2 weeks in Japan

Beppu is definitely worth the time, but it's way the heck down there. If you're going to spend 3-5 days there, it's worth it. Otherwise, it would be just too tiring going there for a night or two.

There is no way you can upgrade your JR pass to include "Nozomi" trains so don't even think about it. Just make do with the Hikari services, even though sometimes the connections are not so good between Tokaido-line and Sanyo-line.
I would agree with the suggestions: Himeji Castle and Korakuen Gardens in Okayama are both really amazing sights and very convenient to the Shinkansen.
If you were going to Kyushu then Nagasaki is highly recommended. Just a 2-hr train ride beyond the Shinkansen terminus at Hakata. Beautiful city with heaps of history including the time when the Dutch traders were the only link with the outside world. I stayed there 2 full days. Definitely one of my favourite places in Japan.
Also, catch the train from Okayama across the Seto-Ohashi bridge across the Inland Sea: you could go to Takamatsu and see the lovely "Ritsurinkoen" garden, or Matsuyama with the famous Dogo Onsen bathhouse.

By the way, I always found the Post Office Bank's ATMs the most reliable for accepting my foreign card.

Thank you to everyone who posted. I love this forum! I only have two more questions.
1. We would like to go from Tokyo to our Koyasan temple. We would like to get to the temple around 2:00. The JR schedule says it's doable, but I think we have to buy tickets in Osaka to ride the Nankai Line. Is that going to be confusing and time consuming for first-timers?
2. Can Takamatsu be a day trip from Kyoto?

Thanks again!

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<hr>Can Takamatsu be a day trip from Kyoto?<hr></blockquote>

Unless you have a HUGE interest in crossing the bridge to Shikoku, I would pass on Takamatsu. Ritsurin Koen is nice, but there are other beautiful gardens in Japan. There are plenty of good places to go closer to Kyoto - Ohara, Katsura Rikyu, even Arashiyama/Tenruyji temple & garden/bamboo forest if you weren't already planning on including that in your itinerary.

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<hr>Japan is the best place in the world for umbrella selection!!!<hr></blockquote>

I had a rainy day in Hiroshima, bad enough so that I decided I needed an umbrella even though I hate them. I go into the nearest convenience store and basically they have these huge clear ones or compact ones for twice the price. I decide since I'm buying the damn thing I might as well buy the small one so at least I can throw it in my small suitcase I'm travelling around Japan with. By the end of the day on my way back to the hotel, the stupid piece of junk already breaks. To top it off, I see as I return to the hotel they're lending out the big clear ones to guests free of charge.

I HATE umbrellas...

Go to a department store for the umbrellas - of course you're<BR>not going to get a huge selection in a convenience store....

Most hotels will lend you umbrellas. My cheapie hotel in Kyoto lent us umbrellas just last week when it rained. Or you could opt of bringing your own little folding umbrella with you from home. I hate having to buy umbrellas (and never use them unless it it really pouring out!) as I have about 50 at home!!!

A) I would've been soaked by the time I got to a dept store

B) I don't want a big umbrella that's annoying to carry around

C) The compact ones break too easily

D) Good dept store umbrellas cost more, which means I'll lose/forget them somewhere that much faster

But yes, I get your general point, I still HATE the things...