I'm planning to visit both Tokyo and Kyoto for vacation in late August. From what I've read, I assume that it would be best for me to fly into Tokyo and to then take the train Tokyo to Kyoto...

This leads me to two questions:
(1) Would I get a better deal buying the train ticket while still in USA?
(2) Are there different trains that go Tokyo-Kyoto? If so, would I be sacrificing a good experience by going for the cheapest train ticket?

Thanks, and this is actually my first post to this FlyerTalk!!!