Is JR pass necessary?

Hey guys, my friends and I are having a short trip to Japan for four days. During our stay we are thinking of spending two days one night in Osaka mainly just to go universal studios. Will the JR pass be worth it? Our travel agent really insists on getting one, but we don't want to spend $300+ for a 7 day pass. Does anyone have any good ideas of travelling to and from Tokyo and Osaka? Mainly cost effective as we are just students.
Thanks in advance for any replies :)

You can use
http://www.hyperdia.com/
to check actual ticket costs on what days of the week. (Tokyo to Osaka is around $90 one-way)

I usually use
http://www.aoimirai.net/japan/jrpass_calculator.html#result
to help make a judgement on what pass might be worth getting. Everyone usually says that getting a JR pass also helps because it is convenient. You don't have to worry about buying the right tickets and working through the language barrier.

My personal opinion:
I don't think you need it if you're only going to Osaka. Those are two of the biggest cities in Japan and even though it might be a little tough I'm sure someone will be able to help you out.

You travel agent is an idiot.

I don't know what currency you are using. But a 7 day rail pass costs 29,XXX yen. A full price reserved shinkansen seat costs 14,XXX yen, Osaka to Tokyo.

Are you returning to Osaka after Tokyo? If not, then just fly using a low cost carrier like Peach. Or buy a shinkansen ticket separately.

You have only four days total in Japan, and are thinking of spending two of it in Universal Studios? To me that sounds like a waste... what else are you going to see in Japan?

That question aside, if you want to go from Tokyo to Osaka, you can take a night bus (that saves you accommodation cost), or buy a single ticket on JR Shinkansen, which costs around yen 14,000 or so one way.

But if you are doing a "round trip" between Tokyo and Osaka and want to use JR Shinkansen trains, then actually the 7-day Japan Rail Pass almost pays off, particularly if you are flying in/out of Narita (so that you can use JR Narita Express at no extra cost too).

But for four days' trip to Japan? I don't know where else in Japan you've been to, but I would just focus on Tokyo.

Thank guys! I live in Australia and to purchase a JR pass costs $368. We were so close to actually getting a JR pass because our travel agent made it seem we couldn't travel without one.

We are spending three days in Tokyo then flying to South Korea and then back to Japan to visit Osaka.

So you fly: your city in Australia - Tokyo (Narita? Haneda?) - South Korea - Tokyo (Narita? Haneda?), then you want to take a train to Osaka? Where are you flying out of Japan after visiting Osaka?

So I'm flying from Sydney to Tokyo Haneda (3 days), Tokyo Narita to South Korea (8 days), South Korea to Tokyo Narita (4 days), Tokyo Haneda back home. Yeah, we were looking to take the train to Osaka.

If you're doing a round trip from Tokyo to Osaka, then it pretty much breaks even. The reason your travel agent is recommending it is because with the pass you don't have to worry about getting tickets when you're there, it's much more hassle free to use the pass. Also, it would cover any other JR trips you might taken, for example on the Yamanote Line in Tokyo, or if you wanted to hop over to Kyoto from Osaka for a day. It would also cover the trains from the airport to central Tokyo and back.

So it is probably worth getting it for your second stint in Japan.

If you truly must spend your time in Japan at an American theme park, then get your travel agent to arrange your flight to KIX rather than Narita. It's a complete waste of time and money to do the return trip between Tokyo and Osaka. With so little time in Tokyo I would agree with an earlier poster who said you should stay there instead. There are several theme parks and small amusement parks available too..... Fujikyu Highland, Yomiuriland, Hakkeijima Sea Paradise, Cosmoworld, Disneyland, Disneysea, Hanayashiki, and don't forget the Thunder Dolphin (a rollercoaster in the heart of Tokyo).

Sal, this person is from Australia, where there is nothing like Disney or Universal. For people not from North America or Europe, the parks in Japan and China are often the easiest and cheapest to go to, so it isn't a strange thing to go to Japan for the likes of Disney or Universal.

Yeah thanks, I'm Australian too. As I said, I don't think it's a good use of time and money to go to USJ as per that proposes itinerary. If you read what I wrote I suggested theme parks in the Tokyo area, including the Disney ones.

*proposed itinerary (auto-correct got me)