We made a trip to Japan in August 2003.
We bought a 14-day JR Rail Pass ($600 per person) and travelled from Narita Airport to Tokyo and up to the northern coast of Honshu, the main island, and through to Hiroshima and back to Tokyo/Narita along the southern side; taking trains that ranged from the Shinkansen (previously called the bullet train), other fast trains like the Super Asuza and Thunderbird to local trains.

Our journey took us through:
 1. Tokyo
 2. Shin-Yokohama
 3. Kobuchizawa
 4. Toyama
 5. Takayama
 6. Kanazawa
 7. Otsu/Ishiyama
 8. Miyajima (Island)
 9. Hiroshima
10. Kurashiki