Reserved Seats & JR Pass

Are reserved seats necessary for two people traveling together? Is it worth it to get a JR Rail Pass?
Itenerary:
Day 1: Narita Airport to Tokyo
Day 2 & 3: Travel within Tokyo
Day 4: Hakone Free Pass (Travel to Hakone from Tokyo)
Day 5: Travel from Hakone to Takayama.
Day 6: Takayama to Kanazawa
Day 7: Kanazawa to Kyoto
Day 8, 9, & 10: Travel within Kyoto
Day 11: Travel to Kansai Airport

Are reserved seats necessary for two people traveling together?

No. All trains along your route have unreserved seats, which can be used without seat reservations. However, on busy trains there is the risk that you could not find two empty seats next to each other or, in extreme cases, no empty seats, at all.

Is it worth it to get a JR Rail Pass?

No. Regular tickets will come cheaper for your itinerary.

Thank you so much. I have been so worried about making those two decisions.

I have another question. I noticed that there is a Nex & Suica package. How far will the Suica card get you with the 1500Y worth of fares? How many trips will thaat cover? Or what are the standard fares for trains, buses, & subways in Tokyo?

How far will the Suica card get you with the 1500Y worth of fares? How many trips will thaat cover?

It depends on the distance traveled. Simple rides within central Tokyo typically cost between 130 and 230 yen. And an average tourists typically spends about 300 to 1000 yen per day on transortation in central Tokyo. So, 1500 yen typically are enough for 1 to 4 days of travel in central Tokyo.

However, if you make longer trips, the card will be used off faster. The round trip to nearby Kamakura alone, for example, costs already a little bit more than 1500 yen.

At what times/days are the trains most busy?

Weekdays during your normal rush hours + the last couple trains at the end of the night when a bunch of drunk salary men and late workers want to get home without having to use a taxi.

I really liked the last response about the drunk business men.

I have another question. Say I want to stop in Shirakawago while traveling from Takayama to Kanazawa. Do I have to buy one bus pass from Takayama to Shirakawago and another pass from Shirakawago to Kanazawa OR can I just buy one pass from Takayama to Kanazawa?

What is the best way to travel within Kyoto? Foot? Bike? Bus? Subway? JR Train?

Is there a special pass that is worth it to buy?

You need to buy 2 bus tickets from Takayama to Kanazawa if you want to stop at Shirakawago.

A lot of tourist attractions are accessed by bus. If you take more than 2 trips in 1 day then it is worth buying an all day bus pass for 500yen. You purchase them from the building near the bus terminal, outside Kyoto station.

I heard that the Kyoto buses can be very crowded? Is that really the best way to get around or should you use a combination of bus and rail?

: Are reserved seats necessary for two people traveling together?
: I noticed that there is a Nex & Suica package.

N'EX seats require reservation.
Other JR trains conceivable on your itinerary seem to have non-reservation seats.

At Narita Airport, JR-East and Keisei each have two stations:
- Narita Airport Stn. (Terminal 1)
- Airport Terminal 2 Stn.
Check which terminal your flight is going to use.

On a N'EX of JR-East, you will arrive at Tokyo Stn. in about one hour after leaving the airport station.
For this section, also Rapid service is available,
which requires no charge but takes about 30 min. more, has less trains than N'EX.
(According to time tables as of 14 March 2009,
if you fail to catch a N'EX and then catch the earliest Rapid instead,
arrival at Tokyo Stn. will be delayed for around 75 min.)

The N'EX ticket in the package is valid for a ride from the airport station
to a station in JR-East "specified area of electric trains"# around Tokyo,
which is showed in yellow on this map.
http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/suica-nex/guide.html
# Literal translation.
e.g. You can get off a N'EX at Tokyo and change to Yamanote Line and exit JR-East at Yoyogi.
This ticket is a one-day ticket. You'd better exit JR-East by the midnight.

: How many trips will thaat (= the Suica card) cover?

Unlimited; as long as the passenger complete fare payment for each ride by the touch-a-card rule.
A Suica card is designed so that a passenger touches it to a device on a gate machine.
Suica may be useful if you know it well.
A Suica card is rechargeable,
which can be repeatedly charged with cash as e-money called SF within the ceiling of 20,000 yen.
Suica and PASMO / ICOCA are compatible as to their unique fare computation and collection systems.
With a Suica card, you can pay a fare between two stations per ride
within Suica + PASMO area around Tokyo on lines of many railway companies,
or within JR-West ICOCA area which includes Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, and Nara.
Usage for bus rides (arr. Tokyo) is limited to busses with appropriate device for Suica cards / PASMO cards.
Note:
- A passenger who entered a railway network with a card is required to exit it with the same card.
- A Suica card can not stay overnight within a railway network. You'd better exit it by the midnight.
- As to Suica + PASMO area, the passenger may not exit through a gate machine
if there exists no route between the two stations available with services by 4 or less companies.

PASMO Use Guide for travelers:
http://www.pasmo.co.jp/en/pdf/pasmo_traveler_E.pdf

//

: How far will the Suica card get you with the 1500Y worth of fares?
: Or what are the standard fares for trains, buses, & subways in Tokyo?

As to JR-East / JR-West "specified area of electric trains"# around Tokyo / Osaka,
780 yen fare affords an adult a ride for 50 operating kilometers,
and 1,530 yen fare affords an adult a ride for 100 operating kilometers.
(JR operating kilometer is based on the length of the rail.)
A ticket for this specified area is valid on one day.
# Literal translation.

Around Tokyo, there are 9 Tokyo Metro and 4 Toei ("to" as in "tomorrow", "ei" as in "eighty") subway lines.
(While "toei" means 'operated by Tokyo Metropolitan government,'
these 4 lines are called "Toei __" even in English for distinction.)

Tokyo Subway route map (Toei and Tokyo Metro lines with station numbers):
http://www.tokyometro.jp/global/en/service/pdf/routemap...
Toei Subway Information -How To Ride the Subway-:
http://www.kotsu.metro.tokyo.jp/english/subway_ride.htm...
Tokyo Metro Guide:
http://www.tokyometro.jp/global/en/travel/metroguide.ht...

Fare (and charge) simulators:
- JR-East Shinkansen and conventional lines, JR-Central and JR-West Shinkansen lines
http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/charge/index.asp
- Toei subway lines: A fare per adult and a fare per kid are shown together in small letters.
http://eki.kotsu.metro.tokyo.jp/eigyou/subway/fare_sarc...
- Tokyo Metro subway lines:
http://www.tokyometro.jp/joshaken/unchin/number.html

Economical tickets available on Toei Subway:
http://www.kotsu.metro.tokyo.jp/english/ticket.html
Convenient value-added tickets available on Tokyo Metro subway:
http://www.tokyometro.jp/global/en/ticket/valueticket.h...

A JR-East Suica & N'EX package gives you discount of 1,240 to 1,640 yen in your case.
When you choose Keisei Skyliner, a Skyliner & METRO Pass
(combination of a Skyliner coupon and a Tokyo Metro Special ticket) gives you discount of 450 yen.
Considering that each discount applies to the fare and charge,
the cost for either of the sections Airport to JR Tokyo and Airport to Keisei Ueno is 1,500 yen.

Simulation: Fares and charges per adult: ordinary-class seat, non-reservation seat except N'EX.
1,280 yen: airport to Tokyo: JR fare.
1,860 yen: airport to Tokyo: JR charge for N'EX (incl. 200 yen busy-time surcharge).
190 yen: Tokyo to Shinjuku: JR fare.
These three may be covered by a Suica & N'EX package.
5,000 yen: Hakone Free Pass: From Shinjuku (of Odakyu), 2-day.
Covered by this pass: Hakone-Yumoto to Odawara.
7,350 yen: Odawara to Takayama: JR fare.
3,250 yen: Odawara to Nagoya: JR charge for Shinkansen Hikari / Kodama #.
1,050 yen: Nagoya to Takayama: JR charge for Ltd. Express # (at combination discount).
Purchase these three tickets together at once for the combination discount.
2,400 yen: Takayama to Shirakawa-go: Bus.
1,800 yen: Shirakawa-go to Kanazawa: Bus.
3,890 yen: Kanazawa to Kyoto (Inside-city [Kyoto shinai]): JR fare.
2,310 yen: Kanazawa to Kyoto: JR charge for Ltd. Express #.
1,830 yen: Kyoto to Kansai-airport: JR fare.
1,150 yen: Kyoto to Kansai-airport: JR charge for Ltd. Express #.
From Kyoto, maybe changing at Osaka from Special Rapid to Airport Rapid is enough for you.
# If you reserve seats for these four sections, the total cost becomes 1,080 to 2,480 yen higher.

: Is it worth it to get a JR Rail Pass?

It seems not. But for your travels within Tokyo and within Kyoto,
the cost of the JR sections (written in thick letters in the simulation above) is less than 27,000 yen
even if you reserve seats of Shinkansen and Ltd. Express trains.

: Do I have to buy one bus pass from Takayama to Shirakawago and another pass from Shirakawago to Kanazawa OR can I just buy one pass from Takayama to Kanazawa?

The former seems to be correct, as kum says.
http://www.nouhibus.co.jp/english/shirakawago_kanazawa....

//

It is true to Kyoto buses can be very crowded, especially during cherry blossom time, but both buses and rail have pros and cons.

For sights within Kyoto city area, buses are convenient and tourist friendly (they drop you right in front of the attraction) and cheap (especially if you use a 500 yen day pass), while trains are much quicker but sometimes don't stop that near to where you want to go. So it's up to you which you'll use, depending on what sights you're planning on seeing.

Arashiyama, thought, is another story. Buses there are extremely slow and relatively expensive, while trains are quick and much less of a hassle. So for Arashiyama I'd definitely suggest the train.

I heard that the Kyoto buses can be very crowded? Is that really the best way to get around or should you use a combination of bus and rail?

I recommend to avoid buses whenever there is a rail alternative. Kyoto buses are too small and don't operate frequently enough for the city's needs. Furthermore, they get stuck in traffic jams, and sometimes just retire at bus depots, kicking out all passengers on board.