I plan to make this same trip from Tokyo to Kyoto next month. We'll be arriving after spending two weeks in China.
As we'll be doing some other travel around Japan, we will likely go with the JapanRail pass.
A few of questions...
Is reserved seating necessary? I've ridden trains around Europe never encountered a full car. Of course, Japan is a different animal.
How much better are the green cars vs the standard ones? To give you an idea of what my preferences are, I've ridden the TGV in both 1st and 2nd class and don't really think that there's much point in 1st class. I'm petite, so a bigger seat doesn't do a lot for me. Are there other amenities besides bigger seats that make green cars worthwhile?
I hear the limobus can take forever to get you to your hotel. We're flying into Narita and staying at the Westin in Tokyo. Since we'll have the pass, I'm guessing the best/most efficient option would be to take the Narita Express in to Tokyo, and from there take a taxi to our hotel. I'm not sure we'll be up for navigating the subways with luggage immediately after arriving.
Any advice would be much appreciated!