AntiNEC

Next year we are going to Okinawa for a few weeks, and I want to do a few days of travel in mainland Japan. I am thinking about sticking to the Kansai region - Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto.

If anyone out there has any suggestions on some things to see there, please let me know. We are looking for:

Restaurants - Japanese food, I'm not going to Japan to eat a cheeseburger
Beer - any good regional beers that you would recommend I try
Historical sights - I love to go to places that have history - that are OLD. I have read about the Osaka castle and the Kyoto imperial palace, that's about all I know.
Hotels - We need to stay somewhere during the night. If you know of a good, somewhat cheap place in this area, preferably close to the trains let me know. Business hotels are fine, not looking for anything fancy.

And of course, anything else that might be fun or interesting.

Remember, we are going around by train so everything has to be close enough so we can get around.

Thanks to everyone who responds!!

***Edit Wednesday December 14***

Well, I found one thing that I definitely want to do in Osaka - there is an Asahi brewery there, with guided tours! I've always wanted to take a tour through a brewery, and since Asahi is my favorite Japanese beer, this sounds like a must see!