Split: Osaka sample vs Kyoto full city
Sleeping Umeda/Namba with one free day: sample Fushimi or Higashiyama here. Three-plus days, one axis each (Higashiyama / Arashiyama / Fushimi / Kinkaku / Ginkaku): sleep in Kyoto or use the Kyoto pack — do not commute five axes from Osaka.
The Fushimi Inari day
JR Nara Line to Inari. The torii is outside the station, about two or three minutes on foot. ICOCA taps. An Osaka Metro day pass does not reach it. How far you climb the senbon torii depends on your legs. Do not add Kiyomizu-dera.
The Higashiyama day
Keihan to Kiyomizu-Gojo, then uphill about 20 minutes. The slope is steep. Ninen-zaka and Sannen-zaka are the same hill. Walk Gion-Shijo in the evening. Do not chase geiko for photos. Openings follow that day's notice.
Kinkaku and Arashiyama belong on the Kyoto pack
Kinkaku is a bus day; Arashiyama is JR or Hankyu — each a full day. Nijo Castle too. Bolting them onto a Fushimi day from Osaka is a day on trains. For those axes, use Kyoto’s 3-day and transit guides.