About JR Pass (28 day itinerary)

Hey,

I'm planning a 28-day trip to Japan with my friends and we would like to get some help which kind of JR Pass we should purchase. Our travel plan is listed below but we would also like to do some day trips from Tokyo and Osaka.

Day 1 - 5, Tokyo
Day 6 - 7, Nagano
Day 8 - 12, Osaka
Day 13 - 15, Takayama
Day 16 - 20, Kyoto
Day 21 - 28, Tokyo

My first idea was to get a 21-day national JR Pass for ourselves which we could activate on day 6 when we are going to Nagano. It would't be enough for our last days in Tokyo but that should not be a problem because we could do the day trips before that.

I'm wondering if there is any cheaper way to travel? Should we think about JR regional passes like East - or Kansai-pass? How useful JR Pass is for local transportation in cities?

I would really appreciate your feedback. Thank you.

I am not sure why you are going to Takayama between Osaka and Kyoto. It seems odd, unless that's the time for the Takayama festival.

When are you planning to go?

Is there a reason that you are not going from Nagano to Takayama, and THEN going to the Osaka/Kyoto area?

The JR pass can be used in Tokyo, but only on JR trains, and each day that you use the JR pass in Tokyo cost more than buying single regular tickets or a Suica card.

You could easily shorten the stay in Kyoto by 1 day, and in Osaka by 2 days, to make sure you can use a 14days pass

The problem is that we have already booked our accommodations, so we can't change the plans at this point. The reason why we are going to stay at Takayama is indeed the festivals during that time. Are there any better rail pass options for us?

If you booked through places online like booking.com or direct with the hotel, you can always change the details or cancel your reservation, but book your alternative hotel first them cancel existing one, and not before.