Well, I was touring the Kinki Region　近畿 back in July last year. It's a pretty interesting region. As for photography ops, it pretty much depends on what you are interested in.(This post require Japanese fonts
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In Osaka:
If you are into street photography, can try the Umeda　梅田, Namba　難波　, Shinsaibashi　心斎橋　-Dotonbori　道頓堀 areas. At Umeda, you can see the red ferris wheel which is situated on top of the HEP 5 shopping mall (You can't miss it). At Shinsaibashi, there's the American Village　アメリカ村 which is a showcases for American street fashion and hip-hop wear. At the nearby Dotonbori, across from the Dotonbori canal, you can see the famous Glico Man. The Shinsekai　新世界 district is pretty interesting too, the Osaka tower is also there, amidst the myriad shophouses there. The park around Osaka castle is good for those contrasting photos of old and modern.
There are also notable temples in Osaka, but since you are going to Kyoto and Nara, I think you would probably visit like 20-30 temples by the end of your trip.
In Kobe:
I'm not sure of what to look out for in Kobe, but the Bay Area provides a clear view of the Kobe skyline. There's also the Nankin-machi　南京街　　Chinatown nearby. At the Bay area, there are usually lotsa activity during the weekends, like a flea market and some buskers. You can also visit the Harbourland shopping mall there. The architecture of the malls are quite interesting. Notable landmarks of Kobe are the Kobe Port Tower and the Kobe Kakyo Kaiyou Hakubutsu-kan　神戸海洋歴史博物館　. There's a red colour bridge in the harbour which I can't remember what it's called. And talking about bridges, I suggest travelling a bit further west to Awaji Island　淡路　to see the Akashi-Kaikyo Ohashi Bridge　明石海峡大橋　which is the longest suspension bridge in the world. I tell you, the scale of that thing will blow you away.
In Kyoto:
The must-see landmarks of Kyoto are of course Kiyomizu Temple　清水寺　, Kinkakuji Shrine　金閣寺　, Ryoanji　竜安寺　and the Kyoto Imperial Palace. Take note that to visit the interior of the Palace, you need to make an advance booking at least one day before. This is the website for the
Imperial Household Agency.
Other temples which you might like to visit are the Heian Shrine　平安寺　, Fushimi-Inari Shrine　伏見稲荷大社　which is famous for the red torii gateways, Toji　東寺 for the pagoda and the Yasaka-Jinja Shrine　八坂神社.
If you are looking for geishas, look along Hanami-koji　花見小路　 in Gion. You will most likely see them either in the morning (7-9am) or late afternoon. These days, you are more likely to see them because they are busy practising their crafts for the Gion-Matsuri Festival in July. Be nice and ask if you can take their pictures, unless they are in a hurry, they will oblige most of the time. The Kamogawa River　鴨川 is good for some street pictures, just follow along the river. There's also the Path of Philosophy　哲学の道 which is good for sakura watching, but it's a bit late for that now. My recommendation is to just wander off into the alleys if you want to experience the real Kyoto, especially in the Higashi-yama　東山 district. There are many little-known places that are still relatively untouched by tourism.
And now, finally Nara:
Half of the town is actually occupied by Nara Park. In the parks, there are many deers roaming around. They are quite domesticated already, so you can go pretty up close to take pictures. Just watch out for the landmines that are all over the place! At the north end of the park is the Kasuga Taisha Shrine　春日大社　which is famous for the many stone lanterns along the path leading to the temple. From there go northeast to see the Nigatsu-do and Sangatsu-do Halls　二月堂、三月堂 which overlook Todaiji and has a lot of nice passageways to take pictures of. Todaiji　東大寺 houses a large wooden Buddha inside and the parks outside the temple are quite good for taking pictures too. If you've got an extra day in Nara, I would recommend taking a hike along the Yamanobe no michi　山の辺の道 which has a lot of scenic sites and a lot of ancient buildings. I haven't been to the west and south side of Nara before yet, but that's where all the historical and archaelogical sites are.
Notable sights are burial mounds in Asuka　明日香.
Phew... finally finish everything. The key is to plan where you want to go before hand, or else you will never see everything that you wanted to see.
