Kyoto/Nara/Koyasan in 2 days?

Hello! I am living and working in Osaka for the year and have two friends visiting me in a couple of weeks. I have limited time off to do sightseeing WITH them.

I have arranged an overnight in a temple in Koyasan on a Monday night. While I know it is possible, is it practical--with travel and such--do also do very basic sightseeing in Kyoto and Nara on Monday/Tuesday? What kind of timeline do you suggest?

Thanks so much!

I assume that you start and end your days in Osaka.

It would be packed, but possible. Whether it is enjoyable or not depends on individual travel preferences.

For a resonable check in at the temple, I recommend to leave Namba Station for Koyasan by around 2pm. I would calculate two additional hours for the round trip between Osaka and Kyoto or Nara. With an early start, that would still give you up to about four hours of sightseeing in Kyoto or Nara.

In order to see a little bit of Koyasan itself, I recommend to spend at least the entire morning in Koyasan, which means that you would return to Osaka around 2 to 3 pm. Considering that most temples in Kyoto and Nara close around 5pm, that barely gives you any more sightseeing time in either city.