Public transportation in Kanto

Hello,
I am slowly planning a Japan trip for next year, and I plan to be over there for a month. I've been reading and reading about the different types of passes for public transportation and I am still unsure of what I should go for.

We intend to stay around the Kanto region and visit a couple of cities during our stay, so we won't really be going out of the Kanto region at all for this time around. I read about JR passes and Suica passes and I really can't get a definitive answer as to which one is the best to get. We will probably be on some kind of budget, so I don't want to pay for a JR pass if I can get around in a cheaper way. I am also a bit unsure if both the JR pass and the Suica card let me travel all of the Kanto region or if some cities need a specific card or pass inside of it.

Thank you in advance, the train system is so confusing in Japan!

If you're unsure whether any pass makes sense for you, don't buy one and just use an IC card. It will be valid on all trains, but perhaps not on city buses in smaller cities. In that case, use cash.

What do you mean by Kanto region? Just Tokyo? Or what side trips?

Generally you need to be taking some longer bullet train trips for the full JR pass to pay off. But there are some cheaper regional ones that may make sense depending on where you are going.

The Kanto is the big flat rolling plain that holds Tokyo, Yokohama, Chiba, and a myriad of other cities that all seem to combine into one huge urbanization of 43,000,000 people. It stretches between mountains to the west and the Pacific to the east. There's a bit of farmland mixed in, but it's mainly urban with the buildings getting taller the closer you get to the center.

A JR Pass isn't worth it unless you're going long distances. Just get something like a Suica that will let you ride the trains and subways. It is mainly a convenience as you don't have to figure out your fares until the pass runs low and you just refill it again at a machine next to all the ticket machines. It's now good pretty much all over Japan except on long distance travel.
http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/pass/suica.html

Just treat the card the same as you would money.

Now you don't get a customized answer for your particlular trip,
because it is not clear which places you would visit or where you would stay overnight.

When in the year will you travel in Japan?

we won't really be going out of the Kanto region at all for this time around.

You will have one month, which sounds enough to visit also some places outside the Kanto Region.

Maybe you donft know precisely where the Kanto Region is.
The Kanto Region is divided into the parts of Tokyo Metropolis and six other prefectures,
which are Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Ibaraki, Tochigi and Gunma Prefectures.

The following places are in the Koshinfetsu or Tokai subregion of the Chubu Region.
: Areas around the Fuji Five Lakes (in Yamanashi Prefecture).
: Karuizawa (in Nagano Prefecture).
: Gala Yuzawa skiing and hot spring resort (in Niigata Prefecture).
: Ito and Atami hot spring resorts (in the Izu part of Shizuoka Prefecture).

You will travel next year,
and a transportation pass may be renewed;
it sounds better to check the official information again
when your trips are in several weeks.

I read about JR passes and Suica passes

A Suica card is not a pass to let you travel freely back and forth.

Suica is a major brand of a prepaid card with a tiny IC tip to store e-money,
which can save your time and effort to handle cash and paper tickets.
Basically you are not given a discount on fees for traveling with an IC card,
so it is not a method to save your cost.

A railway station or bus stop which is close to your destination
may be inside or outisde the usage area of IC cards or a specific pass.
Also, some sightseeing spots are not accessible easily by railway or bus.

JR TOKYO Wide Pass, which is issued by JR-East,
may be suitable for certain trips.
This pass is good for 3 consecutive days.
This pass can be useful
to travel in a few different directions of Tokyo to some places (#)
in the Kanto Region
or in Shizuoka, Yamanashi, Nagano or Niigata Prefecture in the Chubu Region.
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2361_06.html
https://www.jreast.co.jp/e/tokyowidepass/index.html

Please note that a JR-East pass is not valid on the Tokaido Shinkansen,
which is operated not by JR-East but by JR-Central.

JR TOKYO Wide Pass,
while it is not valid on the Tokaido Shinkansen section between Tokyo and Odawara,  
covers JR-Izukyu direct Limited Express train rides via Odawara between Tokyo and Izukyu-Shimoda.

(#)
e.g.
Nikko in Tochigi Prefecure,
Ito and Atami in the Izu part of Shizuoka Prefecture,
Lake Kawaguchi(ko) (among the Fuji Five Lakes) in Yamanashi Prefecture,
Karuizawa in Nagano Prefecure,
Echigo-Yuzawa in Niigata Prefecture.

Nikko is served by both JR-East and Tobu Railway.

JR TOKYO Wide Pass,
while it is not valid on Tobu Nikko Bus lines,
covers JR-Tobu direct Limited Express train rides for Nikko.

Tobu Railway offers some passes for Nikko visitors.
Tobu Nikko pass,
while it is not valid on JR railway lines,
covers Tobu train rides for Nikko
and Tobu Nikko Bus rides in the designated area.
It does not fully cover surcharges
for Tobu Ltd. Exp. service between Tokyo and Nikko,
but a holder of a foreign-visitor-only Tobu Nikko pass
is given a 20-percent discount.
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2358_002.html
http://www.tobu.co.jp/foreign/en/pass/

Let me rewrite gbetween Tokyo and Nikkoh as gconnecting Tokyo and Nikko Cityh
(because the former may be considered as showing a section between the stations of these names).

Tobu Railwayhs main terminal in Tokyo is Asakusa Station,
which is in a walking distance of subway Asakusa Stations.

Tobu Nikko pass for both Japanese and foreign passengers
can be used from another Tobu station in Tokyo than Asakusa,
such as Kita-senju Station.

JR-Tobu direct Limited Express trains for Nikko,
which JR TOKYO Wide Pass lets you take,
start from Shinjuku Station
and make stops at Ikebukuro Station.

Sorry if this doesn't seem too precise, we are not looking for a very precise trip to begin with and will be walking around a lot, I just wanted to know what I just get between a JR pass and a Suica card if I was going to stay around or close to Tokyo.

I know 1 month is more than enough to visit other places, but we have somewhat of a budget and we plan to go again soon so we decided that staying around Tokyo would be very interesting too for our interests and such. Since many other cities of the kanto regions seem to have many interesting things to visit, we wanted to make sure our transportation wouldn't be over expensive.

Hence why I was wondering if it was better to get a JR pass for kanto, or if a suica card would end up cheaper in the end.

Sorry if this isn't the most precise question, we are going there in a year so I know things are subject to change, I just wanted to get a good idea of the price I should be saving for transportation! Thank you very much for your replies.

If you're just staying around Tokyo, a JR Pass is not going to pay off.
I wish that sentence could be pinned to the top of the forum.

Depending on your destinations and timeline,
JR Tokunai Pass or Tokyo Subway Ticket may be a good deal.

- JR Tokunai Pass
http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/pass/tokunai_pass.html
: Tokunai = inside the Tokyo 23 special cities [ward cities].

- Tokyo Subway Ticket
https://www.kotsu.metro.tokyo.jp/eng/tickets/value.html
https://www.tokyometro.jp/en/ticket/travel/index.html
- Tokyo Subway Route Map
https://www.tokyometro.jp/en/subwaymap/index.html
: Some lines lead to stations outside Tokyo Metropolis.

I know JR Pass is often misunderstood as the one-pass-for-all solution. There are even misconception that if staying 2 weeks at Tokyo-Kyoto means getting 2 weeks JR Pass.

The rule of thumb is to see if your actual trip exceeds the price of the pass. What's the purpose in paying for 20k yen pass if your actual trip fare is only 10k yen. For this, you need to know where you want to go and do some homework to estimate the cost. Japan Guide articles include prices of the transportation, and you can use Hyperdia to check the price. There is no one-size-fits-all and the forum can't give magical solution.

As a start, for Kanto, you may want to either consider using Suica or individual ticket, JR Tokyo Wide Area pass, or JR East Pass. Tokyo Wide Area pass has been explained well by omotenashi above. It covers popular areas and some non-JR lines to the area, so it might be beneficial. However, if you are travelling across cities in the span more than Tokyo Wide Area pass' coverage, consider JR East Pass Nagano-Niigata which can be used for any 5 days within 14 days validity.

Youfll just want a Suica card with like 10000 yen loaded for all your local subway and train. That should cover getting around Tokyo, etc. if you take side trips, look into special passes, like hakone free pass, Tobu nikko pass, etc.

Jr pass doesnft cover about 90% of local train and subway, so itfs not worth it for Tokyo only.