Day Trips from Osaka?

We have about 4.5 days before we fly out from western Japan, so we decided to base ourselves in Osaka and do day trips. We were thinking of going to Kobe. Does anybody have any other suggestions?

Another alternative is to head to Fukuoka early and do day trips from there. Any suggestions?

Well it would certainly be a shame to visit western Japan and not visit nearby Kyoto! So many beautiful temples in that city...

I based myself in Kyoto when in that part of Japan actually and one thing I recommend is a daytrip to Hiroshima if you're at all interested in the history. I did one and it was definitely worth the trip IMO.

Osaka is well located for day trips. Kyoto of course is right near by. There's a wonderful temple in the hills of Fushimi right near Kyoto. You could go to Nara, lots to see there if you like temples plus the deer park is nice.

We were based in Fushimi so we took lots of day trips around. We went out to Ueno City to see the Ninja museum - that was fun if you like ninjas. Not much English out there when we went in 2007, but who needs words during a ninja demonstration? I enjoyed the secret rooms and compartments too.

Kyoto and Nara would both be logical day trips from Osaka, and well worth your time. I haven't been to Kobe, so I can't comment on that one.

If you choose to go to Fukuoka instead, Dazaifu would be an easy day trip. Hagi is nice, but I'm not sure how accessible it is without a car. Another option would be to take a train from Fukuoka to Kumamoto, about a 2-hour train ride each way.

Dazaifu - http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4850.html
Hagi - http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6150.html
Kumamoto - http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4500.html

Another possibility would be to stop in between, in HIroshima. You can see the Peace Park and maybe visit the island of Miyajima too.

Many thanks for everyone's suggestions. One thing I forgot to mention was that we were in Kyoto when I posted that! Whoops, so sorry. While in Kyoto, we did a day trip to Nara...we knew about the deer but totally did not expect how MANY deer there were.

We decided to come to Osaka for 2 days. We'll stay a night in Hiroshima and then head to Fukuoka to catch our flight. Many thanks again for your helpful tips.

You can do Himeji in 1 day from Osaka easily. It's a nice quaint little place, but is best known for the big castle at the top of the hill. It's one of the best castles in Japan and is definitely worth a visit - one of the few places where the information is also translated into English. The castle itself is just stunning!