Osaka

Osaka is the better base than Kyoto for anyone planning to see several cities without a car. Trains run from Kansai Airport's own station, JR's Haruka express or Nankai's rapi:t, and the city's dense web of JR, metro and private lines means a different day trip every morning. Kyoto's temples, Nara's deer park and Kobe's harbor are all ordinary commuter-train rides, Himeji Castle is quick by bullet train, and Nankai's line climbs toward the temple mountain of Koyasan with a cable car for the last stretch. Evenings are back in Dotonbori for street food, with hotels that cost less than Kyoto's.