7 day JR pass - worth it?

Hi all, by my estimation, the 7 day JR pass will roughly break even for my trip. My gf and I will be staying in Kyoto 9/21-9/24 and Tokyo from 9/24-9/27. We plan to make trips to Himeji, Nara and Osaka as well as use the Narita Express.

Can anyone confirm? Do I have any other options, or am I missing anything?

No. If you read any of the same threads on here or even did the slightest but of research you'd know it's only worthwhile for a return trip between Tokyo and Kyoto. Your side trips aren't far enough.

Mr/Ms ".", I should've put my calculations, so they are below:

Destination, Cost (Yen)

Kyoto - Himeji 5,270
Himeji - Kyoto - Nara 5,980
Nara - Osaka 800
Osaka - Kyoto 560
Kyoto - Osaka 560
Osaka - Kyoto 560
Kyoto - Tokyo 13,600
Tokyo - Narita 2,820

All that adds up to 29,590 using the reserved seating price (since as I understand it, if I buy the JR Pass I'd be able to reserve for free).

-Are these the right fares I should be using?
-If it breaks even, I should buy the JR Pass for the convenience right?
-Are there any other cost saving options?

It depends on what you wanna do around Osaka and Kyoto. The private railways have better access to most tourist destinations, and can come in cheaper than JR railways.

Also other options like the rapid service to Narita cost 1320 yen, which only add 15 minutes to said journey.

If it for ease of use, then get the pass. But if you wish you save a few 1000s of yen, there are other solutions.

Remember that it breaks even using reserved seats, not unreserved (which are cheaper), and that includes travelling to Himeji by shinkansen rather than local train. You could do the travel for less than the cost of the JR Pass if you travelled in unreserved cars and took local trains to Himeji (about 90 minutes).

All that adds up to 29,590 using the reserved seating price (since as I understand it, if I buy the JR Pass I'd be able to reserve for free).

Unless you want to use the reserved seats no matter what, that's not a good way to go about it. You want to compare the amount of money you'd actually spend, and if cost is a concern you would use unreserved seating when not using a pass.

Ask yourself: if using unreserved seats makes it significantly cheaper than buying a pass, would you buy a pass anyway?

Thanks all for the info and advice. Much appreciated. Looks like it's close, but may not be enough to get Jr pass.

What you may want to look at is a Kansai Thru Pass for the first few days, using an IC Pay-as-you-go card, and getting a Puratto Kodama discount ticket from Kyoto to Tokyo. Here are some links:

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2357_005.html
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2359_003.html
http://www.jrtours.co.jp/kodama/en/?scid=jtt_kepEng001

A 2-day Kansai Thru Pass is 4,000 yen, and the Puratto Kodama ticket is 10,100 at low season, and this covers the three high cost travel days. Depending on where you are staying, a shuttle bus, or, taking the Keisei Skyliner may save you money going to Narita Airport. I usually stay near Nippori Station, So I usually take the Limited Express to get there.

Just showing you some more options.

I hope this helps.

Thanks all for the info and advice. Much appreciated. Looks like it's close, but may not be enough to get Jr pass.

Are these the right fares I should be using?

In your simulation, the total of the JR fees should be 30,150 yen, not 29,590 yen.

Note
: A Japan Rail Pass cannot be processed by a gate machine; you have to show your JRP to a JR attendant every time when you pass through a JR ticket gate with that pass.
: A JRP traveler is not allowed to take Shinkansen Mizuho or Nozomi trains.

staying in Kyoto 9/21-9/24 and Tokyo from 9/24-9/27.

When will you fly out from NRT, on September 27 or September 28?

The 22nd of September 2016 will be a public holiday in Japan; some popular tourist spots (e.g. Himeji Castle) may be crowded with visitors on that day.

Are there any other cost saving options?

You can choose overnight highway bus to get from Kyoto City to the urban part of Tokyo; its amenity may not be enough good for a young couple, though.

Depending on where you stay in Tokyo, lower-cost options may be practical for you to get to NRT.

If you visit Himeji on the 23rd and fly out on the 27th, you can pay the JR basic fare for the route Himeji -- Tokyo -- Narita Airport; this basic-fare ticket is good for 5 consecutive days.

Sep. 21 | 22, Kyoto -- Nara, basic fare, 710 yen, 1 day.
Sep. 21 | 22, Nara -- Osaka, basic fare, 800 yen, 1 day.
Sep. 21 | 22, Osaka -- Kyoto, basic fare, 560 yen, 1 day.
Sep. 22 | 21, Kyoto -- Osaka, basic fare, 560 yen, 1 day.
Sep. 22 | 21, Osaka -- Kyoto, basic fare, 560 yen, 1 day.
Sep. 23, Kyoto -- Himeji, basic fare, 2270 yen, 1 day.
Sep. 23, Kyoto -- Himeji, surcharge, 3000 yen, Shinkansen Hikari.
Sep. 23 to 27, Himeji -- Kyoto -- Shinagawa or Tokyo -- Airport Terminal 2 or Narita Airport, basic fare, 10480 yen, 5 days.
Sep. 23, Himeji -- Kyoto, surcharge, 3000 yen, Shinkansen Hikari.
Sep. 24, Kyoto -- Shinagawa or Tokyo, surcharge, 5390 yen, Shinkansen Hikari.
Sep. 27, Shinagawa or Tokyo -- Airport Terminal 2 or Narita Airport, surcharge, 1700 yen, Narita Express.
Total of the JR fees for the above-mentioned routes: 29030 yen.

The 7-day JRP is more expensive compared to other options. There are cheaper trains/options for the trips you are looking at. Some involve a little more time, others just a different routing.

Don't get too caught up on reserved vs unreserved seating. The cost difference is only a few hundred yen per leg and doesn't have a great effect on the calculations unless you are making lots of long distance trips (in which case the pass usually pays off anyway).

However, in your case I would still forgo the pass and just us IC cards for local transport and buy regular tickets between Kyoto and Tokyo. Also not sure if you've considered it, but it looks like you should base yourself in Kyoto and do all the Kansai region stuff as day trips rather than relocating to each city as you go.

I am reviewing the different options people mentioned and also trying to balance cost and time savings. It's more clear now that the JR Pass is not worth it for us, so now we're trying to find out which trains and routes we're comfortable with. To answer @yllwsmrf, we are basing ourselves out of Kyoto for the Kansai part of our trip.

Thank you all! I really appreciate everyone's input. And I'm not sure what happened with my double post after @ebaychucky11. That looks weird.