Omizutori

I will be going on March 14. At a fairly fast pace, How long would it take to walk back to JR Nara from Nigatsudo Hall? After researching, The 2 fastest trains back to Kobe thru Osaka St. laeve at 7:29 and 7:48. It seems the event only lasts about 5 mins. Hyperdia tells me that after the 7:48 train, all trains will go to Namba or Tennoji. Will be using JR West 1 day pass. Is this info correct? Any better options?

Thanks...

Direct trains to JR Osaka as fast as 7:29 and 7:48 are also available at 20:42, 21:03 and 21:49, according to holiday and weekend timetable.

Nigatsudo hall to JR Nara station is about 3.5km.
http://www.hyperdia.com/en/cgi/en/search.html?dep_node=NARA&arv_node=S...

How long would it take to walk back to JR Nara from Nigatsudo Hall?

It is about three kilometers, but due to the crowds, it might take about one hour.

It seems the event only lasts about 5 mins.

All in all it takes about ten minutes. And I recommend to be there 1-2 hours early if you want to have a good view.

Hyperdia tells me that after the 7:48 train, all trains will go to Namba or Tennoji.

There are still direct trains to Osaka Station every 20 minutes or so after 19:48.

Any better options?

I recommend to use Kintetsu. There are frequent direct trains between Kintetsu-Nara and Kobe's Sannomiya Station, and Kintetsu-Nara is more conveniently located than JR Nara.

It is also cheaper (940 yen one way).

Thanks for the info. Is there a transfer on the Kintetsu Nara to Kobe Sannomiya? Also, Does this run many times a day. I may have to use this to get to Nara around noon.

When you go to Nara from Kobe around noon, direct 3 Rapid Expresses are available per hour.
http://www.hyperdia.com/en/cgi/en/search.html?dep_node=SANNOMIYA(HANKY...

When you go back from Nara to Kobe, any direct train is not available as the last direct train departs at 18:53. You will transfer at Osaka-Namba or Amagasaki station.
http://www.hyperdia.com/en/cgi/en/search.html?dep_node=KINTETSUNARA&ar...

Thanks so much for all the info! Tough call. Im leaning on using JR. Even though a farther walk, The connections are better. I will have to get off at JR Sumiyoshi. Still learning a lot from the input on this site. Thanks from a Sansei in Hawaii!

JR Sumiyoshi station is 1 km(10 mins) from Hanshin Mikage station(which Rapid Expresses stop at). It's still advisable to take Kintetsu-Hanshin train unless you have to use JR West pass.