Don't know if you are getting a Japanrail pass or not. I am not since I am flying in and out of KIX. However, there is a Kansai Area Pass for one, two, three or four days that you can buy in Japan. This is what I plan to use the day I go from Kyoto to Himeji. Note that you cannot take the shinkansen with this pass. However the 2000 yen price of the one day pass will help me to get over that!

Mara in Brooklyn