Tokyo-Nagoya-Kyoto. Best way to travel?

Hi everyone, me and my husband and our 2 year old daughter will be going to Japan during the end of December for a few days. We will start from Tokyo and go to Kyoto, stop at Nagoya on the way there for half a day and go back to Tokyo 2 days later.
What would be the best way for us to travel? Is there trains other than Shinkansen going to those places? Or if we go by Shinkansen is there some kind of ticket we can get so we can go on and off unlimited within a couple of days?
It will be my second time in Japan and first time for both of them, so we are still very much noobies :)
Thanks in advance for any suggestions :)

Hi,

Shinkansen is the best way to travel as it is both speedy and comfy. Great if you have a youngling with you.

The pass you are looking for is the JR 7 Day Pass. It allows unlimited travel on most JR trains plus free travel on JR buses and ferries. For the line from Tokyo to Kyoto via Nagoya, you can drop off and hop on as often as you like.

The only disbenefit I see is that the train pass does not let you take the quickest shinkansen there is. Still, the slower shinkansens are still pretty fast. The toilets are large enough to accomodate you and your kid. There are vending machines, trash bins, and the occasional trolley lady to make your trip even more special. In a real emergency, just hop off the train at the next station and hop back on again later!

Taking the non-shinkansen lines will take you about 8 hours to get to Kyoto. Surely, not wise.

As mentioned by Joshua, if you are making round trip between Kansai and Kanto within 7 days, then JR 7 days pass would be best for you. A round trip will pay off the pass.

sounds good, we'll get that. Thanks for the info!!