Hi everyone,
I've been on hyperdia to confirm prices, but it doesn't look like the JR pass will be a huge money saver for us but I thought I would check in case I've missed something. We are looking at getting the 14 day pass and will be moving about every three days. I've worked out that we should save at least $20.00 (up to $50 at this point), and having the pass saves having to try and get out money for each ticket, ect.
On the 7th of October is when I was thinking we would activate the pass. On this day we would go from Shinjuku to Kuchikawaguchiko which is
JR - 2,770 yen + Fujikyu Railway (non JR) - 1,140 yen
10th October Gotembo to Kyoto - 11,640 yen
13th October Kyoto to Gero - 8.920 yen
15th October Gero to Utsunomiya 18,390 yen
and either
Utsunomiya to Nasu - 3,200 yen plus Nasu to Tokyo - 5,910 yen or
Utsunomiya to Saitama - 3,850 plus Saitama to Tokyo - 3,260
Total: either 48,880 yen or 50,880yen depending on whether we go to Saitama or Nasu before going back to Tokyo. During our time in Kyoto we will probably use bikes to get around and I believe we will have access to a car in Ustunomiya. I haven't factored in using local buses as I'm unsure of how many JR buses we can find in Kyoto and in most cases we would try and get accommodation near a train station. We may look at purchasing the passes regardless but it feels like a big investment so I want to research properly. We will probably have to get local buses to get to attractions but don;t know if many of them would be JR buses.
If you could help, that would be great!