Nara

Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links. If you make a booking through these links, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. ✅ Quick Answer A classic Kansai itinerary runs Osaka → Kyoto → Nara → Kobe → Himeji over 5 to 7 days, with two nights in Osaka, two to three in Kyoto, and the rest as day trips. Everything sits within about an hour by train, so you never need to pack more than twice. Buy an ICOCA IC card (around ¥2,000) and tap through the whole region — the old Kansai Thru Pass was discontinued and its replacement rarely beats paying per ride. I nearly booked five separate hotels for Kansai. Then I looked at a map and realized the whole thing fits in a circle you could drive around in ninety minutes — and the trains are faster than driving. I moved rooms exactly once, kept a single IC card topped up, and hit five cities. The mistake most people make with Kansai is treating it like five trips. It’s one. ...