Need help with trip planing

[gudas1]

Hello,
I need some suggestions on my first visit to Japan. I'll be traveling with my wife in the mid of May. We've never been to Japan, so we need all the tips we can get. However the biggest one is where to go. We'll obviously spend couple days in Tokyo, and then we plan on spending some time in Kyoto, but other than that we don't know where to go. We won't have much time- only 10-12 days. We are very interested in seeing places that are not too "westernized" and getting as much feel of this country as possible in a such short time. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
I guess in short I would describe this like that: If you had 10-12 days as your first trip to Japan- how would you plan your route?
Thanks a lot.
Audrius

[godwine]

Hi,

Your best bet is to spend your time in arond Kyoto area... start your trip in the Kansai region, drop by Himeji, Kobe, Osaka, Nara, Kyoto. These destination would last you a good 5 - 7 days already, then travel back to Tokyo, make a stop at Hakone for a day or so, last stop Tokyo for 2-4 days

/G