best pass for osaka / tokyo/kyoto

what is the best pass for me?

i will be traveling to japan from nov 28 to dec. 3. i will land at kansai nov 28 pm and plan to go to tokyo immediately and spend two nights there. from tokyo, i will go back to osaka and spend 3 nights there. while in osaka, i plan to go on a day trip to kyoto.

what kind of pass is best for me?

thanks.

If you plan to make a round trip between Osaka and Tokyo, JR rail pass is cheaper than buying tickets seperately. You need to buy the pass before you leave home country, though.

are there any 3 or 5 day pass that is suitable for me that i can use within and between osaka ,tokyo and japan?

The 7 day JR Pass is the shortest one. But you can use immediately after arrival for the train JR Haruka from KIX to ShinOsaka, change to a hikari shinkansen to Tokyo, you can use for the JR trains in Tokyo ( regrettably not the subway and private trains within Tokyo ), back to ShinOsaka by hikari shinkansen, day trip to Kyoto from Osaka and your travel back to KIX on Dec 3rd. So you use it 6 days out of 7. Of course your problem might be to get the Exchange Voucher till next Tuesday, as you have to buy the Exchange Order in your home country prior your travel to Japan.

I have read in a lot of places that the JR pass is the most cost efficient way of travelling around Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka.
I'm on a tight budget so I calculated cost to purchase the tickets individually (below):
- Narita to Tokyo 1500 Suica card
- subway/JR travel in Tokyo based on 3 days * 6 trips a day * 200Y = 4800 Yen
- Tokyo to Kyoto 13,500 Yen by reserved seat
- Combined unlimited train and bus pass for Kyoto 1200 Yen
- Kyoto to Osaka 1,380 Yen
- Osaka One-Day Pass (I'll be there on a Friday ) 850 Yen
- Osaka to Kansai airport 2,800 Yen
Total estimated travel costs = 26,030 Yen
This works out to be slightly cheaper than purchasing a JR pass (approx 29,000 Yen ) but this way i can also travel on subways and JR lines. Are my calculations right or do people really suggest I buy the JR pass and then buy subway tickets as required on top??

HC,
The combination SUICA-N'ex is Yen 3500 ( with the Yen 2000 for SUICA ). But even then you are right because of your Yen 4800 for Tokyo travel an amount of Yen 1500 is covered by the SUICA. And right again for your days in Kyoto you need local non-JR transport. Osaka - KIX can be done for Yen 2000 JR West Kansai Pass and on departure day you can use that Pass for other JR travel, too.

Thanks Peter.
It would have been cheaper to buy the JR pass if i was doing a return trip from Tokyo to Osaka/Kyoto but since i am departing from Osaka that reduces the cost savings from the JR pass.

There's so much information available out there, I just needed time to sit down and sift through it all.
Means more money for food!

HC,
As you mentioned "on a tight budget":
The private Hankyu line between Umeda station in Osaka and Karasuma station in Kyoto is Yen 390 one way, while JR Osaka - Kyoto is Yen 540, one-way, or more.
In Kyoto a one day Kyoto City Bus Only Pass at Yen 500 might be sufficient.
http://www.city.kyoto.jp/kotsu/brochure/bus_navi/pdf/bus_nav...
An unreserved seat at a nozomi from Tokyo to Kyoto is Yen 12710. Between late morning and early afternoon chances are very high you get a seat in the unreserved cars.