Itinerary check and Rail Passes

Hi there,
I'm going to Tokyo from Feb 13-18th and then taking the second week (18th-26th) to check out the Kansai region. Would love some suggestions/advice on my itinerary!

Feb 18: Go from Tokyo to Nara (couch-surfing there for the weekend)

Feb 19: Check out Nara

Feb 20: Kobe for a day trip. Having lunch in the city then going to Arima Onsen and then going back to the harbourfront for evening/late dinner.

Feb 21, 22: Nara to Kyoto and staying for 2 nights. First day: the Golden Pavillion, Kiyomizu Temple, Gion, Fushimi Inari. Second day: renting a bike and going around the city like Nishiki Market

Feb 23: Kyoto to Osaka and staying for one night. Checking out the Osaka Aquarium, Floating Observatory, Osaka Castle possibly, Namba/Dotombori

Feb 24: Osaka to Mount Koya and staying at a ryokan in Koyasan.

Feb 25, 26: head back to Tokyo for the last 2 days. Get subway day passes? Maybe go to Hakone on the 26th?

Feb 27: Leaving from Narita airport.

I'm debating whether to get the JR 7 day pass or the Kansai 5day ThruPass because I know with the ThruPass, I can use the local subways, etc. in the cities but with the JR, it will cover the Tokyo to Nara and Mount Koya to Tokyo bullet train rides...any suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

Because of it's location, you are better doing Nara as a day trip from either Kyoto or Osaka. Again, because of its location, do Kobe as a day trip from Osaka. It might also be better to stay the whole time in Osaka and travel to Kyoto each day.

A 7 day JR Rail Pass would just about start to pay off for thr Tokyo-Osaka roundtrip plus Osaka-Nara and Osaka-Kobe. There isn't a 5 day Kansai Thru Pass, only 2 or 3 day passes. As to whether a Kansai Thru Pass would pay off depends a lot on where you will stay., although I feel it will not be good value based on the places you plan to visit.

Shinkansen trains to not operate to either Nara or Koyasan.

if you leave tokyo on the 18th your JR pass will only be valid until the 24th. not covering your return trip to tokyo on the 25th and therefore not paying off.

You really need to arrange your schedule so that you leave and return to tokyo within the 7 days.