Nara: leave from Kintetsu Namba
Kintetsu Namba to Kintetsu-Nara. ICOCA taps local trains; a Metro day pass does not. Walk through the park, about a quarter hour to the Great Buddha Hall. Deer chase crackers — do not feed them paper. Kasuga Taisha is the east end of the park, fine the same day. Kyoto is not.
Kobe: leave from JR Osaka Station
The JR Kobe Line to Kobe Station is Harborland. ICOCA taps; a Metro day pass does not. The day-trip meal: Nankinmachi at Motomachi for lunch — one xiaolongbao or ramen shop, then leave. Kitano's houses are uphill, about 15–20 minutes. Do not pack them into the same hour as Nankinmachi.
Do not chain the cities; Arima is separate
Nara and Kobe leave Osaka in opposite directions. Doing both spends the night on trains. Arima Onsen is the Kobe Electric Railway, a bath day — do not return to Sannomiya to shop. Timetables follow that day's notice.