I travelled with my 18 year son who has always had an interest in Asia and Japan in particular. We stayed in Kyoto, Kinosaki. Miyajima Island, Hiroshima and Tokyo. We also visited Nara and Himeji as well as climbing Mount Fuji to watch surmise. The whole trip was a fantastic experience but the highlights would be climbing Mt Fuji and going up the Skytree inTokyo. Tokyo is huge and could be a bewildering place to first experience Japan. Starting your trip in somewhere smaller such as Kyoto gives a chance to get used to things like the subway without being overwhelmed. Wandering around the back streets in Kyoto or Hiroshima is great fun, discovering tiny restaurants and bars with no real risk of getting lost. We felt ready when we finally arrived in the big one at the end of our trip. The JR pass is a great value way to travel and I would recommend prebooking seats (no extra cost) for any long distance trips. If you are prepared to get up early you can be very ambitious with how far you can travel for a day trip if your on the bullet train.