Maureen

Hi Maureen,

I checked your itinerary to find out the best JRPass to use but I actually think that you'd be best of buying normal tickets as you travel. The JR Pass is very useful when travel cross country a couple of times but your long distance travel is limited to a one way Tokyo - Kyoto.

Here are some more tips to keep your transportation budget low:

1.) Use the Tobu line to Nikko. With the JR Pass you can use the Shinkansen to Nikko however without the pass this is just too expansive. Here's more on how to reach Nikko with the Tobu line.

2.) To Koya-san consider to Koya Heritage Pass which gives you a discount ticket on the train trip to Koya and on local attractions.

Enjoy!
Daniel

Thank-you we look forward to exploring your country.
Maureen