6D5N Kyoto and Osaka

It's our first time to Japan (Osaka/Kyoto).
I have read most of the thread posted in forum on Osaka/Kyoto related post.

We will be arriving to KIX (Osaka) around 6-7am in the morning and will embark on our budget travel to Kyoto (2 nights), Osaka (3nights).

We planned to travel to Kyoto first, and end our holiday in Osaka before flying back from Osaka, morning flight.

1) In such a budget travel, do we get any JR pass or Railway pass?
2) With the pass that we are recommended to purchase, which route/transportation should we take to Kyoto, and from Kyoto to Osaka
3) In such a short trip (budget travel/sightseeing/food), what are most recommended to visit?

Your help will be very much appreciated! :)

PS: Our travel date happens on the last week of June. Between 21-26June. Will the weather be hot?

Kyoto and Osaka are actually very close. Normally, people suggest just staying in one of the two cities, and visiting the other for day trips and such. But if you have already booked your stay, there are trains that go directly to each city constantly throughout the day.

The JR pass may or may not be worth it for you. If you are planning on seeing other places outside Kyoto and Osaka, like Hiroshima, Nara, Tokyo, then it might be worth it depending on what you see. But if you are just traveling from Osaka - Kyoto - Osaka then its definitely cheaper to just buy tickets at the gate.

June is usually pretty warm, though there's a page somewhere on this site that shows you estimated weather for each month.

Thanks Endlesskey for your insights and suggestion! :)

I was in Kyoto in that week of June 2010, it was scorching hot, quite difficult to leave the airconditioned hotel. It was pretty mild a few weeks before in Nara, so I think there was a big difference between early June and late June, just as early september tends to be very hot whereas late september is usually getting cool. June is a very nice time to be there, though, if you can handle a bit of heat.

2) With the pass that we are recommended to purchase, which route/transportation should we take to Kyoto, and from Kyoto to Osaka

For transport from KIX to Kyoto and Osaka to KIX, Icoca and Haruka Pass (4000 yen including round trip from/to KIX and a 2000 yen prepaid train card) would be fine.

http://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/travel-information/pass/icoca-haruka...

You can use the Icoca card in Kyoto (Subway, JR, Keihan and Keifuku).

If you will visit some Osaka tourist attraction such as floating garden, Osaka castle, Shiten-nouji etc, Osaka unlimited pass will be a big bargain.

http://www.osaka-info.jp/osp/en/kukan/kukan.html

3) In such a short trip (budget travel/sightseeing/food), what are most recommended to visit?

See this page.

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2158.html

As for the weather, I personally define the summer as "the period when the water vapor pressure is more than 20 hPa". I think this is not familiar for westerners, since it does not exceed 20 hPa in most of the western countries (therefore, they have no summer according to my definition :-).

As EndlessKey and Pious have stated, June is "warm" of "hot", since the water vapor pressure usually exceeds 20 hPa in this month. If it is less than 20, it is warm (not so hot), but it exceeds 20, it is hot. Please see the data for June 2010.

http://www.data.jma.go.jp/obd/stats/etrn/view/daily_s1.php?prec_no=61&...

http://translate.google.co.jp/translate?sl=ja&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en...