Suggestions on routes

Hello Daniel-san,

Thank you for your help so far with my questions! I am glad my JR Pass arrived today just before we depart! Phew!

Can I ask your suggestions for my route please for the first couple of trips.

We arrive in Tokyo and will stay the night as we arrive in the evening. We then plan to visit Nagano the next day to visit the snow monkeys and later the same day travel to Osaka.

What would you suggest is the best way to get to Nagano and also the best way to get from Nagano to Osaka?

Also - would it be possible to exchange our pass at Narita in the evening and at the same time reserve our seats in the green class for this journey? If so, how best am I to confirm the journey times so I can let the ticket office now? Is there a website with departure times/stations or are you able to tell me these so I can pass them on to the ticket office?

Thank you for your help.

Kind Regards,

Chris