Staying in Osaka or Kyoto

I was wondering. If I got a JR Pass. It means I can pretty much use the Shinkansen to get from Kyoto to Osaka and back each day.

How long is the travel from Kyoto and Osaka.

Or is it better to stay in Osaka for a few days then Stay in Kyoto for a few days.

Also what time is the last shinkansen from osaka to Kyoto and vice versa.

I stayed in Osaka as there are lots of hotels directly at the main station and they are cheaper too.

Osaka to Kyoto is 20 minutes on the shinkansen.

What does your whole itinerary look like?

If you are buying a JR Pass "anyway" because you are making other long-distance trips, then of course you can use it between Kyoto and Osaka, but the Pass makes sense only if you make long-distance Shinkansen trips.

Even a 7-day JR Pass will pay off only if you are making a Tokyo - Osaka/Kyoto round trip on the JR Shinkansen within a 7-day period. So buying a 7-day JR Pass, for example, only for Kyoto - Osaka trip every day will be a waste of money.

Stay in Osaka, after your travel you can hangout in Nipponbashi/Den Den Town or what i call downtown Osaka.unless your going to visit that golden shrines that on the other side of Kyoto, than i would say stay in Kyoto for the night and visit that area.

Post your full itinerary. It's only 560 yen to get to Kyoto from Osaka, so it would be a ridiculous waste of money to use a JR Pass if that's your only travels.

Also note that the only direct route by train is a limited express. There is no direct shinkansen between Osaka and Kyoto, unless you plan to make a stop in Shin-Osaka.

It depend. If you want night life then stay in Osaka. If you want experience old traditional Japanese environment, stay in Kyoto. It only take 20 - 30 minutes from Kyoto to Osaka on JR bullet train.

There is plenty of night life in Kyoto, unless you are looking for something in particular (such as the unique flavor of Dotonbori). If you want a vibrant night scene with great restaurants, atmospheric bars, and interesting izakayas, then you can certainly find it in Kyoto's downtown district. (How many restaurants and pubs can you visit in one night, anyway?) Kyoto is a modern city with a population of 1.5 million, not just a place to go to see ancient temples.

Taking the shinkansen from Osaka to Kyoto is over-rated, in my opinion (not that I haven't done it myself plenty of times, but I usually already have a JR pass). There aren't that many Hikari and Kodama trains per hour, and their departure times cluster so you might need to wait a while. Plus, you have to go through Shin-Osaka, which is a nuisance. And unless you stay in Umeda, you will probably want to take a subway (for example, if you stay at Namba or Shinsaibashi), so it's extra transit cost.

Without a JR pass, the round trip train fare from Osaka to Kyoto starts to add up, especially if you have two people paying it. It can be enough to cover at least a small upgrade in hotel rooms.

I don't like to change hotels any more than necessary, but if you have a number of days to spend in each city, then splitting things up (a few nights in Kyoto, a few in Osaka) might be a good idea. Depending on how you split the days, you might be able to avoid the "Saturday upcharge" for hotels in Kyoto, which can be really nasty. It's usually possible to find quite good hotel prices there on any day but Saturday. The price difference in Osaka tends to not be quite so shocking.

Last limited train (not shinkansen) is around 23:30. Also
the limited train departs every 15 minutes during daytime and takes only 30 minutes.
While last shinkansen from shin-Osaka is around 22:30 and from Kyoto is about 23:20.
If you plan to stay at one hotel in Kyoto-Osaka area, I think the limited train ,called shinkaisoku, is more convenient.

Thanks for all the replies.

Lets see. I have yet to finalise this. But so far my travel plans are like this.

Be arrive in Tokyo in the morning 9.30am. on a Saturday. Planning to stay 3 nights in Tokyo, and on Tuesday to take the Shinkansen to Kyoto.
I then Plan to stay 4 nights in Kyoto, before leaving to Osaka, also by Shinkansen. And I plan to stay for 2 nights, and on the 3rd day, to leave back to Tokyo. (This plan is assuming I have a JR Pass for 7 days) then to spending the remaining 5 days in Tokyo. before leaving.

I have 15 days in Japan. Technically its 14 days and a morning. I leave in the afternoon at narita on the 15th day.

So basically the original plan was to get me a 14 JR Pass, and to use it as soon as I get to Narita, taking the Narita Express to Tokyo. I plan to stay at some BNB's in Tokyo, since its cheaper.

I then plan to use the JR lines in Tokyo using the JR Pass to travel all over tokyo, Like AKihabara, Asakusa (I probaby have to walk most of the distances, since the JR doesn't cover all areas.

If I have the 14 day pass, I would be able to stay in Kyoto and Osaka for longer, and probably even travel further for One day trips else where around Japan.

Anyone want to give me any recommendations?

Using the 14 day JR Pass in Tokyo is a complete waste of money. Activating the 7 day pass and using it for a Tokyo - Kansai round trip would be worth it.

Yea, as mentioned 7 days would be more worth it unless you have long trip plan for the last 5 days of your trip in Tokyo. Otherwise, just activate your JR 7 days pass just before your trip to Kansai.

As for Osaka or Kyoto, depending what you are interested with I guess, if you want the traditional feel then it's Kyoto, if you want modern feel then it's Osaka. However, as one of my friends put it, whatever you see and find in Osaka, you will find it better in Tokyo.

Personal preference wise, I always stay in Kyoto over Osaka.

As for traveling within Tokyo, I prefer to use Metro most of the time, only used JR once or twice for my last 10 days Tokyo trip.

Furthermore, traveling within Tokyo using JR pass is not worth it unless you put plan to travel to Nikko (around 10K round trip) or Hakone or Karuizawa etc

Kansai area has a lot to offer for side trip, Nara or Himeji etc.

JR pass 7 days 29110Yen, 14 days 46390 Yen.
Round trip between Tokyo and Osaka approx. 28680 Yen. If you have no other long trip outside main cities, there is pretty much no way you can use ~18000 Yen on JR. Though, if budget is least of your concern, JR pass can be quite convenient to cut through big JR station like Akiba station....

I am also planning to go to Gunma from Tokyo, and Kagaonsen from Kyoto. Using the Shinkansen to Takasaki (Gunma) and JR Thunderbird Express to Kagaonsen

I also plan to go to Odawara to see the Castle, and drop by Hakone.

Now that true vinces7 what your Friend said. i don't know what the resident who live in Osaka would say, but when i was in Japan for a month,the foreigner i met called Osaka little toyko.

and i agree with old vs.new. if he want traditional stay in Kyoto and if he up modern Osaka the way to go.

i stayed in Kyoto my first night, after arriving in tokyo and going straight to kyoto i think it made my first day experience in Japan really WOW! in a good way, experiencing the traditional Japanese life style mix with the mordern. when i return back to Japan, im going to stay in that same hotel again.

Would be easier if you have your new detailed itinerary to see if the 14 days or 7 days more worth it, though if you have a lot long trip planned for 14 days period, JR 14 days would probably worth it.

As for Osaka or Kyoto issue, it is matter of personal preference, stay at both on your first trip then you will know which one you prefer after that.