train travel in Japan

Arriving in Osaka in August ( 1 night) Kyoto ( 2 nights) Hiroshima (1 night)accommodation booked in these cities. Travel to Tokyo for 3 nights and then returning to Osaka for flight home.Looking for cheapest train ticket to accommodate all travel.

If your long-distance legs of travel: Kyoto - Hiroshima - (through Osaka/Kyoto) - Tokyo - Osaka fit within a 7-day period, then get the 7 Day Japan Rail Pass. This will cover all long-distance trips on JR Shinkansen trains (as well as local travel within Tokyo on JR trains).

That way, the portions not covered will be: from Kansai airport to Osaka there are non-JR options available), Osaka to Kyoto (reasonable fare by JR rapid train or other private railway), buses within Kyoto (reasonable day ticket available), subways within Tokyo (again very reasonable).

Here is a map of the JR lines in the Kansai region. You can use your JR pass to travel on any JR line- from the airport to Osaka or Shin Osaka (shinkansen stops here), within Osaka (Loop line) to Kyoto (rapid or shinkansen) and to other cities from Osaka and Kyoto. The Kyoto and Osaka busses and subways will require a separate fare.

http://www.japanrail.com/image/railpass/kansai_urban.jp...

A JR pass can be used in and around Tokyo as well:

http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/info/map_a4ol.pdf

Be aware that the pass cannot be used on the Nozomi shinkansen (fastest) to get to and from major cities but can be used on the Hikari (next fastest)and Kodama shinkansen (stops frequently), the other 2 levels of service.