Need advice regarding JR Pass

Hey guys, I'm going to Japan this summer, and because I plan on travelling to different cities, I need some advice regarding the most sensible way to cover for the costs.

I'll give you a rough idea of my itinerary:

First, I'll be staying 8 days at Tokyo. 6 days are reserved for doing sightseeing in the city, and the other two, I plan on visiting Nikko and Hakone respectively.

Then, I'll travel to Kyoto where I'll stay for 3 days.

lastly, I'll be travelling from Kyoto to Osaka, where I'll stay another week. Like in Tokyo, there are 2 days where I'll be making day excursions to Himeji and Nara respectively.

So, Tokyo - Hakone/Nikko, Tokyo - Kyoto, Kyoto - Osaka, and Osaka - Nara/Himeji will be the major trips I'll need to pay for (excluding any subways in the city, which I know are not covered by any JR pass)

How should I go about paying for the trips? I was thinking about a 2 week general JR-pass which would cover the trips in my 3-week vacation. But I've seen that there are regional passes; would it be more economical to buy those instead?

And lastly, do the JR passes cover all the lines from Tokyo to Hakone/Nikko?

I would appreciate any advice a lot.

The Japan Rail Pass will not pay off.

I recommend to use free passes for Nikko and Hakone:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2358_002.html
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2358_008.html

And prepaid cards for most of the rest.

Suica Card for Tokyo and JR trains in the Osaka/Kyoto area:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2359_002.html

Icoca and Surutto Kansai Prepaid Card for trains in the Osaka/Kyoto area.

Possibly a 500 yen 1-day pass for Kyoto buses on day when you use lots of buses.

Thanks for the tips. I assume that for the tickets from Toyko to Kyoto-Osaka I will have to pay normal fares with the Suica card?

I see you also suggest that I use prepaid cards for the subway rather than day passes.

So, did I get it right?

Tokyo area (subway & JR) : Suica prepaid card
Hakone/Nikko: Respective passes
Osaka area incl. Nara & Himeji (subway & JR) :
Icoca prepaid card
Kyoto (subway): Suica prepaid card

thanks for your help.

I assume that for the tickets from Toyko to Kyoto-Osaka I will have to pay normal fares with the Suica card?

No, Suica cannot be used for shinkansen travel. You will have to pay with cash or credit card.

I see you also suggest that I use prepaid cards for the subway rather than day passes.

So, did I get it right?

Most day passes in Japan cost more than regular tickets (or prepaid cards) for the average tourist on the average day. Especially Tokyo has no effective day pass.

Kyoto's 1-day bus pass for 500 yen is more effective, as it pays off when you use buses three times or more. However, I personally recommend to avoid bus travel in Kyoto and use rail bound transportation whenever possible.

Osaka's 1-day subway pass can be quite effective, because subways provide access to almost all the sights of the city.

Apart from that, regular tickets (and prepaid cards) are usually cheaper than day passes, unless you have a particularly busy day where you criss-cross the city intensively (the average tourist seldomly does).

Icoca can be used on all trains and many buses in Osaka, Himeji, Nara and Kyoto. Unfortunate big exception are the Kyoto city buses.

Suica can be used on all trains and buses in the Greater Tokyo area and on JR trains only in the Osaka/Kyoto area.