Is a JR East Pass good value for my family?

We are a family of four with two sons aged 18 and 20. After a private car from the airport on day 1, we will be spending four days in Tokyo before taking the Hokuriku Shinkansen to Ilyama Station and then onto Nozawaonsen. My question: is it worth using this pass for four days of Tokyo metropolitan travel and then the shinkansen to Nozawa? Some websites say this pass has to be used for five consecutive days, while others say you have 14 days in which to use 5 days travel, which is confusing. Any guidance greatly appreciated - it will be our first time in Japan!

Hi!

The 5 days within a 14 day period is pre-Covid information, I guess not everyone has updated their websites. It is no longer valid. It's 5 consecutive days.

I would think unless you are doing a roundtrip within 5 days the pass is not going to pay off. It's under 9000 yen one way on the shinkansen to Iiyama where you need to change for a non covered bus. The pass is like 18,000 yen and I think you would be hard pressed to spend 9000 yen over 4 days sightseeing in Tokyo. If you are doing a roundtrip from Tokyo to Iiyama within 5 days the pass is still not worth it unless you are going to be getting in some additional local travel.

Have you looked into whether there are any buses from Tokyo directly to Nozawa onsen during your dates that might include lift tickets or some other offer?