Is a JR Rail Pass worth it for this plan?

Hello and ‚±‚ñ‚΂ñ‚Í�I

I am going on a long-discussed trip with my mother to Japan around Easter of 2024 (Last week of March, First week of April kinda thing). I am looking forward to it; I have not been to Japan since I was an exchange student in 2016 (Budgets and Covid, you know the drill). Back then, my dad and my younger sister came out to visit me for 10 days, but my mom has never seen it, so naturally, when we can finally make it, we're excited to go.

I recently realised that in October, the JR Rail Pass will increase significantly in price, which made me think about our current plans for our travel itinerary, and I am having trouble figuring out if it is worth it now with the plans we have. I have listed our plan below and will be very appreciative of any input and suggestions as to the most cost-effective solution.

Thanks so much in advance.
Johan


Plan:
1. Arrive by plane in Tokyo, stay in Tokyo for 2, maybe 3 days. Will be travelling from aiport to hotel and will travel within Tokyo as well for some sightseeing.
2. Travel to Hiroshima, stay for one full day to see the Memorial sites.
3. Travel to Kyoto. Kyoto wil be hub for the rest of the holiday; we will be travelling around to see the sights in Kyoto, probably add in a trip to Nara and Himeji (Possibly Hikone as well). Other places in the area might be visited too, and going to the shrine at Ise has been discussed, but not certain.
4. Travel home by plane from Osaka. Will obviously need to use transportation to get TO the airport.

Not only japanese but also Millions of Foreign ers love hiroshima.so you need Transport pass ,to see how hiroshima looks Like.you can buy jR hiroshima wide pass 3 day: 4600y
astram line 1 day pass =950 yen
Hiroden 1 day pass=900 yen
Setouchi sealine 1 day=3700 yen
Etajima bus 1 day=800 yen

I will calculate using the non-reserved seat prices, so that you can see if it will pay off. The reserved seat prices cost more and are included in the pass, but I think using these fares shows if the pass will truly pay off:

Your longest trip is Tokyo to Hiroshima (18,380 yen) followed by Hiroshima to Kyoto (10770 yen).
Kyoto to Himeji (4840 yen one-way, so 9680 round-trip)
Kyoto to Nara (720 yen one-way, 1440 yen round-trip)
Kyoto to Hikone (2350 yen one-way, so 4700 yen round-trip)
If you visit Ise using JR trains from Kyoto, it's 7280 yen one way, so 14560 round-trip.

The total here is 59530 yen. If you do the above within 7 days, you can save money on the 7 day pass (50,000 yen). You do NEED to visit Ise though in order for it to pay off.

If you are staying longer, you could do all of the side-trips from Kyoto during the 7 days and actually tour Kyoto at the end, so your trip would start with Tokyo (no pass), then activate the pass when you go to Hiroshima. Spend 7 days exploring Hiroshima, Nara, Hikone, Himeji and Ise while the pass is active and and then finish in Kyoto without the pass, so transport to and from airports would not be covered.

Another caveat here is that Himeji is between Hiroshima and Kyoto, so IF you are not using the morning in Hiroshima to tour the city and are just going straight to Kyoto from your hotel, it would make more sense to visit Himeji on the way back to Kyoto. If you do that, you can basically subtract the 9680 yen round-trip to Himeji from Kyoto, which puts the amount slightly below 50000 yen. It's so close though that the flexibility may still be worth it. Small train fares could bump it over for a very small savings.

Japan Rail Pass (7-day) would not be the most cost-effective solution.

JR-West Kansai-Hiroshima Area Pass (5-day)
sounds suitable for your western Japan trips.

JR regular tickets to get from Tōkyo | Shinagawa to Kyōto
: Around 14000 yen per adult.
JR-West Kansai-Hiroshima Area Pass (5-day)
: 15800 yen (when purchased through the official website)

Unlike Japan Rail Pass
: This pass can be used
to take faster Nozomi and Mizuho on the Shinkansen.
: This pass is not valid for the Shinkansen between Shin-Ōsaka and Kyōto (#).

Himeji Station is skipped by many Shinkansen trains,
and some trains which make a stop at Himeji
are Nozomi and Mizuho trains,
which JRP travelers cannot take.

You can visit Himeji and Kobe
on your way from Hiroshima to Kyoto.
(If you visit the both,
it sounds better to stay overnight somewhere along the route
before you head to Kyoto.)

Hiroshima --[Shinkansen]-- Himeji,
Himeji --[Special Rapid]-- Sannomiya (in Kobe),
Sannomiya --[Special Rapid] -- Kyōto.

- Japan Guide: JR Kansai Hiroshima Area Pass
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2361_kansai_hiroshima.html

(#)

Tōkaidō Shinkansen
(Shin-Ōsaka -- Kyōto -- Nagoya -- Tōkyō)
is operated by JR-Central.

San'yō Shinkansen
(Hakata -- Hiroshima -- Okayama -- Himeji -- Shin-Ōsaka)
is operated by JR-West.

When you travel with this JR-West pass
between Shin-Ōsaka and Kyōto,
you go by the conventional [non-Shinkansen] line.

Special Rapid trains are available frequently
between Himeji and Kyōto.