AMYangel1009 :
"First of all, Hotel New Otani Osaka is the 10th most popular hotel in Osaka. I've never stayed there, but I heard it's a very nice hotel. Don't know about Osaka one, but a lots of celebrities have wedding at Hotel New Otani Tokyo. From the hotel to USJ, it takes 20 minutes by JR from Osaka Castle Park (大阪城公園　osaka jo kohen) with 190yen. From the hotel to Nara, it takes about 40 minutes by Kintetsu Nara Line, and to Kyoto it takes about an hour. I think it would be too much hassle to pack your suitcases, check out, carry to the different hotel, check in around 3:00 pm, and so on.... So I would recommend just stay at HNO Osaka for the entire week... About food... it depends on where you will have meal... I'm sure you will have "Okonomi Yaki", the Japanese pancake, since it's very famous and popular food in Osaka. And Okonomi Yaki is not super expensive. Pretty reasonable. If you go to Outback-Steak-House kind of restaurants, might be a bit expensive. If you go to Denny's style restaurants, not extremely expensive. McDonald's?? Oh, forget it. Hope you have a good time. ********************************************************** Addition Threre is 3-day pass with 5,000yen. Here is the regular train fee.. Kyoto - Nara 690yen Kyoto - Osaka 540yen Kyoto - Osaka Castle Park 780yen Nara - Osaka 650yen Food...Denny's, roughly about 1,200 yen for dinner and 1,000yen for lunch. TGI, Hard Rock Cafe, or Starback Steak House, 2,000yen to 3,000yen for dinner... Okonomi Yaki, about 1,000yen... Sandwitches at convenience stores, 300yen... Gyudon (beef bowl) at Yoshinoya, 400yen or so... ************************ Addition 2 There is a 5-day pass which is only available JR train and bus in Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe area, and probably Nara too. (Cannot use in Shiga and Wakayama) It's 3,700yen. "

Ken Y-N :
"The above answer is pretty comprehensive, but I'll add that if you plan on staying in the Osaka/Nara/Kyoto and don't forget Kobe area, the Surutto Kansai is much better value and more useable than a JR pass, as the private lines in Kansai are more flexible than JR. Note that the Keihan line goes straight from Kyobashi to Sanjo in Kyoto in about 45 minutes, and you must go to Osaka Castle park right opposite the hotel on Sunday afternoons as many bands play outside there, and the fashions on display are interesting, to say the least!"

rambling vine :
"That other answer was great... I'd just have to add that food costs about the same whereever you go."

NMS HKG :
"Otani group is a pretty big htl's grp all over JAP (some htls even in the US). so no worry abt this htl. i dun think ur entire trip should stay in just 1 htl. if u r thinking of going nara / kyoto....u should at least stay 1 nite in @ city. cos u do not hv enuf time to visit all the spots in that 2 cities in just a day trip. trust me! i hv been there 2. train fr OSA to kyoto / nara is just abt 30-35 mins. sorry i 4got the tix price. plz chk wt ur htl......they hv eng speaking staffs now there. food ok in OSA. 15-20% cheaper than tokyo. ppl r nicer in OSA 2........maybe they r not that nervous as compare wt TYO."

Al :
"http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2359.html"

thecheapest902 :
"I'm a Tokyo resident. - How can I find the train station after come out from Osaka International Airport ? Japan has one of the most developed train networks in the world. Any airport is directly linked to the center of the city by train. So Osaka International Airport has a train to go to the center of Osaka city. OIA has a lot of information board to guide you to the train station. You can go to the station by walking. So first of all, you go from airport to Shin-Osaka station by airport train(40 minutes and 3,000 yen or 250 USD by a limited express). Shin-Osaka station is the station for Shinkansen high-speed train. Shinkansen takes you to Higashi Hiroshima station. Please remember that we have 3 Shikansen trains in the line, Nozomi, Hikari and Kodama, And out of the three, only Kodama stops at Higashi Hiroshima station while other 2 do not. So do not forget to get a ticket for Kodama train. Between Shin-Osaka and Higashi Hiroshima station, it's 2 and a half hours and 10,000 yen (850 USD) by Kodama train. So have a nice trip!"

brad r :
"Hi, your in luck, I used to live in Saijo (Higashihiroshima). When you get out of the airport you will see signs going to the station, you will have to go up a lift and exit the airport and then enter the station. Here is a map# it's in FLASH , but will give you a good 3D view just click on parts of the airport and it will zoom in. You can buy tickets at the station, just go into room near the ticket machines they can help you in there, they speak English. They can give you tickets for both the Haruka and Shinkansen. Check on the airport map for the exact location. For the trains use this site This site will help you work out a time table for the options below. Just pop in the dates and times you want to go. Use Kansai airport and Higashihiroshima in the start point and destination fields. From the airport you want to get to Shin-Osaka station. It will cost you around 1500 yen. The train to catch is the Limited express Haruka, it takes roughly 55 min to get to Shin-Osaka, don't worry there are announcements in English along with the Japanese and train stops are written in both English and Japanese. From Shin-Osaka you can catch the Shinkansen which will cost anywhere from 9 000 - 13 000 yen depending what shinkansen you use. If you use a Nozomi it will get there faster but you will have to change at Hiroshima and come back to Higashihiroshima. As this is your fist time in Japan I would recommend the Kodama it is a little longer but cheaper at 9 000 yen and takes around 2 1/2 hours. This will stop directly at Higashihiroshima. You can go by local train but it will take 7 hours, I wouldn't do this until your familiar with Japan but the above website can plan it for you. One thing to consider is what time you will arrive in Japan if it is after 8pm chances are by the time you get to Shin-Osaka the last Shinkansen to Hiroshima would have left already, so you will have to book a hotel. Go here as they have maps you can print for hotels if you need it and have a range of cheap options. I've used them 3 times now and had no problems. If you are hungry you can buy food on the Shinkansen or at the station before you get on. Hope this helps. Good luck and enjoy, and say hello for me : ) P.S. Take the time to go and see Miyajima just past Hiroshima city if you have the chance."

ami.kawabata :
"BTW Cheapest's Yen to USD is a bit off....he needs to drop a "0" 3,000 yen is about 25 USD. not 3,000 yen or 250 USD Also try this website If you enter the starting and destination station it will give you how long the trip will take, how much, where to transfer, etc"

AMYangel1009 :
" 1. Ritz-Carlton Osaka (5-minute walk from Umeda Stn.) 2. Rihga Royal Hotel (Free Shuttle bus to Osaka Stn. and UFJ) 3. Hotel Nikko Osaka (1-minute walk from Shinsaibashi Stn.) 4. Westin Hotel Osaka (Free shuttle bus to Osaka Stn.) 5. Hotel New Otani Osaka (3-minute walk from Osakajo Kohen Stn.) 6. Hotel Hankyu International (3-minute walk from Umeda Stn.) 7. Hilton Osaka (2-minute walk from Osaka Stn.) 8. Hotel Laforet Shin-Osaka (1-minute walk form Shin-Osaka Stn.) 9. Swissotel Nankai Osaka (1-minute walk from Namba Stn.) 10.Ramada Osaka (3-minute walk from Umeda Stn., 4-minute walk from Shin-Osaka Stn.) Source: 1. Ritz-Carlton Osaka 2. Rihga Royal Hotel 3. Westin Hotel Osaka 4. Swissotel Nankai Osaka 5. Hotel Nikko Osaka 6. Hotel Hankyu International 7. Hotel Laforet Osaka 8. Hotel New Otani Osaka 9. Hotel Nikko Bayside Osaka (1-minute walk from Universal-city Stn.) 10.Sheraton Miyako Hotel Osaka (2-minute walk from Namba Stn.) They all clean and safe... Oh, they may not take the reservation for a week... But I'm sure you can lengthen your stay after you check in. Do you mind booking two rooms, or you prefer stay in one room together...? Sorry to ask you, but how much is the budget for the hotel?? And when are you planning to go to Osaka?? Otherwise it's kinda difficult to recommend... Oh, btw, Ritz-Carlton Osaka is the 4th most popular hotel in Japan, and Rihga Royal Hotel is the 12th. Also I said "HNO Osaka" was the 10th before, but I checked the different one and it says HNO is the 8th. (Some other site says HNO is the 5th, but #1 and #2 are the same, Ritz-Carlton Osaka & Rihga Royal Hotel) ****************** Addition: It all depends on what day you are going to book, but it seems those three offer the big room under NT20,000. Hoter New Otani 70m2 room with 48,000yen The Westin Osaka 80m2 Japanese-style romm with 48,000yen Hyatt Regency Osaka 75m2 room with 57,000yen Ritz doesn't seem to have a room available for 4 people.. You need to book two rooms."