We disembark from a cruise at Tempozan Pier in Osaka. From the ship, we would like to go on a sightseeing tour for the day then stay in a hotel overnight. The next morning, we would like to go to Himeji by JR train (we have JR passes). From Himeji, we are taking a JR train to Kyoto.

Can you please assist me with the following?
1. What area in Osaka do you suggest we stay at based on what we want to do that is convenient to the pier and to the train station to board the train to Himeji?
2. Depending on the area in Osaka you suggest, can you suggest a hotel there that is reasonably priced and decent that is convenient to what we want to do?
3. Do you have any suggestions on a tour that we can take, seeing that we are only there for the day (from about 9:00am to late afternoon when we check-in at the hotel).

Thank you.

I'd like to know more about your itinerary, if you don't mind: is this the end of your cruise? how long are you planning to stay in Kyoto?, will you be traveling further in Japan after Kyoto? what port are you at before Osaka? will you have much luggage?

There is Hyatt in Osaka that is not frar from the pier.

Yes, this is the end of a 17-day cruise from Seattle - Alaska - Petropavlovsk, Russia - Murora (Sapporo) - Pusan, So. Korea - Nagasaki - disembark in Osaka on Oct. 12th. We'll stay one night in Osaka, then take the train to Kyoto staying at the Tamahan ryokan for one night, then take the shinkansen to Tokyo, and staying in Tokyo for one week before flying back to the U.S. We will have 2 big suitcases plus carry on. We intend to send the suitcases from Osaka to Tokyo by takuhaibin, so we will only have carry-ons during the one night in Osaka and one night in Kyoto.

Since we would like to do a sightseeing tour in Osaka upon disembarkation from the ship, staying overnight in Osaka, then going to Himeji by train the next day, what area do you suggest we stay at?

Thank you for your help.

The Hilton and the Ritz Carlton are both very nice and across the street from Osaka Station.

The shinkansen trains don't stop at Osaka Station...but use Shin Osaka station. Although there are lots of hotels around shin Osaka station, there isn't one that comes to close to being as nice as the Ritz or Hilton.

Thank you for your response. I spoke with Princess and they advised me that their post tour hotel in Osaka is the Rihga Royal so I went ahead and booked our night there. I hope the hotel is as great as the Ritz or the Hilton.

I was told that the Rihga has a shuttle service to Osaka station. Since we have a JR pass, do you suggest taking the shinkansen out of Shin Osaka or the JR train out of Osaka station?

Thank you for your help.

If you are going to Himeji, take a local train from Osaka to shin Osaka...5-10 minutes...then change to the shinkansen. If you are going to Kyoto, just take any train to Kyoto...the Limited Express will be quickest and you don't need to bother to transfer to shinkansen as just to Kyoto doesn't make much difference. The only thing to avoid is a local which stops at every stop and will take an hour or more.

The Rihga is a fine hotel I think...can't comment beyond that as we always stay at the Hilton and had a look at the Ritz and the Ritz is gorgeous. It's jusy for one night anyway