Shiga to Kyoto?

I will be staying in Japan for 42 days. I will be staying in Hikone City, Shiga. My girlfriend lives in Kyoto-shi, Kyoto.

I would have to visit her at least 4 or 5 times a week. Is there a discount rail pass or bus pass that will allow transit access for one month? I have heard of 回数券 and 定期券, but failed to look into them in detail.

I am hesitant to get the JR pass; getting 2 twenty one day passes costs more than $1000US, and I wont be using JR services very much outside of said route.

Also, i wont be eligible for student passes.

Thank you!

Fortunate for your, Otsu and Kyoto are probably the two Japanese prefectural cities which are closest together to each other. They border each other, their city centers are only 10 kilometers apart from each other, and the train ride between them takes only 10 minutes and costs only 190 yen one way.

That is 380 yen per round trip.

You can get 11 tickets for the price of 10 in order to save a little.

Or consider a commuter pass:
1 month: 5670 yen
3 months: 16160 yen
6 months: 27220 yen

Hikone is a bit far from Kyoto. A commuter pass, it costs as follows.
1 month: 28360 yen
3 months: 80830 yen

I think it is better to get 回数券.

Sorry, I did not read your question carefully enough.

THANK YOU so much.
The travel agencies had me convinced that the JR pass was the way to go, but I think you guys just saved me hundreds of dollars.
Is there a website (english would be great) that lists these commuter and kaisuuken prices?

You can look them up in the Japanese version of Hyperdia:
http://www.hyperdia.com/