after some research and countless reading of blogs and contribution from this thread, here is my itinerary.
the temples in Kyoto are just for reference. i don't enjoy touch n go and will stay in the area if i like it and skip other places.
Day 1 will be 15 Nov, and deliberately organised in such away so i get to enjoy Kyoto more on weekdays (i could be wrong though reading so many is planning to reach some POI before 7am)

Osaka
Day 1 - Arrival and check in. Mid night by the time reach AirBNB

Day 2 - Osaka Amazing pass (skipping the aquarium and tempozan area though)

Kyoto
Day 3 - Fushimi Inari Shrine > Tokufuji Temple > Kyoto National Museum > Sanjusangendo Temple > Kyoto Railway Museum > Ninnaji Temple > Ryoanji Temple > Golden Pavilion

Day 4 - Kiyomizudera Temple > Higashiyama District > Kodaiji Temple > Kennin-ji Temple > Lunch in GION > Maruyama Park > Chionin Temple > Nanzenji Temple > Eikando Temple > Heian Shrine > Yoshida Hill Temples & Shrine > Philosopher's Path > Honenin Temple > Silver Pavilion

Day 5 - Arashimaya Bamboo Grove > Tenryuji Temple > Monkey Park Iwatayama > Togetsukyo Bridge & Sagano for shopping > Lunch at Shigetsu at Tenryuji Temple >
Okochi Sanso Villa > Jojakkoji Temple > Gioji Temple > Adashino Nenbutsuji Temple > Otagi Nenbutsuji Temple > Daikakuji Temple

Day 6 - Northern Higashimaya Area > Murin-an Villa > Konchi-in Temple > Tenju-An Temple > Honen-in Temple > Yoshida-yama Mountain
or Sagano Romatic Train

Osaka
Day 7 - Don't know yet. I am quite clueless about crowded place

Day 8 - Nara Deer Park > Kofuku-ji Temple

Day 9 - Osaka then 6pm > KIX

feedback is welcome if i can squeeze or exlcude some area. counting cost for temple admission is

This post has been edited by sebastianX11: Oct 15 2019, 06:33 PM

Guys, can please help to see if the below makes sense especially in the Kyoto Area (in terms of time needed and location proximity)


Day 1 (Stay in Osaka)

Reach Osaka in the morning 9AM

Drop luggage at hotel

Take train to Kobe and spend daytime

Take train back to Osaka for night time rest, dinner and go Shinsaibashi


Day 2 (Stay in Osaka)

Full day Osaka

Osaka Castle > Shinsekai Area > Kuromon Market > Dotonbori Area > Umeda Sky Building


Day 3 (Stay in Osaka)

Take train to Nara and spend daytime

Take train back to Osaka for night time rest, dinner and go Nipponbashi Den-Den Town


Day 4 (Stay in Osaka)

Take train to Kyoto for whole day (Keihan Line)

Tofuku-ji Temple > Fushimi Inari (up to Shin-ike Pond) > Tainai Meguri > Sannen-Zaka > Ninnen-Zaka > Maruyama-koean Park (Lunch in between)

Dinner and then to Southern Higashiyama Temple Illuminations - Shoren-In, China-in

Late train back to Osaka


Day 5 (Stay in Kyoto)

Check out and take train to Kyoto (Hankyu Line)

Drop of luggage at hotel before continue to Arashiyama - Tenryu-ji Temple > Bamboo Grove > Okochi- Sanso Villa > Kameyama-Koen Park

Lunch

Kinkakuji Temple > Daitoku-ji Temple > Koto-in Subtemple

Pontocho Alley > Kiyamachi-dori & Shijo-dori (Dinner and then back to hotel)


Day 6 (Stay in Kyoto)

Ginkakuji Temple > Honen In Temple > Path Of Philosophy (Anraku - ji Temple) > Eikan - do Temple > Nanzen - Ji Temple

Nishiki Market (Lunch)

Gion Shimbashi AKA Shirakawa > Hanami-koji (Geisha)

Dinner

Southern Higashiyama Temple Illuminations - Kodai- ji > Kiyomizu-dera Temple


Day 7 (Last day in Kyoto - Flight at midnight)

Last day to see what else didn’t manage to see the past few days

Else which one make sense below?

1. Katsura Imperial Villa
2. Ryoanji Temple
3. Ninnaji Temple
4. Shugakuin Imperial Villa
5. Enkoji Temple
6. Kyoto and Sento Imperial Palace
7. Uji
8. Kurama/Kibune
9. Himeji Castle

Not a fan of theme park? USJ is so much fun.

Just got my Osaka Amazing Pass 2 day from Klook



Thanks! I think I'll take pictures at the bottom and at the split you mentioned

Why not put Nara in Day 7? Saves you one trip:

Kyoto > Osaka > Nara > Osaka: 3 trips

Kyoto > Nara > Osaka : 2 trips

This post has been edited by -kytz-: Oct 15 2019, 10:01 PM

Anyone just came back from Kyoto recently? Have the leaves turned yellowish by this time? I read that this year foliage is delayed due to rising temperature. Do you mind to share your pictures? Thank you!

This post has been edited by [LinkZ]: Oct 16 2019, 12:05 AM

Your day 4 is far too busy and tiring IMO.
Also, not sure why you're repeating some parts of Northern Higashiyama on days 4 & 6?
Tenjuan is in Nanzenji while Honen-in is along PP.
My suggestion for you if you want a slower and more relaxing pace is to separate Higashiyama into 2 days, northern and southern for each.

Day 5 looks pretty jam packed as well to me.
It looks like my itinerary except that I'm dropping the monkey park and Daikakuji while ending my day at an Arashiyama onsen.

Go to Minoo Park for one of your free Osaka days (maybe day 7), the autumn colors there are amazing and you get to escape the busy city.

If you're serious about going to Himeji, do it on day 1 in the morning and spend the arvo/evening in Kobe

Is there also a reason why you're shifting bases from Osaka to Kyoto on day 5 and not day 4 instead?
You're making 2 extra trips back to Osaka from Kyoto and back to Kyoto again which seems pointless.

You seem to have around 4 full days in Kyoto which is pretty good and you can split up the places according to area for a more relaxed pace.

1 day: Fushimi Inari, Tofukuji, Sanjusangendo, Uji etc.
1 day: Arashiyama area, Ninnaji, Ryoanji, Kinkakuji
1 day: Northern Higashiyama - Ginkakuji, PP etc.
1 day: Southern Higashiyama - Kiyomizu, Kodaiji etc.

It's too early for normal Kyoto standards to have leaves turn in mid October.
Only the higher elevations would have changes in color.

You are looking at early November at the earliest for Kyoto leaves to change colors.

Hopefully no one is/was going over to Nagano. The aftermath of the typhoon was really really bad, and still being felt in some areas. I pray they can rebuild soon as that is my preferred next destination when visit to Japan again.

your day 1
the moment u reach KIX, take the train or bus to osaka and drop your luggage, it's already almost noon
it's quite wasteful to go kobe
it's around 45-50 mins per way there
and kobe itself is huge, alot of place to explore

hi guys, would like to check, if I'm departing from Nishiki to Arashiyama.. is it more worth for me to take the Randen day pass than commuting with the local rail or JR..

Other than the roof renovation at Kiyomizudera.. that temple is still worth visiting right?

Nishiki market?

How much do you save by taking the day pass?

Thanks for the feedback

Main reason is the accommodation is much cheaper in Osaka compare to Kyoto especially if we take 4 days

Why so susah leh?
Just take bus will do.

There's a lot more within Kiyomizu-dera than the roof renovation so IMHO it's still worth the visit.

Your itinerary looks awfully packed especially for your days in Kyoto but since you are willing to skip certain places, maybe you can highlight those that you REALLY want to visit and the others as optional if you have time.

For day 7, you could consider visiting To-ji temple before heading to Osaka. Your day 7 should be on 21 Nov and the temple hosts a big flea market on 21st of every month. Worth a visit since it coincides with you being there.

Banyak temple... after a dozen or so temples, they will begin to look the same. Try mixing in different sights and activities

For example, make the trip north to Kibune, or east to Otsu and Lake Biwako, or if u really rajin, amanohashidate

Bro you mentioned you dont enjoy touch n go but kyoto part looks like touch n go itinerary to me..

I am amazed you visited some just so so temples and missed worth going temple like konkaikoumyouji, shinnyodou, douji, houkongouin, and daitokuji oubaiin.

golden and silver Pavillion closed at 5 pm.arashimaya and Sagano location should be same day

nara can skip. nothing there only deer

This post has been edited by L.Torreira: Oct 16 2019, 03:21 PM

Just made my reservation at Unagi Hirokawa in Arashiyama.
Need to pay 3k yen as deposit and will be used to offset actual bill later, and cheapest Unagi bowl rice is 3.1k yen. Plus, must order one main dish per person.

OK la, since we are leaving Japan already by that time and we don't want to be too cheapskate on food, so splurge a bit and it is a Michelin Star restaurant.

meals for me all same. so give me recommendation cheapest food.