Which passes are better for Kansai cities?

Hi.
We are planning to travel in September for 6 days in Osaka and 7 days in Kyoto.
While in Osaka, we plan to go for day trip to Nara, Kobe and Himeji, returning to Osaka after the day trip.
Then we move on to Kyoto where we will stay for 7 days.
After that we depart to Kansai International Airport.
Can you please advise which rail/region/day passes are suitable and money saver for us?

Thank you.

These pages might be helpful

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2357_kansai.html

http://www.japan-guide.com/railpass/

The main problem with Kansai is that the non-JR lines are quite common which significantly affects which pass you will get. Without knowing the exact locations and hotels you will visit, it will be difficult to give you feedback. For example, it's best to catch a non-JR train to Nara to get close to the temples. If you buy a non-JR pass then you can't use the shinkansen. Do you want to use the Shinkansen? If so, then the non-JR passes will be limited. You get the idea....

You will stay 14 Days inside Kansai prefecture(6 days in Osaka and 7 days in Kyoto).So I recommend you to invest 19500‰~ for unlimited travel by JR trains for 12 Days.Because JR Kansai Area Pass 4 consecutive days cost is 6500 yen .Beside travel in Kansai cities,you must visit Universal Studios Japan,Osaka Spa World, Legoland Discovery Center Osaka,Joypolis,Tsurumi Ryokuchi Pool,Maishima Infinity Circuit theme park.After Departing Japan,this will give you Lifelong Memories.

For just Kyoto itself don't get a jr kansai pass, it is pretty useless. Get a city pass instead. But figure if you actually need it. I found the sub to be very cheap in Kyoto. Also you can walk a lot of the attractions. So you just need to get to say one temple, walk from there and in the evening get back from where ever you end up.

Thank you all for your suggestions.
I am now comparing KANSAI ONE PASS and KANSAI THRU PASS. Very confusing.
My plans are:
1) During the six days in Osaka, we will go to Nara for a day trip. Another day, we will go to Himeji Castle and Kobe city. We also plan to go to Kishiwada for the Danjiri festival. We will stay in Osaka all the time.
Which one is more suitable? Kansai One Pass or Kansai Thru Pass?
2) When move to Kyoto, we will stay there for 7 days. Mostly we will be visiting famous tourist locations like the temples, shrines etc. We will not travel to other city. If we bought the Kansai One Pass, do we still buy city passes?
Thank you again.

It is pretty simple. Look at the passes you wanna use and calculate whether you will use that much money over a 2 or 3 day period.

The Icoca Kansai One Pass just work like a regular Icoca card. No matter what passes you select, or don't select. You would need a Icoca card for days when you are not using some form of a daily regional pass.

For example a 3 day Kansai Thru Pass equates to 1733 yen per day, 3days = 4500 yen. Just traveling around Kyoto or Osaka, you will not use that much yen.

But further away places like Himeji, Kobe, Nara etc, you will use over that amount. But you will need to do those trips over the validity period of the pass. You just group you longer traveling days together and use a Kansai Thru Pass on those days.

You can use google maps and/or hyperdia to calculate you trip costs.

Thank you hakata14 (guest).
Can I use the Icoca Kansai One Pass to buy food and shopping in Osaka and Kyoto rather than paying cash?
Thank you.

First of All,why you need to buy city pass,such as Kansai Thru Pass or JR Kansai Area Pass:
My Friend From thousands Km Distances came to Osaka,Japan by spending Quarter Million yen (including return Air Fare,Hotel cost,Food etc) but He did not want to invest 5200‰~ for Kansai Thru Pass.
At the End He Found One way travel take More Money than A rail pass .Another thing,Travelers with None Japanese ability can ride whole of Kansai prefecture smoothly by Kansai Thru Pass.

Apologized before but 6 days Osaka and 7 days Kyoto is such a long time to only visit Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe and Nara

If you dont want to go to Tokyo why dont you purchase local JR pass such as Sanyo area pass, etc and also go to Okayama, Hiroshima and even Hakata. (7 days Sanyo pas is only JPY 19,000 compare to JPY 29,110 for JR pass). One round trip to Hiroshima already make the purchase break even.

There are also many pass other choises for JR West pass that you can pick:
http://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/ticket/pass/

Can I use the Icoca Kansai One Pass to buy food and shopping in Osaka and Kyoto rather than paying cash?

Yes, but other than the need to carry less cash around, I fail to see the point. You use your cash to load up yen onto your Icoca card, then use the car to pay for goods/services.

Personal view is that you are adding a step for no real reason. And not all places accept card payment.