Rail pass Osaka to Kyoto

Hi, we are a family of four with two small kids travelling to Japan in November. We plan to arrive at Kansai airport in Osaka, spend one day in Osaka and then travel to Kyoto and spend 3 days there before heading back to Kansai airport. What rail pass should look into getting. TIA

Get an ICOCA & Haruka package with a return Haruka ticket. It will give you an ICOCA card, which is a prepaid travel card, with 2000 yen (1500 available for use) - this can be used for inner-city travel (except on Kyoto buses). The Haruka ticket will get you from Kansai airport to Osaka, and from Kyoto to Kansai Airport. You can buy this package at the airport when you land.

As sq suggested, if you're not planning any other trips around the Kansai region (apart from Ōsaka and Kyōto), the "ICOCA & Haruka" package makes sense. More on that here:

https://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/travel-information/pass/icoca-haruk...

Note that this isn't an unlimited-travel rail pass. The ICOCA's initial charge gets consumed as you use it (although you're free to add more value to it as needed) and the round trip ticket on the Haruka train to/from Kansai Airport is good for just that; i.e., a single round trip to/from the airport.

If you plan to travel more widely across the Kansai area, then one of several rail passes for that region might pay off - although that depends entirely on your itinerary. You can check out your options here (scroll down to the "Kansai" section of the list):

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2357.html

If you'd like to check ticket costs/schedules (especially when assessing whether a pass will pay off), use Hyperdia:

http://www.hyperdia.com/en/

Cheers.