Tokyo-Kyoto-Tokyo, best way to travel?

Hello

I'm in a group of 4 from the UK and we really want to travel to Kyoto from Tokyo;

We will be traveling for 10 days, and have planned it as such:

Day1 - Tokyo, land, eat, sleep.
Day 2 - Travel to Kyoto
Day 3 - Kyoto
Day 4 - Kyoto and then travel back to Tokyo.
Tokyo for the rest of the journey.

Is this a good plan? So far this seems so hard to plan, its the first trip I've been on and its a pretty big one; I can't make heads and tales of anything.

What we really wanted to know, is what sort of costs we're looking at if we go from tokyo to kyoto and back? Is the JR pass something we need? Any help is really appreciated.

Your questions are answered here.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2400_tokyo_8.html

and here
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2363.html

If you can plan it try to spend more time in Kyoto: it is beautiful, and there is so much to see: it is easy to get around using subways and buses, and be prepared for loads of walking. I would start at Tokyo with a Suica N'Ex pass for a few days, then activate a 7 day JR Pass and use it to go Tokyo Kyoto return, and back out to Narita for your flight home.
With the pass you can also then do day trips from Kyoto to Himeji, Nara, even Hiroshima if you want to go that far.
Have fun.

I agree, a JR pass is definitely the way to go (some info here- http://japanrail.com/JR_japanrailpass.html ). You'll have plenty of freedom to move around and do as you please. I also agree with spending more time in Kyoto. I was only there for a day and got to see three major temples; as there are dozens of temples plus the old imperial complex I really feel like I missed out. If you're worried about accommodations, rakuten travel ( http://travel.rakuten.co.jp/en/index.html ) is the way to go. They have very good deals on hotels all over japan, and if you can read Japanese I'm convinced their Japanese site has even better deals

the Kansai area (Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Kobe etc. is the craddle of the Japanese civilization. There far more historical sights there than in Tokyo. Osaka itself is a vibrant modern city with lots of shopping opportunities. My first 2 trips were in the Kansai and perhaps you too should stay there and avoid Tokyo for your first trip. (I flew to /from Kansai airport ). At the very least you MUST spend much more time in the Kansai that you have planned.

If this is your first big trip to plan, it may feel very overwhelming.

Why don't you look into Sunrise Tours / JTB (Japan Tourist Bureau) just for the Kyoto portion of your trip.

We went through them and they had someone pick us up at our hotel, transport us to the train station. Walk us on the correct train and had someone else meet us when we got off. You could do either all tours in Kyoto or like us we just went to 2 all day tours and did the rest of Kyoto ourselves. My suggestion would be to stay at the New Miyako which is literally steps across street from the main Kyoto Station. If you are only in Kyoto for 4 days and you want to see alot, then you should book a tour for part of that visit. Kyoto is an amazingly beautiful place and 4 days is cutting it awful short.