I suggest not trying to see it all because there is just too much to see. You'll end up spreading yourself so thin you wont be able to truly enjoy any of it. Find a couple things that interest you and check them out, spend some time just walking around and enjoying the people. Especially if you enjoy photography, you're going to need to spend some time in an area to really "see" it.
That said, avoid group tours. Japan is an EXTREMELY fast paced country and they push push push. I went on one group tour and the only reason I remember it is because I was rock and rolling my camera everywhere and had enough shots to get a sense of the place after. We saw a lot of stuff, but I didn't enjoy any of it. Or you might be able to use the whirlwind action to see everything fast in one day, then decide what you want to go back and explore later.
Also be aware that the trains are massively crowded at "rush hour" think "sardines in a can" packed. if you're not used to that already, you're going to be pretty uncomfortable.
My first time to Japan, I had someone meet me in the airport to help me get to my hotel. We got to the train and it was rush hour. I had just flown 30 hours, was dragging two big bags and my carry on backpack and I live in rural Canada. I looked at the dude and said "we'll wait for the next one" then the next one and next one and next one.... eventually I had to brave it and get on, it was already 9pm and it wasn't getting any better. That poor man probably had better things to do than wait around with me, but that was probably the biggest culture shock for me at the time (was my first time in Asia) So be prepared for that. During the day the trains were a ghost town though, you could easily get a whole car for yourself.
As for photo gear, take the 7D and 40D (you'll only need one, but hate life if it gets lost/stolen/broken and you didn't bring a backup) Take the 10--->50 sigmas and the 70-200 (but i don't think you'll use it much) Japan is all about people, culture and architecture. All things you want to shoot from close up. There are a few things you might want to shoot that you can't get close to, so having the 200 is a good idea, but like the 40d, it'll probably stay at the hotel a lot. As for a tripod... Thats a tough call. If you plan on getting up early for the pre dawn light, you're going to need it. But if you plan on shooting through the day, and not getting up too early then it's a waste of weight and more trouble than its worth carrying. Metro Japan is also extremely populous, so standing around with a tripod and not having 20 people trying to flow around you and get into your shot is going to be tough too. Its better in the pre dawn light though, so again, if you plan on shooting at that time, it'll be wise to carry. The monopod is a complete waste of time. The only thing a monopod is good for is putting a 400+ lens on, when you plan on shooting for a couple hours. The quality of ISO these days is so good that if the situation doesn't call for a tripod, you can simply hand hold it. 400+ lenses are heavy, so the monopod is good for taking the weight and thats about it.
I can see your 10-20 being on your camera quite a bit.
Canon camera, Canon lenses.
