Kathie, a week in Kyoto is an excellent idea. Have you considered when you might travel next year?

micjor, I agree that an overnight stay with two full days in Kyoto is an excellent idea.

Mr.W., we're thinking about April.

http://www.pref.kyoto.jp/visitkyoto/en/
http://www.immortalgeisha.com/mo_1961.php
http://community.webshots.com/album/12818657iAkHLIfYRc

Thanks, great links!

Katie:

One could spend more than a week in Kyoto! However, you might consider seeing a couple of other cities that are nearby, maybe Nagoya and/or Osaka.

I will be returning to Japan again this September for 3 months. I have been traveling to Japan once a year for the past 3 or 4. Nonetheless, the Shinkansen is my prefered method of travel, a helpful site would be:

http://www.jreast.co.jp/e

Also, as mrwunrfl mentioned already, a JR Pass can be a real money saver!

Enjoy,
RS

Thanks, RS. I'm the kind of traveler who likes to stay put for a while. This is just a first trip to Japan, no doubt there will be many more. I get to Asia at least yearly, and sometimes twice a year. While our initial plan is to spend the whole time in Kyoto, we will investigate options of going somewhere for perhaps two days. But we want to make sure we have lots of time in Kyoto this trip.

micjor,

I know that others who have already responded to you have much more knowledge and experience, but I thought I would just throw in my two cents.

I'm sitting in Osaka right now after leaving Kyoto earlier this evening. We spent 4 days in Tokyo and then 5 days in Kyoto. We have 1.5 days in Osaka and then return to Tokyo for 1 more day before leaving for home. Since you're planning to come in August, I will just give you the same warning that others gave me. It's HOT and MUGGY!!! We were able to keep (more or less) to our itinerary in Tokyo, but had to really scale back once we got to Kyoto because it was just too hot to move any quicker than at a snail's pace with many short breaks in between. We thought it was hot and muggy in Tokyo until we got to Kyoto and it was much, much worse.

Although I absolutely loved Kyoto and would definitely recommend a visit (5 days and I feel like we just barely scratched the surface), I don't know that spending just two days would be worth it, especially if you'll only be in Japan for 7 days total.

Btw, we stayed at the Conrad in Tokyo and really liked it. The view of Hama Rikyu and the bay is beautiful and the rooms are...WOW! We used the Shinbashi station to go just about everywhere and it was very easy to walk to, but rather confusing once you got there. Again, after 4 days, we were just getting it all figured out where we didn't get lost each time.

Whatever you decide, I'm sure you'll have a great trip.

Judy

Thank you all...great info