Must see places for first time Traveler?

Question:

I will be traveling to japan shortly for 3 weeks and from you're personal experience I would like to know places that are a Must see. I will be traveling between Kyoto and Tokyo please consider the distance (Culture, Temples and attractions)

Answer:

Well, you'll probably be flying into Tokyo Narita. You can stay in Tokyo for a while and then move on to other destinations. This will give you a sense of relief for having gotten out of that concrete jungle. You can then enjoy the rest of your trip, coming back to Tokyo only one night so as to catch your flight the next day.

The other option is to land in Narita and then GET OUT. Travel down to Osaka. Osaka has everything Tokyo has. For the most part if you got blindfolded and plunked into one of the cities without knowing which you'd notice a lot the same. Then you would notice that one city seemed to have more character and to feel more Japanese. That is was easier to find things that seemed to be deeply cultural. And the train system was very easy to understand. In the other city, you could find such things but it often required a bit of a hunt. Through lots of concrete. And the trains were owned by different companies, which meant the station you wanted to travel to might not be shown on the map of your departure station because the departure and arrival stations are owned by different private companies.

So you could explore Osaka rather than Tokyo. Shinsaibashi/Namba if you like the nightlife and like to drink. Nipponbashi for all the electronics. Osaka Castle is one of my favorite places and VERY easy to get to. The on to other cities. Kyoto for your fill of shrines and temples. Nara for Deer Park and the Daibutsu, Big Buddha, housed by the largest wooden structure in the world. Take a shinkansen to Hiroshima to visit the Peace Memorial. I think that there is a castle down there to visit also.

Of course the wise thing to do is to buy the JR Rail Pass, (Google it, it's easy to find), because all those bullet train trips can get expensive and the pass covers the bullet trains, (not the fastest ones but the biggest downside to that is the more limited time table for the trains you can ride. Also the buses and one ferry are covered. You would be looking at Tokyo to Osaka, Osaka to Hiroshima, Hiroshima to Osaka, and Osaka to Tokyo. If you can afford it, splurge on the Green Car Pass for larger, more comfortable seats.

I guess this sums up as stay out of Tokyo as much as possible and spend your time in Osaka and the surrounding areas.