JRPass

Hi Emily,

That looks like quite a trip!

I'd certainly aim to activate my Japan Rail Pass on day 9 to get the most value out of it. This will let you do a lot of travel in the 7 days.

If you are a little bit flexible, I can suggest 2 things:

1. You might consider a day return trip to Hiroshima from Kyoto while you are there?
2. I've found the trip to Nikko from Tokyo to be quite expensive in the past, so If you can reduce one of your Kyoto (or Osaka) days, you could go to Nikko on day-9, and use the JRPass for that leg too (saving about ¥5,000 per person on the train fare).

Hope this helps!

Mari