Osaka Kyoto Tokyo & Sapporo

Hi, need your advise please on the recommended pass to be used for our plan below. will be travelling with my wife and 5 years old daughter

1. Arriving in Osaka and plan to base in Osaka to cover both Osaka and Kyoto (4 Nights)
2. From Kyoto to Tokyo by train or bullet train (5 Nights) - plan to visit Disney for 2 days
3. Tokyo to Sapporo (did a little research - seems like better off taking a domestic flight); plan to see the Hokkaido Ice festival around early Feb 2017.
4. Flying back home via Tokyo

Questions:
1. Do I need JR pass? is it worth given the plan? will my 5 years old daughter need JR Pass?
2. For the domestic flight, I have seen a lot of discount if purchase well in advance. Yet I punched in 5 Feb 2017 but could get any search result. Am I doing this too early? is it the best way to travel since taking train can took up to 7 hours
3. can you recommend a transport card for bus and subway for cities we are visiting?
4. I visited Tokyo before and I bought Suica during my 5 days stay.

Thanks
Jo

1. You can work this out yourself. Look up the train fares on Hyperdia (hyperdia.com/en), add them up yourself, then compare the total cost to the cost of a JR Pass.

2. There's a chance the airlines haven't released their schedules yet.

3. Suica will work in all locations, as well any of the other major IC cards. See here for more info: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2359_003.html

4. Good for you? The card stays valid for ten years without use, so if you still have it you can take it back with you!

1. You don't need one, as the only "long-distance" JR train ride on Shinkansen you are doing is only from Kyoto Tokyo, since you are leaning toward flying Tokyo - Sapporo.

4. Right :) If the card is somehow "deactivated" (or just "dormant"), have it checked at a manned ticket window, and you can use it again :)

http://www.flypeach.com/pc/en/lm/st/schedules/w16_schedule?www_pc_en-u...