Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto itenerary

Hi This is our fist time to visit Osaka and have no clue where to start. We arrive during a long public holiday in Japan May 3. We are staying in osaka for 7 days. Our hotel is mins away from the center of osaka city itself. My group consist of 1 elderly man & 6 adults. The elderly man is quite strong and not frail.
1. We would like to see places that have beautiful scenery ( Sakura a must), reasonable good food( Japanese of cos, like kobe beef, okonomiyaki etc), sake brewvery, strawberry farm and little shops arcades. We are not interested in big stores nor branded good.
2. For travelling around osaka,kobe, kyoto, Nara is it worth getting the JR Pass?

3. Where is the best place to view/buy camera products?

Anyone who have experience or wld like to share their itenarary with me is really appreciated.

Thank you.
Mui

For travelling around the area
http://www.surutto.com/conts/ticket/3dayeng/
is one option but you cannot use it on JR. I would plan my longer travel to make the most out of it over the three day period and perhaps pay my way on JR as required. A one week JR pass is not good value unless you plan a couple of long trips. See http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2357_005.html for more options on passes.
For cameras there is Yodobashi near Osaka station which you will almost walk past going to the Umeda Sky building...a must do in Osaka. Go in the evening before dusk and watch the sun go down and lights come on. The other big camera store is BIC right next to the station at Kyoto. These are both huge stores with everything in cameras, electronics and computers.
If you go to Nara you must take a detour on the way back and take the cable car to Ikomasanjo if for no other reason than to see the crazy cable cars. The cable car station at Ikoma is on the Nara line so it is very easy to get to. http://www.rodsrailpage.fotopic.net/p48215573.html
I told you it was crazy.
Koyasan is also an absolute must do. Buses run from the cable car station to town and I think they are covered by the Kansai pass but if not they won't cost much as it is not very far...but too far to walk.
Koyasan is absolutely beautiful.
Have a good trip.

7 days is a bit short to see the Kansai but .. Osaka main neighbourhoods are Kita-Umeda. I agree with a previous poster that the Sky building is a must and so is Yodobashi cameras (besides cameras on several floors check also the unique refrigerators). Minami-Namba is best seen in late afternoon. lots of restaurants there and 2 shopping arcades. There is another arcade (2.6 km long!)the Tenjinbashisuji arcade, at Tenma station on the JR loop line, not far from the Osaka cstle. In Kyoto you should see the Kiomizu dera temple on a hill, the Gion and Pontocho areas then choose other temples? the Philosophers' walk is pleasant and so is Arashiyama, a short train ride from Kyoto. The Fushimi Inari shrine, about 10 minutes by train from Kyoto JR main station, is another must see (you can see photos of all these places on this site or by googling them. in Kobe you can take a tour of several sake breweries, go up MT Rokko for the view, visit the interesting Kitano area, etc. Nara is another place not to miss. You should also go to Himeji, the most beautiful castle in Japan. There is much more to see....

Thank you both for your suggestions. I didn't realise there is so much to see in Kansai. i heard there is an earth quake place.. is it worth seeing?

For a group of 7 what is the most cost effective way to travel from the Kansai airport to the hotel near central Osaka city. Our hotel is at Toyosaki, Kita-ku?

Thanks.
Mui

Toyosaki Kita Ku is, as far as I can tell, a booking service, not a hotel.
7 people by train is Y2820 each on a JR with reserved seat. Or roughly Y1200 each with Nankai Railway depending on your ultimate destination.
The airport is almost 60 km's away and you would need two cabs which would cost a great deal more than say Y8400 on the Nankai.
When you establish the name of your hotel you may find that there is a bus service to the door which would be your best option if you don't know your way around. Cost would be comparable to the train.

The hotel name is Sunplaza Rinkai Hotel. Do they have bus that gets there directly? That definately wld be better than dragging our luggages on the road after the JR or rail. We make a big mistake not checking the japan holidays and the better hotels were fully booked.

Though ur hotel doesnt offer shuttle bus service, I'm sure ur hotel is a great value. The easy and cheap way to get there is
-Kansai Aiport to Namba by Nankai Railway
-Namba to Nakatsu by Osaka subway Midosuji line
-and walk(5 mins) or taxi

And there is not much difference as to how probable you will be hit by earthquake as long as u r in Japan. Before Great Hanshin(or Kobe) Earthquake, it was said that strong eathquake wont happen in Kansai.

hint of what to do/see/eat in Kansai

http://www.japan-guide.com/list/e1105.html
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2402_5.html
http://wikitravel.org/en/Osaka#Eat

Thanks so much. Indeed your information is so much useful than the travel osaka book i bought. Do you think it is worth it for us to get the 3 days Kansai pass. It can be use for the route you just suggested?

Do you think it is worth it for us to get the 3 days Kansai pass
Kansai Thru Pass is worthwhile if you do intercity travel such as Osaka-Kyoto, Osaka-Nara, Osaka-Kobe, Kyoto-Nara, Kansai airport to these cities including Osaka. Private railway service tends to be (a bit) slower than JR but their stations tend to be in more convenient location in Kyoto, Nara and Kobe than JR stations. I think u should consider JR if you visit Himeji(to Himeji, JR is considerably faster), though it is possible to reach it by Private Railway with Kansai Thru Pass.
http://wikitravel.org/en/Osaka#Get_around

It can be use for the route you just suggested?
Yes, for ur reference, one way fare from Kansai airport to Nakatsu via Namba is 1120yen.

If we purchase the 3 day pass that cost Yen5,000 per card,
1. should we use on the first day when we arrive late evening from the airport to hotel? I understand that it's worth buying if we travel to another perfecture.
2. We plan to spent 1 day in kyoto, 1 day in Kobe and 1 day in Nara. The total cost beats the normalday ticket?

3. How does this card work once activated it will count as 1 day for eg. use on Sat means the expiry date will be Monday??

4/ For Himeji- we will buy the JR 1 day ticket as it's faster.

Thanks so much. i need to buy the voucher soon.

1)
The cheapest way from Kansai Airport station to subway Nakatsu station costs 1120yen. This way you must buy a ticket from vender machine twice, at Kansai Airport station(890yen) and subway Namba station(230yen)

Alternatively, you can buy Osaka shuccho kippu(means Osaka business trip ticket) from Nankai Railway at the airport train station. This ticket costs 1500yen and enables you to use the "regular seat" on "Rapit" limited express and unlimited Osaka subway ride for 1day(1500yen) or 2days(2000yen).

Kansai Thru Pass costs 5000yen for 3 days. This may mean about 1700yen for 1 day.

So pls buy what you want:)

2)If you prefer hopping one tourist attraction to another, then it will beat the cost of buying single ticket each time. If you prefer walking the streets confortably, then it might not. All I can say is you need to do many train rides to take advantage of the pass, unless you mind buying a ticket each time.

3
It doesnt seem that you have to use the pass on consecutive days. is there any other person who know if??
http://wikitravel.org/en/Kinki#Get_around

4
Return fare from Osaka to Himeji is 2900yen and JR West Rail Pass(1 day) costs 2000yen. It is certain that 1 day JR pass beats return tickt to/from Himeji :)
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2361_03.html