Tokyo, Takayama, Osaka, Kusatsu, Kyoto

Hello there,

That's a nice plan! The JR Pass will cover all rail travel in your itinerary and you could make great savings with a 7 day JR Pass by using it from day 3-9.

2.) Travel to Kusatsu is quite close trip to Kyoto (only 21 minutes by local train), So you could stay there without adding a ton of travel time when visiting Kyoto.

Hope this helps,
Daniel

Thank you very much!

Since you're already heading in the direction of Kusatsu, seeing Hikone Castle would also be very worthwhile. It's one of the few original castles still standing - no reconstruction.