JRPass

Hi Geoff!

From Kyoto, have you considered going along the coast to Toba? It's home to the Mikimoto pearl empire, and there is a museum and so on to have a browse around , you can also pick up some pretty good discounted pearls! There's a good article here to give you a bit more inspiration, but it seems like soaking in the sleepy seaside atmosphere is considered the best thing to do :)