Japan 21 days itinerary - JRP worth it?

Hi!

We already did some research with the JRP pass calculator tool and the Hyperdia website but we still do not have enough clarity on what would be the best approach for our trips between cities.

If you were following the same itinerary how would you organise your transportation? Would you purchase a JRP for 7 days? Would you purchase a JRP for 14 days? Would you rely on buying individual tickets on site?

Narita Airport - Tokyo
Tokyo - Hakone
Hakone - Takayama
Takayama - Shirakawago
Shirakawago - Kanazawa
Kanazawa - Kyoto
Kyoto - Osaka
Osaka - Kansai Airport
(Seoul)
Narita Airport - Tokyo
Tokyo - Narita Airport

Any ideas or recommendation would be very much appreciated.

Thank you!

The time at each location is missing. No way to determine if passes will pay off without knowing the time spent in each place.

Without knowing which route you are taking, and the non-JR links, you have a simple one way Tokyo to Osaka trip and the 7, 14 or 21 day passes do not provide savings for a one-way trip - usually not even close. I would probably spend 20,000 yen on JR trains for a trip like that, way less than the 29,110 yen of the 7-day pass.

Not worth it.

Basicly one direction from Tokyo to Osaka. And some are non JR services.

Thank you all for your comments and recommendations. I included below the days in which location for further clarifications. After reading your comments we decided not to purchase the JRP.

Narita Airport - Tokyo
* 5 days in Tokyo
Tokyo - Hakone
* 1 day in Hakone
Hakone - Takayama
* 2 days in Takayama
Takayama - Shirakawago
* Pass by Shirakawago on the way to Kanazawa
Shirakawago - Kanazawa
* 2 days in Kanazawa
Kanazawa - Kyoto
* 4 days in Kyoto
Kyoto - Osaka
* 2 days in Osaka
Osaka - Kansai Airport
(Seoul) * 3 days in Seoul
Narita Airport - Tokyo
* 2 more days in Tokyo
Tokyo - Narita Airport

Recommendation:
No pass for Tokyo
Hakone Free pass for Hakone
Nohi Bus to Takayama
Nohi Bus to Kanazawa (via Shirakawago)
Thunderbird train from Kanazawa to Kyoto (pay full fare)
No pass for Kyoto/Osaka. May consider regional pass (Kansai Thru Pass, etc) if you will travel between the two often. Also consider staying at same hotel the whole time. Osaka and Kyoto are only 30 minutes apart. Probably not worth moving luggage and hotels to visit one from the other.

There are several ways to get to from Narita Airport to Tokyo and which one you take will largely depend on where you stay.

You should get a Suica card for use on the subways/bus around Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka and load it with 4000-5000 yen or so. Then you can just tap on and off the subway in cities and pay the cheapest fares without having to plan ahead on each trip at the subway ticket machines.

I just realized for my recommendation above, Nohi bus does not leave from Hakone to Takyama. That bus is from Mt. Fuji. So it is a little more complicated. You will have to either use Hakone free pass back to Shinjuku and then ride the bus from there to Takayama - or, use train from Odawara to Takayama via Nagoya. The train will save about 2 hours and have more frequent schedules, but will cost an extra 6000 yen.

Dear JW
Thank you so much for your recommendations. I really appreciate it.
We will follow your plan!

Dear JW
Do you know if it would be possible to buy / or reserve any of these tickets online in advance?
We are concerned that because of the Golden Week many of these will be fully booked.
Thank you!