[andydob27]

My sister and her husband are coming to Japan this summer for 15 days. 15 days!! And most of them will be spent on the road. And this will be right after I come back from a 9 day diving trip in Bali. I'm just a poor junior high teacher, so 15 days traveling around Japan is going to hurt my bank account.

Sightseeing and accomodation are pretty much taken care of. But I am looking for cool places to eat and have some beers at in Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto and Nagoya. This will be my first time to Kobe and Nagoya, so I know less than nothing. I've been to Osaka and Kyoto a couple times, but never really fell into memorable restaurants. This is their first and probably only trip to Japan, so I'd like to make it special.

So I'm looking for good/not crazy expensive [b]Kaiten-Sushi[b] in these cities.
And great Ramen, Yakitori, Soba/Tempura, Yakiniku places too. Basically, any really good/cool/memorable restaurant in any of these cities that is not crazy expensive; I would love to hear about.

And cool places to drink would be nice too. No night clubs, or Irish pubs or Izakayas where they would put us in a little box and shut off the rest of the world (I hate those places). Nomihodai/tabehodai deals are appreciated. Japanese is not a problem.

Thank you to anyone who lives in Kansai/travels to Kansai; who can offer up any places/advice. I really appreciate it.

Andy