Travel Review: Japan Vacation, Tokyo, Kyoto, 9-Day Trip

We had a wonderful trip in Japan, which was well-organized and well thought out.  This was my first time to Japan, and I went with my dad.  We provided details about where we wanted to go, and what we wanted to see (within the budget that we wanted) and everything was tailored to our needs, with good input from the local travel agency.  We had limited time, and we were given very good guidance on what to do and what not to do.  All of the hotels booked and all of the guides were great.  Once we arrived in Japan, our first guide got us our rail passes, and each and every ticket needed for our journey.  So, from there on, it was very easy to simply go from place to place with the itinerary provided.  The itinerary was also very flexible, with some rest time and some activity, which is what we were looking for.  We also didn't need to stick to the itinerary if we did not want to, and we changed things as we went along.  Before the trip, we were provided with very detailed information about the itinerary, as well as an "outline" for the trip, which I used frequently during the trip to check train times etc.. The detailed information also included information about Japan in general, including the culture/etiquette etc... which was very helpful.  I really appreciated that the accommodations were always close to the main rail stations, which made things very easy.