Food recommendation (Kyoto,Osaka,Kobe,Uji)

Hi, I'm travelling to the places above and love to eat and would really appreciate any recommendations/advice to my queries below! I know it's a number of places so part answers are fine too! :) Thanks in advance! :D

Kyoto
My friend would like soba and tempura for her birthday dinner. Read some reviews on sobanomi yoshimura. Was just wondering how the tempura here would compare against tsunahachi (sorry it's the only tempura specialist shop I've tried in Japan so far. But I have promised myself to keep coming back to Japan. :)) And what's the pricing like for dinner for sobanomi? I realised that dinner prices tend to be abt 1000y higher for restaurants even though the menu seems almost exactly the same as the lunch set. Is there any reason for this? Just curious :P

Im also thinking of another tempura meal. Would you recommend I do it in Osaka or kyoto? And if so,which store/s can I consider? Budget would be around 1500-2000y per person for lunch. +/- a few hundred yen should be fine. Personally I have a higher budget but gotta be conscious for the pockets of those in my party. Haha

Any must try dishes unique to kyoto? I've planned a tofu meal and tea desserts. My group isn't interested in sabazushi nor unagi :'(
or like street food also can :) any idea where I can buy hot sake (without the alcohol content)? Comes in a paper cup. I rmb trying one at one the streets with lots of stalls on the way to some attraction..I can't rmb which though.

Osaka
For Osaka I would like to try the below foods, any recommendations? Near dotonburi/kuromon market or my hotel
(business hotel nissei) would be great if possible!
Kushi katsu
Katsu don
Okonomiyaki
Takoyaki
Taiyaki
Crepes (dessert)
Croquette! (Rmb buying from a random old shop we happened to walk past on a sloping alley on my last trip. It was really good but we were rushing and didn't snap a pic)
Any other must try foods/street foods?
Ramen. Usually eat from chain stores so I guess they're quite fixed in taste. But are there any unique flavours/broths that are only found in Kyoto or Osaka?

Kobe
First time heading to Kobe. Will almost every store be selling the famous 'kobe beef'? Is it okay to eat at any store in Chinatown or should I not eat there cos it's too touristy? What kind of beef meals should I look for or are there other meals I should try other than beef? I have a dinner and lunch there. Not sure what the average meals there cost. But I guess we're a but more flexible on this leg. Prob I'll set it ard 3+4k y first?

Uji
So far we only have Cha soba in mind. Prob some green tea desserts.
If you have recommendations for sightseeing, pls let me know too! :)

1. Kyoto. Here are some recommendations for cuisines that are regional specialties of Kyoto: http://bento.com/kansai/kc-kyoryori-ky.html
I really enjoy Komameya (near the bottom of that page).

2. Osaka. here's a guide to the Namba area: http://bento.com/kansai/ka-osnamba.html
- Kushiya Monogatari is a DIY kushiage place that's a lot of fun to go to with a group.
- Chibo is the famous go-to spot for okonomiyaki in Osaka

3. Kobe. No, Kobe beef is sold in certain specialty restaurants, not everywhere. Here are some recommendations for Kobe beef spots: http://bento.com/kansai/kc-regional.html#kobebeef
Itoh Dining and Ohnishi are probably the most budget-friendly spots on that list.

Have fun:

Thank you Umami Dearest :)

Check this: https://tabelog.com/en/
It is a very good source for comparing restaurants in Japan.

Yatsuhashi in Kyoto.

No elaborate suggestions from me, but I liked :

Osaka - okonomiyaki (and actually I had the best sukiyaki I've eaten in Osaka at a place near the Sheraton Hotel);
Kyoto - anything, but really the tofu places near Kiyomizudera are what I would target. We had a nine or 10 course tofu mean, truly awesome. Essentially kaiseki but all tofu;
Kobe - it is known for the beef which is lovely but we went to a place that lets you assemble skewers of stuff which you deep fry in a pot at your table. An interesting concept and the locals seem to love it;
Uji - the soft serve green tea icecream there has a much stronger tea taste than any other I've had (and I've had plenty). Better than any dessert you could buy, just amazingly good even though the day was about 5 celsius. Lunch in the restaurant that overhangs the river is recommended, the food is very good.

Kobe; be sure you're paying for Wagyu beef (Kobe beef). Good stuff will be around $50 USD (5000Y) but why stop there? Go to Sankita (its the street paralleling the train stations on the mountain side of the tracks and it's jumpin') and dive in. There is every kind of Japanese, Korean, and American food and prices run from cheap to expensive. okonomiyaki is great there; any kind of udon dish also. And of course, cooked and uncooked fish everywhere. Kobe is a food (not foodie) town, kind of like Osaka.
Uji; surely there is something besides green tea ice cream. I've never been there at mealtime. Go across the Uji River on the footbridge just north of the teahouse by the Phoenix Pavilion. Then walk along the streets past Ujigami and Uji shrines and in about one kilometer, you arrive at the Tale of Genji Museum. It is the most worthwhile of attractions in Uji (other than the exquisite town itself) in my opinion.
So there's my two cents worth. Enjoy.