JRPass

Hi Nicole,

Where are you heading to in Ise, the Toba area? Accordng to Hyperdia, Toba is about 3h 40m from Tokyo (http://goo.gl/SkBK5). It's certainly a long way, but I do love the area and it is possible. Maybe it'll be nice to get 'on the road' after your days in Tokyo!

The Koyasan trip is at a reasonable pace (so try and set off early!). You may find a 2 night stop here would be good, especially if you're interested in soaking in the way of life properly as you'll get 1 clear day just to absorb things. Of course, it depends on your constitution and the weather... :)

Of the day trips, It's hard to recommend Himeji Castle as it's currently under refurbishment. From this webcam and you can see how much scaffolding obscures the castle. As an alternative, how about Hiroshima/Miyajima, or Takayama?

Lake Biwa is a good choice, but if you fancied going for a relaxing spa day in a nice Onsen (hot spring) town, you could consider going to Kinosaki Onsen. It's around 2.5hrs from Kyoto, but is routinely described as the best in the area. Here's a good forum post with more.

Hope this helps!

M