JR 21 day pass?

We are a party of 6 (5 adults, 1 child) travelling for 28 days in Japan. We are going to follow the suggested 21 day intinerary listened here on this site. My question : will the JR 21 day pass pay off? & will I STILL NEED to purchase additional tickets... Worried it will be frightfully expensive..

Travel plans as:
Narita - Kyoto ( 5days)
Kyoto - Koyasan
Koyasan - Osaka
Osaka - Hiroshima
Hiroshima- Miyajima
Miyajima - Nagasaki
Nagasaki - Beppu
Beppu - Fukuoka
Fukuoka - Himeji
Himeji - Nagoya
Nagoya - Kanazwai
Kanazwai - Tokyo - (5 days)

Is this all do -able on the JR PASS- I realise that I need to purchase a heritage pass for the the Mount Koyasan section.
Also thinking to not activate the passes until we leave Kyoto for Mount Koyasan, thus will have thre passes available for the Tokyo end of things... My Fuji...

ANY FEEDBACK/advice would be so very helpful.

Feeling a tad overwhelmed with the potential cost+organisation of finding which train to catch where!!
Regards
J.☺️

The JR Pass 21 days would not be worth your money. If you instead get a 14 day pass and finish your travels by then, it would be worth while

Go to www.hyperdia.com and work out your itinerary costs there. If the total costs and the JR Pass costs are equal, the convenience of the pass is worth it.

5 days in Kyoto would be a waste of the JR Pass as you would probably only use it to take the JR bus to some temples in Takao, or the JR Train to points south such as the Inari Shrine, Uji, and Nara.

You'd get a little more use of it in Tokyo, where it can be used to get to Yokohama, Kamakura, Nikko, or just riding the Yamanote and other JR lines around Tokyo, but these costs are minor compared to just Tokyo-Kyoto fares.

It's best to use the JR Pass on long distance Shinkansen travel and you've got some long hauls in there that might make it worth it. You might stay in Tokyo first, going into Tokyo on the Keisei line (cheaper) saving the first long haul to Kyoto from Narita that you have on your itinerary, and start a pass on your Tokyo departure, skipping Kyoto first going down to Nagasaki, and have the pass end when you arrive back in Kyoto. Kyoto and Tokyo without a pass would take 10 days off, leaving 18 days to cover. You would still need to get back to Narita.

Hi Anaguma,

Thanks for the reply,
Just to clarify we arrive into Osaka and train straight to Kyoto.

We travel around Kansai, Honshu,Kyushu.
We end up in Tokyo and DEPART from TOKYO

Will the 14 day pass suit better , we may run short of time...
Regards J😊

What i would recommend is taking the shinkansen from Tokyo to Kanazawa. Then straight to Fukuoka. Spend your time there and finish a 14 day Pass in Kyoto. Take a Shinkansen from Kyoto to Nagoya and then to Tokyo. This is the cheapest. If not you are wasting 5 days of possible train travel at Kyoto. Best still, change your flight and fly in Fukukoka and fly out Tokyo.

Hi Joshua Hugh.

As stated above, travel in and out of Japan is fixed

IN - Osaka, directly onto Kyoto for 5 days Accommodation is booked, must be here first.

OUT - Tokyo.

ABSOLUTLY NOT flexible to change arrival & departure points.

thinking 14 day pass after we arrive back in Osaka after Mount Koya side trip.
Hopping down the Island - Osaka, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Beppu, Fukuoak, Himeji, Nagoya, Takayma,Kanazawa, Tokyo.

this leaves us with 2 days in Tokyo with no prepaid transport?

A little off-topic and I don't mean to be intrusive. It's going to be 28 days in a foreign country. How old is the child? Are you sure he/she is ready for such a taxing travel experience?

The Child is 10 turning 11.
have travelled OS before.
other child is 12 ( thus classed as an adult for COSTS!!!)

If you could time your 2-week JR Pass to get you to Tokyo (midnight of Day 14) on its last day, you could use a subway pass or similar to get around Tokyo. Those passes are listed at the bottom of
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2017.html

To save money getting to Narita for exit, check out the Keisei line from Ueno, as it's a lot cheaper than JR. You don't need to take the Skyliner as other Keisei trains head to Narita.
http://www.keisei.co.jp/keisei/tetudou/skyliner/us/fares/index.html

Cheers Anaguma,

We have done just that, will arrive in Tokyo with the JR active for 2 more days.
Great tip for exit to airport - thanks.
Have slowly got my head around the hyperia website,
Now looking for the best Onsen spot that is within the bounds of the above mentioned travel places!
Jody