the hotel so far. I can either take the train straight from KIX to Hiroshima and stay overnight there then another overnight in Osaka/Kyoto or stay in the middle both nights in Osaka. I took a look at the link above for that particular business hotel and may book that.

Also, just curious as to why you all think Miyajima isn't worth it? I'm assuming it's just a big touristy spot? Just figured it was one of the main 'things to see' there but if everyone thinks its not worth the time I'll stick to the more important things in Hiroshima.

Also, I'm an amateur photographer so I always try to find some distinctive spots to photograph in all these cities so if anyone has any recommendations on that as well I'd appreciate it.

I don't think anyone meant that Miyajima is "not worth it." It definitely is worth it if you have the time. My thought was that you might be tight on time. It seems that you move pretty quickly so may have the time anyway. If so, I definitely think you should go to Miyajima. Again, if you have time, the ropeway up to the top of the hill above the temple will give you a nice, sweeping view over the island and part of the Inland Sea for a memorable photo.

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.

Although the OP did not mention it, I have been going on the assumption that for a 2-1/2 day visit he will be traveling with carry-on only - or even just a small backpack with essentials and a clean shirt and linens. For something that small, he could use a locker at Kyoto Station and just go straight from Kyoto to KIX for departure. Any more luggage would complicate matters as you point out.

Booked myself the APA Villa Hotel in Osaka (one of them at least). Still looking around and scouring through various business hotels so that could always change plus I may just bite the bullet and stay in the CP Kobe. Baggage wise, I'll have my normal 26" roller board and a camera bag. The suitcase I'll probably store in a locker if I can find one (did that in Tokyo). As for that Kansai Area Pass Wide, is that valid for the transportation in Kyoto as well?

Alright so just an update here.

Booked myself the Crowne Plaza Kobe. Going to plan on storing my bag there (unless I can find pictures of the luggage lockers at Kyoto station before then) so I'll plan to leave Kyoto by about 4:30PM putting me at KIX by about 7:15PM.

Looks like I'll do the Kansai area pass wide then buy the additional tag on ticket to Hiroshima and back. I'm guessing the only additional transportation costs I'll have is within Hiroshima (including ferry to Miyajima) and getting around Kyoto itself. I found a few passes for Kyoto but not sure if they're worth it, doesn't seem the buses and such are included in the pass.

Update: Booked the Rihga Royal Hotel Osaka. Will continue looking but its between this and the CP.

Well, yes but there are very few JR lines in Kyoto that will be of any value to you. For local travel in Kyoto, you might find a prepaid ICOCA card to be more valuable.

http://jnto.org.au/transport/useful-...-kansai/#icoca