Tokyo-Osaka-Tokyo: Which Pass?

hi, i arrive at Haneda airport and go to tokyo for 3nights, then i go to Osaka and Nara for 4nights, then i go back to tokyo again for 4nights, which pass should i have?

and if i take plane from haneda to osaka, are that cheaper than use shinkansen?

My suggestions
: Unless you add distant destinations,
you don�ft purchase a Japan Rail Pass for this journey.
: You choose accommodation for which the host will accept cancelation without a charge a few days before the check-in day.
: Before you finalize your application for a domestic flight,
when your Kansai trips draw near within 7 days,
you check weather information by Japan Meteorological Agency.
https://www.jma.go.jp/en/typh/
https://www.jma.go.jp/en/week/319.html
https://www.jma.go.jp/en/week/331.html

When will you travel?

A Japan Rail Pass (7-day), even if it pays off,
would not save greatly your cost.

For you to travel by JR
from Tokyo via Shin-Osaka and Osaka to Nara
then back to Tokyo
within 10 calendar days,
with your seats reserved in Shinkansen Hikari trains,
the regular cost is 27660 to 28460 yen (depending on dates),
after a 10 percent round-trip discount on the basic fares.

A 7-day Ordinary-Class Japan Rail Pass
is sold at 29110 yen,
which is paid in your currency.
You should pay also a handling fee to the sales agency.
Depending on the location of the sales office,
transportation fees are necessary to get your Exchange Order.

(To make a 7-day JRP cover your Tokyo Monorail train ride,
you have to shift your Kansai trips to earlier or later days.)

When you go with JR regular tickets,
you can pay 310 yen more
and take a Shinkansen Nozomi train to or from Kyoto or Shin-Osaka,
which a Japan Rail Pass does not allow you.
(On the Tokyo Shinkansen, compared to Hikari trains,
Nozomi trains are much more frequently available.)

if i take plane from haneda to osaka, are that cheaper than use Shinkansen?

Well,
to foreign visitors,
ANA and JAL now offer big discounts on domestic flight fees;
therefore your cost on Tokyo -- Osaka -- Nara part can be a little lower
compared to when you take a Shinkansen train,
by about 2000 yen, I suppose.

- Discount air tickets
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2364.html

You might have a chance
to fly by Peach Aviation or Jetstar at a low price,
but flights by these two companies connect
Narita Airport (located actually outside Tokyo)
and Kansai Airport.
(Regrading specially low-price flights,
I recommend you check possible limitations.)

- How to travel between Tokyo and Osaka
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4006.html

Anyway,
you had better consider the possibility
for your train | flight canceled because of bad weather conditions.

Due to the typhoon Jebi,
flights scheduled for September 4 between Haneda and Itami
were mostly canceled.
Winds and rainfall by this typhoon
forced Kansai Airport be isolated on the sea.
Strong winds by this typhoon
also affected the Tokaido Shinkansen,
making the operation wholly suspended.

i arrive at Haneda airport and go to Tokyo

You will be already in Tokyo at your arrival.
Haneda Airport is located in Tokyo�fs urban area.

"Tokyo Shinkansen" should be
"Tokaido Shinkansen"
and "Regrading" should be
"Regarding"
in my previous response.

Refer to this page for JR Pass worth-it-or-not article first: https://www.japan-guide.com/railpass/

What above page and some accountant-type person will tell you that you can do cheaper than JR Pass. They may be correct, but they don't tell you the WHOLE story.

The spreadsheet says that a RT tickets between Tokyo and Osaka cost 27880 yen - 1230 yen cheaper than a 7-day JR Pass. But the difference is less than 5%. Plus you can use JR Pass almost everywhere within Tokyo (and also to a less extent in Osaka), so lots of your transportation cost within Tokyo is included in a JR Pass. JR is not the fastest way to travel between Osaka and Nara, but you can. So the side trip to Nara is covered in the JR Pass. On top of that, there is a convenience of not having to buy individual ticket, if you have a JR Pass. And when I have a day pass of any kind, I tend to explore more so I get more out of my trip.

Your trip is longer than 7 days. You can buy a 7-day JR Pass and activate it on the day you go to Osaka (or a few days before that). That way, all your long distance trips will be covered by it. That would be my recommendation.

they don't tell you the WHOLE story.

I suppose a whole story inevitably refers to costs to get an Exchange Order outside Japan (, which I mention in my last response), but they are ignored here.

you can use JR Pass almost everywhere within Tokyo

I don�ft think so.

Among popular sightseeing or leisure spots in Tokyo
whose nearest station you cannot access by using a Japan Rail Pass
are Sensoji Temple (in Asakusa), the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace, Tokyo Tower, Odaiba Marine Park and Tokyo Metropolitan Government Buildings.

there is a convenience of not having to buy individual ticket, if you have a JR Pass.

You experience the same convenience when you use a Suica card to travel in and around Tokyo | Osaka.

Gate machines do not recognize a Japan Rail Pass.
You might have to wait at a manned counter until you show your JRP
while most passengers go quickly through automatic gates.

RT tickets between Tokyo and Osaka

It can be between Tokyo and Nara for your basic fare tickets.

Tokyo -- Osaka -- Nara is long enough for a 10 percent round-trip discount to be applied to the basic fares,
Tokyo -- Osaka is too short,
and the difference in the one-way basic fare is small.
That results in the longer-distance round-trip at a lower cost.

I am no accountant, but I will say you can do it for a lot less. Y21,000 round trip - Japanican eVoucher is one of several discounted tickets.
https://www.japanican.com/en/tour/detail/PAS1J02031MKC/

However, I am not eligible for that (because I live in Japan), but even I can do Tokyo-Kyoto on the Nozomi for Y10,800 one way.

For just a round trip between Tokyo and Osaka area, the best deal is usually a voucher through a tourist agency. For example:
https://www.japanican.com/en/tour/detail/PAS1J02131MKC/

Or you can save a tiny bit more riding the slower train:
http://www.jrtours.co.jp/kodama/en/

Air travel can be just as cheap, but don't forget to factor in luggage fees and airport transfer time and cost.

Going to Nara from Osaka is cheap on one of the several local lines. So just pay regular fare.

Japanican evoucher return is Y23,000 Tokyo to Shin-Osaka.
Smart-Ex advance purchase return Tokyo to Shin-Osaka is Y22,000.

And Osaka to Nara via JR is pretty simple and cheap.

thankyou for your info
i travel to japan on 5th October 2018, and plan to osaka on 8th Oct
i hope and pray japan soon to be better. :)

so, i think better i bought JR Pass for 7 days? coz i think it will be cheaper than u use normal pass?
are JR Pass covered my travel from tokyo-osaka-nara-tokyo?

A Japan Rail Pass is valid
for Tokyo Station -- Osaka Station -- Nara Station -- Tokyo Station.

Please note that the Shinkansen goes not via Osaka Station.
Shin-Osaka Station is the only Shinkansen station in Osaka City.

In Tokyo,
you can choose Tokyo Station or Shinagawa Station on the Tokaido Shinkansen.
Shinagawa Station is much smaller and simpler.

i think it will be cheaper than u use normal pass?

What is "normal pass"?

As JapanCustomTours and Me2 say,
there is a JAPANiCAN package which is cost-saving compared to a 7-day JRP.
https://www.japanican.com/en/tour/detail/PAS1J02131MKC/