Japan Rail coverage

Hi all, I am looking to go to Japan later this year and would like to visit a few places - the suggested itinerary on this website looks good, but what I am not sure of is whether the Japan Rail pass covers these locations. Do I need to find alternative modes of transport and how easy is it to get around the country?

Rail pass covers the four main island pretty extensively.
http://www.jrpassonline.com/images/rosen_en-page-001.jpg

Thanks, can the suggested itinerary 14 Day trip of Japan be covered using the Japan Rail or do you need to purchase additional tickets?

Hi!

No, the 14 day itinerary on this website is not fully covered by a Japan Rail Pass.

Days 1-2 Tokyo (if you stick to JR, it is covered, if you want to use subways or visit Odaiba, it's not)
Day 3 Nikko (you can get to Nikko via JR, but transport within Nikko I am pretty sure will be by uncovered buses)
Day 4 Hakone (you can get to Odawara via JR, but you will need to transfer to the Odakyu/Tozan lines and from Hakone Yumoto Station will need to switch to the Tozan line or catch a bus. You can get to the boat by bus or ropeway. Nothing outside the trip to Odawara is covered by JR, most people get one of the Hakone passes.)
Day 5-7 Kyoto (you can get to Kyoto with a rail pass from Odawara Station on a Hikari Shinkansen, but most sights in Kyoto are not accessible via JR lines. A lot depends on what you want to do. Buses go to the most locations but I personally hate Kyoto buses. There are also the Keihan, Hankyuu Keifuku, Eizan, and subway lines, it depends on where you are staying and where you want to go to.
Day 8 Nara (you can get there via JR, but JR Nara station is further than Kintetsu Nara from most tourist sights. There are uncovered buses or you can walk it from JR...)
Day 9 Kyoto to Himeji to Miyajima is all covered by JR Pass, just make sure to take the JR Ferry to Miyajima and use covered shinkansen.
Day 10 Miyajima to Kanazawa is all covered by the JR Pass, see note about the ferry. I am pretty sure the trams and buses in Hiroshima are not covered.
Day 11 I am pretty sure local buses in Kanazawa are not covered, You can walk a lot of Kanazawa though. I did.
Day 12 You must take a bus or rent a car to get from Kanazawa to Shirakawa Go. It is not covered.
Day 13 You must take a bus to Takayama from Shirakawa Go or us a rental car. It is not covered.
Day 14 Takayama to Tokyo ( as long as you don't take the Nozomi between Nagoya and Tokyo, it is all covered.)

Personally, I like moving around a lot, I'm not a slow traveler by any extent, but this itinerary seems exhausting and unless your flight is from Haneda and./or late trying to get from Takayama to Tokyo is awful risky. You're looking at around 303 minutes with good connections leaving at 9:38 am, the next Hida isn't until 11:32 am. You can drop it to 282 by using Kansai Airport in Osaka over Haneda or 190 out of Nagoya CentrAir/Chubu Airport.

The JR passes cover the big rail lines that go between most cities, but will almost never cover travel within the cities themselves. So you will most definitely be buying some cheap city bus passes or subway tickets as you visit each city.

There are some very popular places where you can't get all the way on JR lines, and those will not be covered. For example, Mt. Fuji, Hakone, Shirakawago.

If you are looking at sample itineraries on this site, just click through to the details on the places you want to visit. Japan-guide has very detailed "Access" section for each destination that tells you how to get there, and usually talks about whether a JR pass is usable and a good idea. Here's an example page linked for Nara: https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4107.html

Which suggested itinerary are you asking about?
Actually at least two 14-day inter-regional itineraries are suggested on this Japan Guide website.
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2400_tokyo_12.html
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2400_osaka_12.html

I recommend you select airport(s) before deciding the details of your itinerary.
(It seems, though there is no direct air route, you can fly between London Heathrow (LHR) and Tokyo Haneda (HND), Narita (NRT), Chubu Centrair (NGO), Kansai (KIX) or Fukuoka (FUK) Airports, changing flights at Incheon (ICN) or Beijing Capital (PEK) Airport.)

Do I need to find alternative modes of transport

Some tourist sites are not accessible only by JR lines.
e.g. Asakusa in Tokyo, Hakone | Lake Kawaguchiko near Mount Fuji, Shirakawa-go in Gifu, Mount Koya in Wakayama.

There are some JR are passes which cover specific non-JR railway sections where the nationwide Japan Rail Pass is not valid.

how easy is it to get around the country?

That may depend on your traveling styles, paces, budget and experiences.
Destinations which are served by railway are generally easy to visit, though for some rural areas trains are only infrequently available.

NOT: some JR are passes
BUT: some JR area passes

I would think this would be the 14 day itinerary OP was asking about:

https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2400_best.html

It's the only itinerary on this website under "Suggested Itineraries" that specifically says it is for 14 days. Best of Kanto and Best of Kansai are only 12 each and the Great Transverse is 30.

It's why I specifically ran down the suggestions in terms of what is and is not covered. I personally think the itinerary is too fast paced and I know many posters on this forum would think of me as someone who likes fast paced travel.