JR Pass - Are there other benefits?

I have costed my itinerary on JR Pass calculator and it seems my itinerary is JPY700 less than a 7-day pass, so not worthwhile getting. Are there other benefits though, such as saving time..or being able to reserve seats in advance? For breaking even, I would appreciate something that made life simpler.

My route for the 7-day portion is:
Day 1 - early arrival (flight) Hiroshima, leave luggage at train station, explore Hiroshima, take train to Miyajima late afternoon (Train 1)
Day 2 - explore Miyajima, take train to Hiroshima evening (Train 2)
Day 3 - train to Tadanoumi (Train 3), ferry to Okunoshima
Day 4 - no travel
Day 5 - train to Kurashika (Train 4)
Day 6 - train to Okayama (Train 5)
Day 7 - train to Himeji for daytime break (Train 6), continuing to Hakone (Train 7)
Day 8 - Hakone pass
Day 9 - afternoon travel Tokyo (romancecar? can this be reserved one way only)

Any thoughts welcomed. There is more to our itinerary, but not relevant to JR Pass.

You can also use this pass for 5 days in Okayama and Hiroshima.
https://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/ticket/pass/okayama_hiroshima_yamag....
Romancecar can be reserved on the day. If it's a weekday, it's not so crowded. You can also purchase a one-way ticket.

When you did your calculations, did you include the JR Ferry to Miyajima (that you can travel on with the JR Pass), the seat reservation fees (reserving seats on the Shinkansen is free with a JR Pass) and also local JR lines (such as the JR Sanyo Line between Hiroshima and Miyajimaguchi Station) into your final calculation?

If it was me, I wouldn't stress myself over the \700. I'd consider that as being a minor price to pay for convenience of knowing that I don't have to make multiple train ticket purchases for the shinkansen, worrying that if I did miss my train (due to spending more time than I thought I'd need) I'd have to pay for a new reservation, and also not taking any additional train journeys than what I've already planned.

But, that's your money and decision to make. I just know, that if I were in this position, I wouldn't be concerned about underspending \700 on a JR pass that has given me so much flexibility and convenience.

Haro, Thank you. I had not seen this pass before. I appreciate knowing about it, although I am not sure we are traveling enough to make it worthwhile. Thank you again!

Kari Haruka, Thank you. I agree with you - for some convenience, 700JPY would not be a big deal. I would prefer this. However, since you asked if I had included the ferry, etc. I decided to redo my calculations. I used this website: https://japantravel.navitime.com/en/area/jp/route/ Now, I have written everything down and my sums show that my trains/buses only cost 24,760 JPY vs 29,650 JPY for the pass, which is a more substantial difference. I will need to think carefully!

Something wrong with your calculations. Osaka to Horoshima is 10,000 jpy each way.

Train and ferry to and grom Miyajima. Tokyo to Osaka and Osaka to Odawara would be more than 4000 jpy.

This pass may be better than the pass introduced earlier.
https://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/ticket/pass/all/
There is also this.
https://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/ticket/pass/kansai_hiroshima/
other pass
https://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/ticket/pass/
https://www.bus-kyo.or.jp/tabipass2020

I think the calculations are incorrect.

Tokyo to Osaka 13,000 yen
Osaka to Hiroshima 10,000 yen
Hiroshima to Osaka 10,000 yen
Osaka to Odawarra 10,000 yen

Well over 29,000 for the cost of a seven day pass.

I haven't even included in the costs for the smaller trips you'd to like Miyajima train and ferry etc etc.

Edit. sorry didn't notice the flying into Hiroshima. Ignore my last info/post.

Everything listed in the first four or five days is gsmall travelh to me, And you may be better served with just local tram, or Hiroshima electric railway passes. The mighty JR Pass seems a bit excessive. I recognize Bunny Island, but not Kurashika. is that supposed to be Kurashiki?

If you activate a seven day JR pass on day 5, you could just get the lower cost Hakone pass, and the travel from Odawara to Tokyo on a still active JR Pass. I donft know the balance of you itinerary, but you may get extra benefits from the JR pass, such as the NEX, to Tokyo Narita Airport.

Good Luck, in planning your trip.

Look into the gVisit Hiroshima Tourist Passh.
1-day: 1000 yen
2-day: 1500 yen
3-day: 2000 yen

Besides covering the tram and the ferry to Miyajima Island, it also has some service on the Geiyo Bus Service, which has direct service from Hiroshima Station to Tadanoumi Station. I donft know it that particular bus route is covered.

Once again, Good Luck, in planning your trip.

As no one mentioned it, there is a disadvantage with the JR pass. You canft take the faster , more frequent Nozomi trains and you have one long trip in there. This May or may not be important to you.

Don't get the JR pass - it is too inconvenient for the travel you are doing. A SUICA card covers the trivial trips you are doing around Hiroshima (including the ferry), and when buying tickets from Hiroshima to Odawara the JR staff will be able to book the base ticket for that whole distance saving money that would not be factored in. Plus, you avoid some of the trains that do tend to have limited capacity and less frequency.