JR Pass / Shinkansen Use?

I don't know much about using a JR pass, but everyone has suggested I purchase one before I go to Japan this April. I thought that if it allowed me to use the shinkansen freely, I would take a trip from Kyoto to Hiroshima to see Miyajima. Am I able to use the JR pass for more than one shinkansen ride? Thanks.

Here you go:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2361.html

I appreciate the information, but that still doesn't actually answer my question directly. Would I be able to take multiple shinkansen trips on one rail pass? It seems to me that something so expensive would not simply be covered repeatedly by a one time purchase.

I'm also confused by the wording on the site you linked me to. It says that when you hand in the exchange order, the validity period of your pass starts, but I had read somewhere that the first time you USE the pass, it starts.

Kay,
many countries have train passes similar to the JR pass and it is all very simple. . these passes allow for unlimited train travel on each day the pass is good for.
short distance train travel in n Japan is relatively cheap as millions of people use it to commute to work. Long distance train travel is more expensive and this is where the JR pass really shines. It is an amazing deal!
the price of a 7 days JR pass is equivalent to the price of a return trip from Tokyo to Kyoto by shinkansen. Any other train trip taken during these 7 days is therefore free!. yes you can use the shinkansen, as often as you want and/ or use also slower local trains.
when you buy your pass in your home country you get a voucher, not an actual pass. Why? because the pass is valid for 3 months and is for foreign tourists only. When you arrive in Japan the immigration staff will staple a short stay tourist visa in your passport. You then go to a JR counter (major airports all have a JR rail station) and present your voucher and your passport. They will then make the actual pass. CAUTION: you can either start you pass the day you arrive or any another day afterwards. you have to tell the JR staff when your pass will start so you need to plan in advance. let's say that you have a 7 day JR pass but will stay in Japan 12 days: 2 days in Tokyo + 7 days travelling long distance around Japan + 3 days in Tokyo again. You will then start you pass on the day you start your first long distance train trip, from Tokyo to....
long distance train trip usually means using a shinkansen train. the ones called Hikari are the most practical for tourists (Nozomi isn't included in the pass and Kodoma is too slow)
this is all explained in the JR internet site.. and if you type JR pass in the search window right above the long list of questions you will get thousands of previous questions/ answers about the pass.

please check http://www.japanrailpass.net/ it tells you all about it.
re-reading you original post, you mention that you want to use it to go from Kyoto to Hiroshima and Miyajima. you didn't say how you will go from your country to Kyoto: will you land in Kansai airport? in Narita?. Will you stay in Kyoto only plus a trip to Hiroshima? I am asking all these questions because if you were to stay in the Kansai only or Kansai plus anywhere between Osaka and Fukuoka (this includes Hiroshima) you don't need a JR pass (it covers all of Japan) but, for example, a 4 days JR west pass + individual tickets from Osaka to Kyoto or other types of Kansai passes. check train passes on japan-guide.com or on the JR site noted at the top of this post (check other passes at the end of the numerous pages on the JR Pass).

Thanks, I think I understand what I'll be doing now. I'll be going in late April, so it seems I shouldn't buy my pass just yet.

I'll be entering Japan through Narita. My plan is to stay in the Tokyo area for about 8 days, and then head for Hakone. I wanted to basically make it a stop-over on my way to Kyoto. I thought if I bought a JR Pass and I could use it for multiple shinkansen trips (and it seems I can, which is great) then I would start the 7 day period right before I left for Hakone. Once I'm in Kyoto I intend to stay in that area for about five days. Then I'll be flying out through Kansai International. I think, under the circumstances, it would be best to get the allover JR pass.

If you plan to visit Tokyo, headout to Hakone, then Kyoto before flying out to Kansai Airport, you really don't need the JR pass, as trips come out cheaper with regular fare tickets, or other available discount tickets.

sorry, I missed the visiting Hiroshima part from Kyoto, with that factored in, then It is probably worth it.

Well I thought it would be best if we took the shinkansen either from Tokyo to Hakone or from Hakone to Kyoto. We're trying to do all of that in one day, with only a few hours to stop in the Hakone area. The shinkansen seemed like the best way to do that cheaply. From what I remember of my last visit to Japan, it was quite a long ride taking the normal train from Hakone to Kyoto. I don't want to spend that much time on there.

Ack, I didn't mean cheaply. I meant quickly.

you should get your money worth out of a 7 days pass: Hakone- kyoto then Kyoto-Hiroshima-Miyajima and back to Kyoto. You can also use it to visit Nara or Arashiyama for at least 1/2 day (each place)and perhaps to go to either Kobe or Himeji and to Osaka (my favorite town). you can also use it on the JR loop line around Osaka.

When I said "regular fare tickets" or "discount tickets" I meant Yes taking the Shinkansen and not regular slower trains would come out cheaper (minus the Hiroshima-Miyajima portion) which I looked over.

Remember only a limited number of Shinkansen stop at Odawara station, and to get into the Hakone area more, would require changing to local trains and buses, possible to do it in a day, but it will be a lot of travel, then off to Kyoto.

with half an hour's research, you can use the excellent Hyperdia (google it, or search on this site in the train travel section) japan train fares (and times) website to plan your trip and to see how much it will cost. You can then see whether it makes (economic) sense to buy a pass.

From my experience, it's always worth buying a pass. Even if there's little in it (in terms of money saved), it's so easy to use your pass (no bothering with ticket machines in small towns where there's little English, for example) and it's often very convenient to use the (free) facility that your pass gives you to reserve seats (shinkansens can be very busy at peak times). If you have a planned itinerary, you can actually get all your tickets and reservations in one go when you cash in your pass voucher to activate it (although you'll probably want to leave some flexibility in your trip planning, in real life)

Thanks, I'll check out Hyperdia. I do recall that buying a ticket every time I wanted to take a train was a little time consuming, considering the amount of travel we did during that trip.

And it does seem like the sheer amount of shinkansen trips I'm looking to take this time would make a 7 day pass well worth it.

I know there are a billion other topics on this site dealing with JR passes and the shinkansen, but I wanted to ask about my trip because the details of each itinerary changes whether the pass is useful or not. I needed to know for my trip, not someone elses. So thank you to everyone who offered advice and suggestions. I really appreciate it.

While in your case it is good to get a JR Pass because of the trip out to Hiroshima and Miyajima.

However I would highly disagree with one should get a pass just because it saves time:
The pass doesn't work at Automatic gates, many of the stations in the cities have exits that are automatic with only one booth at each exit, where the lines back up with people asking questions or people who have problems with their tickets etc, some of the stations only have manned booths at only certain exits which might take longer to walk around. Buying a ticket every time can be resolved in major cities with a prepaid card like Suica, and those can be used on automatic gates.

I would get the pass for price wise, not just purely for convenience wise, which would sorta defeat the purpose of getting a JR pass, which is to save money. I guess you can argue yes it is convenience, then again if one didn't care about the money, you can just hop on a Nozomi and that would make it convenience over the JR Pass as there are more Nozomi trains in terms of departures and directness of destinations.

But again in your case with the trip out to Hiroshima you do save money so you're fine.

Actually, the desire to see Hiroshima/Miyajima came from the JR pass purchase. I didn't intend to go until I realized it was only a 2 hour trip from Kyoto. But now that I have read up on it, I'd really like to. And honestly, it won't take a huge chunk out of my budget. Plus, I believe it will cover bus fare, and I recall using mostly buses to get around certain areas.

Just checking Hyperdia yesterday, it seems like it will be the smartest investment for me. And that way I can take a day trip somewhere from Tokyo that I hadn't intended to before. I want to see as much as possible this time, and I only have 2 weeks to do it.

The JR pass is only valid on certain JR highway buses and some local JR line buses (very few if any in the Tokyo/Kyoto areas).

It is not valid on local buses of other companies or cities (eg Kyoto city buses).

Are you investing in a 14 day JR Pass or a 7 day JR pass?

Because that sorta changes the dynamics of things.

It would be a 7 day pass. I'll be there for two weeks, but I will only be using the shinkansen during the middle of that time.

I never intended to use the pass for buses in Tokyo or Kyoto. I have no reason to take the bus in either city.

To be honest, I think there is a case for buying a JR pass for the convenience.

On all of our four trips to Japan, we really wanted to travel around a lot. It's a pretty big trip (on the wallet, on your limited holiday time, and in terms of awesome things to see and do), and we'd saved hard to get there, so we really wanted to see four or five places over the course of each trip.

Once we'd planned a route, we took half an hour and looked up the costs and times of trains on Hyperdia, to compare with the price of a railpass.

On two trips, it was clearly a whopping saving to get the pass for part or all of the time (on one trip it was worthwhile getting a 14 day pass for a 10 day trip). One other trip was in Hokkaido, so we hired a car. On the last trip it was fairly neutral on cost as to whether to get a pass or not, but we got one purely for the convenience, and paid an extra GBP 10 or so on the theoretical cost of the individual tickets. But it was so convenient to have the pass.

Your point about queues at the "yellow line" exit for rail pass holders is valid, but travelling around over this Xmas and New Year busy periods, we were never really held up. Often, the station staff would see us waiting patiently behind two or three people waiting to adjust their fares, and they'd see the railpasses in our hands and wave us through. It was also really useful to reserve seats (for free) when you're travelling over busy periods. And you can book some key journeys on arrival (e.g. if you want to take a sleeper on a particular day), so you have peace of mind, and then change them later (assuming there's room).

Can you tell? I really LOVE the rail pass ;0)

Slightly off original question, but the OP has mentioned it... we went on the train from Kyoto to Hiroshima and Miyajima this Xmas and had a lovely time. Bargain business hotel with nice, free, breakfast, near the Peace Park - think it was called the Comfort Inn. Peace Museum is the sort of thing everyone should see at least once in their lives. And if it's all too much, Hiroshima is lively enough for food and drinks afterwards. If you don't get time to go to Okonomiyaki Mura, then if you go upstairs in the arcade that's attached to the train station there are several okonomiyaki places on the first floor. Try the anago (eel, lighter than unagi, and equally delicious but in a more delicate way) on Miyajima. If it gets crowded on Miyajima (it was next to empty over Xmas), try a walk up to the Momiji park and maybe up the ropeway. Bet you'll have a lovely time.