Slow life around Osaka in late December

I plan to go to japan on Dec,25 until 2nd week of Jan 2020.
I plan that Osaka will be my main stay.
I wanna ask you for my trip as follow :
- Where is the place that has beautiful nature and not far from Osaka?
- Has a little town with historical atmosphere and not far from Osaka?
- Where is the charming place to stay overnight with onsen?

Thank you very much.

https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4900.html
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3525.html
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3985.html
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e7075.html
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4950.html
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4310.html

Honestly, Osaka is not an attractive city for tourism, though I am a former Osakan. It is a big city and with Kobe, Kyoto etc., it make a metropolitan area. But of course there are some places for the nature though they are not the best places in Japan.

- Where is the place that has beautiful nature and not far from Osaka?

One place that comes to my mind is Kongo-san mountain. In winter you can see trees covered with hoarfrost.

https://travel.gaijinpot.com/mount-kongo/

- Has a little town with historical atmosphere and not far from Osaka?

Igaueno and Izushi are called "little Kyoro". Oumi-Hachiman, Hikone, and Himeji are also nice.

- Where is the charming place to stay overnight with onsen?

Kinosaki. Izushi is rather close to Kinosaki.

In Osaka you may want to visit:

Uemachi-Daichi including Shitennouji.
Tenjinhashisuji is the longest shopping street in Japan.
Nakanoshima is the center of Osaka and has some historical buildings.

Thank you very much for the useful information. :-)

The two locations which are reasonably close to Osaka which I found to be a world away are Asuka and Sakurai. It's possible to get here by public transport, but car rental significantly improves accessibility.

https://www.japan-guide.com/community/mfedley/report-3042
https://www.japan-guide.com/community/mfedley/report-3043

Just to add to the PPs:

- Where is the place that has beautiful nature and not far from Osaka?

- Minoh Park
- Wakayama Prefecture
- Biwa Lake
- Naoshima

- Has a little town with historical atmosphere and not far from Osaka?

- Imaicho
- Kurashiki
- Nara

- Where is the charming place to stay overnight with onsen?

- Dorogawa onsen

As the PPs said Osaka itself isn�ft such a nice place. It�fs okay. And it is good as a central transport hub for the Kansai region.

Be aware that some things (museums, restaurants etc) May be closed between about 28/Dec to 4/Jan. So if you plan something specific during that time, check first if it�fs open.

Enjoy your trip to Kansai!