End of the year travel issues

Some friends of mine and I are trying to set up a trip to Japan for roughly the last week in December, first week in January. This is primarily because this winter is when one friend will graduate from college, while another, in the army, will be ending his final tour in Iraq. I'm not as constricted on time as they are, but I'd still like to go. I've looked at a number of travel sites, general info sites for Japan, and the like, and have found that very few packages exist for travel during that time. Any recommendations for where to look, or someone to talk to? Is it just plain impossible? We can't really alter the timing of it due to my army buddy likely going back in as an enlisted officer, so this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance that none of us want to squander. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. =)

Do you really need to go with a package? It is possible to make your own arrangements...even if you don't speak English. I have been to Japan twice for a total of 6 weeks,one of those trips at Christmas time and on both occassions we did our own thing rather that a package even though neither of us spoke a word of Japanese. If you get a couple of good guide books like "lonely planet" as well as thoughly researching from this site you can easily get around on your own. Accomodation can be prebooked on the net in Engish and JR Rail Pass makes travelling easy and economical....give it a go you will find it rewarding!! Everywhere we went we found the Japanese people so willing to try to help us out even if they spoke no english.