Limousine Bus to Nara from KIX, Osaka

Will be arriving KIX early morning April 25th,2012 & heading straight to Nara. Thinking of taking the Airport Limousine bus 2000ea (bcoz hoping to get more of a view with a bus ride ..anyone taken the bus before...is it worth the view or shud i just take the train ?

In Nara, i'll get the Nara Kotsu 1-Day Bus Pass.

Next day will head out in the late afternoon to Kyoto for 6 nites, and thereafter Osaka for 2 nites.

I would like to know, wats the best train/subway pass i shud get...for travelling Nara-Kyoto-Osaka? I will be travelling with my mom, so i just wanna make the journey less hectic for her.

Thanks

is it worth the view or shud i just take the train ?

I haven't taken it before, but generally speaking, I would expect the views from the train to be better. The trains often are on elevated tracks and have views of the city and landscape, while the bus is driving along expressways with noise protecting walls that rob you of any views.

I would like to know, wats the best train/subway pass i shud get...for travelling Nara-Kyoto-Osaka?

I recommend to use Icoca and/or Surutto Kansai prepaid cards and plan your days geographically wise, i.e. in a way that you can walk a lot between the sights and reduce the time you take trains or buses. If you do that single tickets (i.e. prepaid cards) almost always come cheaper than the day passes.

Nevertheless, on busy days you could consider using one of the day passes available in the various cities.

Day passes in Kyoto (scroll down):
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2363.html

Day passes in Osaka (scroll down):
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4006.html

Thanks very much Uji for your recommendation, i really appreciate it.
The time that i'm there will be the Golden Week so am guessing traffic will be crazy therefore i've got to plan it the best i can.

Thanks again.

Hi

I've taken the airport bus from Kansai to Kyoto. There wasn't much of a view. As Uji mentioned, the route was mostly on highways. I was actually tired out by red eye flight. Nothing to see. I didn't choose train cos I think bus was more convenient for us. (For trains, you pretty much have to handle the luggage yourself...worry about getting in and out of the train stations etc. Lift hunting can be time-consuming!)

Oh, if you want to travel without your luggage, you may wish to forward them to your lodging from the airport.

For Kyoto Nara travel...train is easy.

For Kyoto Osaka travel...shinkansen is fastest but costly. You'll need to plan your travel in Osaka before hand. We usually stay around the Namba area which is a distance away from the transportation hub in Umeda area. We got really lost trying to get back to Kyoto from Namba last March :P (We usually stay in Osaka and daytrip to Kyoto but did the reverse on our last trip :p)

Hope this helps. Enjoy your trip!

hi bedebe, thanks for your insight. Yea i wantd to take the bus initially bcoz since i'll be travelling with my mom who is elderly i thot instead of lugging both luggages, to just conveniently load it onto the bus upon arrival and enjoy the ride hoping the view wud be great :). But the train shud be fun :) it's all good, am really looking forward to my Kyoto trip.

Thanks again ya.