No preference. Whichever one is more convenient.

Staying at ibis Styles Kyoto Shijo so we will be heading out from there. Haven't decided where to stay in Osaka yet.

Depending on the time of your flight from KIX, you may find that there's no need to decamp to Osaka for your last night. Basically, staying in Osaka will save you 30-45 minutes journey time. Everyone's different, but I'd rather wake up a little earlier in Kyoto and not have to change hotels.

If you do move to an Osaka hotel, and you go to Osaka in the morning, you will face the question of what to do with your luggage. You could opt to send it for Kyoto to the airport. Or you could take it to your hotel when you get to Osaka and leave it with the front desk / concierge. Depending on the hotel, it's unlikely that you will be allowed to check in to your room in the morning.

Regarding hotels in Osaka, you should look for a hotel with good access to a station served by the JR Haruka (e.g. Tennoji or Osaka stations) or the Nankai Railways Rapit (e.g. Namba station). Alternatively, pick a hotel that's served by a bus that will get you to the airport in time for your flight (for that, I leave you to do your own homework):
https://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/t...ess/train.html
https://www.nankai.co.jp/en_railway/...ess/rapit.html

For my money, staying in Osaka doesn't offer enough benefit to justify the hassle of moving ... but I'm repeating myself.

Now, if you have a very early departure from KIX, staying at the airport itself may make sense. Hotel Nikko Kansai Airport on the airport island is not great value for money - but it does allow you to roll out of bed and walk straight into the terminal. There are various hotels in the Rinku Town development across the water from the airport island. They have shuttle buses to the airport.

ORIGINAL QUESTION
I know Tokyo well, but I’m just a reliant on tools such as Google Maps for transport routes and timetables as you are. Sometimes the search tools favour a form of transport over another, a good example would be working out how to get to Osaka by bus from Kyoto, but generally the transport search tools are reliable. You’ve stated that you are not committed to a bus, that will make things easier.

As I am not a regular visitor to Osaka and you don’t seem to have a destination in mind for your final shopping jaunt there I’ll bow out.

I'm definitely more comfortable being close to the airport before an early morning flight. Also, we were always planning on spending a day at least in Osaka so this would cover both aspects of being close to the airport & getting to explore the city for a day.

Not worried about that since I don't mind paying for a room the night before or paying for an early check-in so that we have access to a room when we arrive.

Thanks. Will take a look at these.

We have to be at the airport at 6:30am so I will take a look at the Hotel Nikko Kansai Airport. If we stay in Kyoto then we will have to leave in the middle of the night which is not convenient with 2 kids in tow.

What are your views on the Fairfield Osaka Namba, particularly its location? If I stay here then I have the ability to check-in as early as I want.

Nice hotel. I stayed there a couple of years ago when the price was ridiculously low. Location is okay. Just to the south of Namba station so you can walk to Dotonbori. Namba is on the south side of central Osaka which puts it closer to KIX than most other places that you might consider.
With a 6:30 AM departure I guess you’re planning to use a car service. You’ll need to leave your hotel in the wee hours whether you leave from Kyoto or Osaka. Traffic is not a major concern at that time in the morning, although I guess there’s a chance of encountering overnight roadworks in places.
Moving to the Fairfield in Namba probably gives you an extra 30 minutes in bed. Or to think about it another way, that’s 30 minutes less time in the car with irritable kids.

This is one of the main reasons. For an early morning flight with kids I always prefer to be closer to the airport.

Flight is at 8:45am so we need to be at the airport by 6:30am at the latest.

I misread your earlier post. I thought you were departing at 6:30. To reach the airport by 6:30, you could in theory take a train or a bus but with a family in tow, a taxi / car service from Namba is certainly worth it.

Or ... Stay at the airport but then your logistics are a little more convoluted.

If you are thinking of paying for an extra night in Osaka to be able to check in during the morning, why not just stay two nights? Go there in the evening, then spend a full day looking around Osaka. Just a thought.

The Haruka doesn't run that early https://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/t...ess/train.html
From Tennoji there are regular trains depart 5:25- arrive Kansai 6:09 or 5:54-6:42.
Better off booking a car service if choose to stay in Osaka and not close to airport.

Thanks. I agree. At that time in the morning a car service will definitely be a better option.

I'm considering that too. In fact, I've made 2 separate reservations, the first one for 2 nights & the other for a single night. Will take a call on that later once we finalize our to-do list for Kyoto.

Any thoughts on my questions above?

The airport limo bus to Kyoto Station is right outside the terminal at ITM. Takes around 50-55minutes according to the limo bus company website and operates on a first come first served basis.

The airport limo bus website shows departures from ITM to Kyoto Station at 19:50, 20:10, 20:30, 20:45, 21:00, 21:15.

I would think this would be your best option as it would avoid multiple changes.

Thanks.

It seems like the last bus is at 21:15 which gives me just about an hour from the time my flight lands. Hopefully that would be enough for us to get our luggage & make it to the bus stop in time. In the event we can't, what are the train options I can look into?

I’m not familiar with the train options, hopefully someone more familiar with travelling through ITM could chime in, along with normal times from gate to leaving the terminal while getting luggage.

CTS-ITM we had our bags about 20 min after deplaning if not a bit faster, but we were in business class.
Google would be good for train info, leaving at 9pm it's saying the two train option takes an hour but involves a 20 min walk for the connection. There is a 3 train option that has less walking.
We paid USD$155 for private transfer ITM to Kyoto hotel, might be worth looking into since arriving late if you're worried about missing the bus.