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Originally Posted by MMM
I am thinking mostly day trips, probably not so far outside of Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe...I should have been more clear....I am thinking not so much nature as museums, interesting sites, unique shops or restaurants, off the beaten path holes-in-the-wall...like Monkey Mountain in Kyoto or the Tezuka Museum..stuff like that.
Your suggestions are great...I like Shirahama beach a lot...but it might be a bit farther than I want to go.
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Ok, the onsen town of Arima is close by (looked up the name now that I'm home from work). And I believe you said you've been to Koya-san already, right? If not, that's definitely 1 place to go.
As for restaurants, I'm afraid all my suggestions are 10 years out of date and may well have closed or moved by now, or maybe under new ownership and not the same as it once was. But if you are passing through Hashimoto, there are a couple of great places right near the train station that are worth visiting: 1 for the best kara'age I had in Japan, and the other for the best (and only) zosui I had in Japan. Have you had zosui? It's a rice stew with meat and veggies. This place specialized in it, serving 24 different kinds, each made fresh to order in an individual iron pot, which they bring to your table. My favorite was the kashiwa zosui, with chicken and veggies, but they have lots of choices.
After lunch, you can go right back to the station and now catch a train heading east, into the Yoshino valley of Nara, to see the cherry trees blooming (if they are right now). Also, lots of interesting little towns to explore, and the area has some ancient burial mounds, as well as museums featuring some of the things discovered in and around them.