Hello Travellers.

As I mentioned, I have 7 days/nights that I plan to spend with my family covering Nara, Kyoto, Osaka and Himeji. I am mostly concerned about hotel reservations right now.

I plan to stay 3 nights at the Westin Kyoto using rewards. We would like to stay at another city (probably in a business/discount hotel) and finally spend one night at a ryokan to experience it all.

Questions: Any ryokan recommendations? In which city? Why? (I have my thoughts but do not want to influence your opinions)

About the other city, should we try Osaka? (we have to go there for the Otaue Shinji festival)

Thanks for your inputs!

We just spent 2 nights in Nara. Report here. http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35129106

When in Osaka, we stay at the Hilton. Great location across from Osaka station.

Himeji can be a day trip.

I see that KimJapan has already suggested Nara as another place to stay. You might get a better price on a ryokan there too. I could suggest Kurashiki or Okayama as other stops, but won't since Hiroshima will serve that purpose.

The Westin Miyako has their own shuttle to/from JR Kyoto station (with a stop near a subway station midway). It is not far from the exit near the shinkansen tracks, IIRC (the south exit?).

I would stay in Kyoto at a ryokan, just because it's a lot more traditional than Osaka (and I don't know Nara). We stayed at a cheapie little ryokan, which I won't mention because it's really not in the Westin class, but it was right next to a canal. We got to see a lantern festival going down it one night! They watered the genkan every day, and the atmosphere was fantastic. Absolutely charming! (But we were roughing it a bit. There are much nicer ryokans available, where you'll get a higher-class taste of the traditional Japanese lodging style.)

TokachiM:
Please, by all means, share with us the name of your Ryokan. In my case, I am going to mix luxury with spartan, especially because of budget restrictions.
Right now I am thinking:
Night 1: Osaka (Discount)
Night 2: Osaka (Discount)
Night 3: Kyoto (Westin)
Night 4: Kyoto (Westin)
Night 5: Kyoto (Westin)
Night 6: Ryokan

I am thinking either a Ryokan in Nara or in Kyoto.

Suggestions?

OK, it was the Yuhara Ryokan. BUT PLEASE!! Don't go if you are expecting all the comforts of a modern hotel. It's very . . . rustic. Picturesque, in the good and bad senses of the word. The people are very nice, the setting is very nice, the rooms are clean, you can sleep in them, and they are airconditioned. But there's no bath in the room (you go down the hall and share with the other people), and the halls are not airconditioned.

However, the garden is charming, the canal is charming -- it's all very charming, if you are ready to be charmed.

Search "Yuhara" on this forum; there was a good thread from 2005 that gave several ryokan suggestions. I can't vouch for the charmingness/moderness of any of the others, though .

(Sorry if this is too strongly worded, but I don't want to mislead you, and I don't want the owner to have to put up with disillusioned folks. I hope that's understandable . . . .)