Seeking tips for 9-day Kansai itinerary

I'm planning my first-ever trip to Japan and have put together a tentative 9-day itinerary for the Kansai region focusing on Osaka and Kyoto. As it's my first time, I'd really appreciate any feedback, alternative suggestions, or insider tips.

A bit about my interests and preferences:

1. This is my first visit to Japan

2. I'm really drawn to nature, cultural experiences, and local food.

3. Not too interested in amusement parks or anything too touristy/crowded.

4. Looking to discover some underrated gems off-the-beaten-path

5. Visiting Toyosato in Kyoto is a must for me.

Here's a quick overview of my planned itinerary:

Day 1 - Arrive in Osaka, explore Dotonbori district, street food.

Day 2 - Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine, hike Minoo Park & Waterfall

Day 3 - Travel to Kyoto, Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, Tenryu-ji Temple, Nishiki Market

Day 4 - Kiyomizu-dera Temple, hike Mount Inari trails, Otagi Nenbutsu-ji Temple

Day 5 - Day trip to Nara (Todai-ji, deer park, Kasuga Taisha), Pontocho Alley dining

Day 6 - Gion district, Kennin-ji Temple, Toyosato, other Kyoto explorations

Day 7 - Adashino Nenbutsu-ji, Philosopher's Path, travel to Osaka, Hozenji Yokocho

Day 8 - Dotonbori dive, Amemura/America Village, Umeda Sky Building

Day 9 - Departure from Osaka

I'm definitely open to swapping things out or adjusting this itinerary. A few questions I have:

1. Are there any hidden nature spots, lesser-known shrines/temples, or local neighborhoods you'd recommend visiting in?

2. Better alternatives for any of the days that better match my interests?

3. Anything I'm missing or should adjust timing-wise?

Any other Japan travels tips for a first timer are welcome too, thanks in advance for your suggestions!

Mmmhh... It looks like an AI generated itinerary, where the sightseeing spots are randomly assigned to different days without taking their location into account. My apologies if that is not the case.

Anyway, if you are serious about not wanting anything too touristy, you can remove these from your itinerary: Arashiyama bamboo grove, Nishiki Market, Gion, Kiyomizu-dera, the bottom of Fushimi-Inari, Todai-ji/deer park (Nara), Dotonbori.

Regarding Toyosato, is this for the "K-ON!" high school? It is not in Kyoto, but around 1.5 hour away, depending on your hotel location. In fact, you could just opt for staying and sightseeing around lake Biwa instead of Kyoto, since you are definitely going to Toyosato. And make one day trip to Kyoto for your must-see spots. My personal pick would be Kiyomizu-dera despite the crowds, I just really like the looks of that platform.

Around lake Biwa...
- there is Omi Hachiman nearby: https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e7075.html
- Hikone Castle: https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e7000.html
- A more detailed itinerary by one of Japan Guide's writers: https://www.japan-guide.com/blog/solo-female-travel/181114.html

There were also several questions in this forum about cycling around lake Biwa, since you mention that you like nature.

Your itinerary and your expectations do not match.
A lot if very touristy spots.
Remove those (see PO)
Remove Osaka completly
Stay either all the time in Kyoto or add some other location. No idea what you want to do in Toyosato but Shiga is a good place to spend a few days. Eg Omi Hachiman or Hikone could be a good basis for a few days.
Alternatively you could stay a few days in Yamato Yagi/Asuka/Sakurai area. And do toyosato from Kyoto.

If you want to really go to non touristy places maybe have a look at my blog for Nara and Shiga (and Kyoto). Not all places I go to are reasonably reachable by public transport but a lot are.

http://bicycletraveljapan.blogspot.com/search/label/Shiga?m=1
http://bicycletraveljapan.blogspot.com/search/label/Nara?m=1
http://bicycletraveljapan.blogspot.com/search/label/Kyoto?m=1

Toyosato in kyoto.......
No, this city Located in shiga prefecture.you can buy ohmi railway 1 day pass = 900 yen

Youfre a first-time visitor, so it is only natural to want to go to famous places. Okay, so pick a few. But I agree that you have way too many on your list. And they are not well organized in terms of transit. (I would say definitely go to Arashiyama, but only once.)

You donft need to go to places that are really and truly off the beaten track. Some of my favorite places in Kyoto arenft on any lists at all, but most of them are by no means unknown (at least to Japanese natives). They are just not on any top-ten lists. Maybe they would be near the middle or bottom of a top-twenty list or something. But this does NOT mean they are not as good as the more famous places. They are actually a lot betterc Anyway, nearly all of the tourists go to the insanely overtouristed places (a fair number of which you have managed to identify), so if you just avoid those and pick some other spots instead you will probably get what you are looking for.

The following link is an example of what I mean. Personally, I donft think the places on the list are really off the beaten path, but they are somewhat less famous. And well organized for a day in Higashiyama. Nice places to visit where you can have good experience of Kyoto. Just donft try to go to too many temples in one day.
https://www.insidekyoto.com/kyoto-off-the-beaten-track-itineraries

Another tip would be to go to a tourist information center soon after you get there. If you are lucky, you will hit the jackpot and get an agent who will give you great personalized recommendations. I think that tourists often avoid going to tourist information centers because they can sometimes be a waste of time, but usually they will at least give you some useful information about transit or something. Some of my favorite places in Kansai were ones I learned about at a TIC. My favorite one is the Kansai TIC in the Kyoto Tower Building (not the one in Kyoto Station, although I have nothing against that place). Tourist information centers are naturally geared towards directing tourists to the most famous places, because thatfs what most people want (sigh), but if for example you tell them you are looking for suggestions of less-crowded, serene spots with nice nature (or something) that are fairly easy to get to, you will likely fare a lot better than if you rely on information from whatever sources you used to come up with your first-draft itinerary.

A few more suggestions:

I wouldnft necessarily skip Osaka altogether, but probably wouldnft stay there at both the beginning and end of the trip. And probably one night would be enough. (You should definitely go to Dotonbori, if you want to see a crazily overtouristed, insanely overcrowded place with generally mediocre food and inflated prices. It is iconic and I have to admit it has a strong character. I can understand why a lot of people find it appealing.) Note that you can efficiently get from Kyoto to Kansai International Airport using the Haruka unless you have a really early departure or something.

In Osaka, Ifm afraid that I found Minoo Koen to be underwhelming, and it takes time to get there. (I think that a much better nature hike would be Kurama, when you are in Kyoto. It also takes a little time to get to, but can be combined with some nice temples on the same train line.) And Amemura seems like a totally weird place to go unless you have some particular reason. I believe that the best observation platform in Osaka is at Abeno Harukas but it is admittedly quite a bit more expensive than the Sky Building. If you are at a loss looking for other things to do in Osaka, the aquarium is really quite good. One of my favorite places for seeing flowers and other plants in Osaka is Sakuya Konohana Kan, which is certainly off the beaten path but not hard to get to by subway. Hardly anyone goes there (so it will not be overcrowded), but I love the greenhouses, and sometimes they have nice plant exhibitions in the events pavilion. It is not really distinctively gJapanese,h but if you like nature it is really good. (Note that the Kyoto Botanical Gardens are also excellent, they have an even bigger greenhouse/conservatory but also lots more outside, and it is one of the easiest places to get to in Kyoto.)

thank you very much for the answer, I already collect all the suggestion and I will fix my itinerary because it's too overwhelmed, once I already fix my itinerary I will post it again later on this forum, thank you

Kurama and Uji are two easily accessible locations near Kyoto, but very much go un-noticed to most people. Good for getting away from the crowds.

I WOULD stay in Osaka, because it has such good and cheap food... I recommend Jinaimachi in Tondabayashi. It's like a mini Kyoto without the tourists, and is easily accessible from Osaka...