Advise on which JR pass to use

Sorry that was from both of us John and Joanna :)

Hi John and Joanna,

I think a 7 day JR Pass would be perfect here. You could use it for all your long distance travel starting on day 7: Tokyo - Hiroshima - Osaka and use it all the way until you travel to the airport on day 13.

Travel times between the Hikari and Nozomi trains are small, the trains are the same but the Hikari makes a couple more stops on the way. For instance Tokyo - Osaka is about 19minutes longer with the Hikari.

Hope this helps and let me know if I can help with anything!
Daniel

Thank you Daniel!

Your response has been helpful and quick.

We were looking at our discussion threads in this forum - and want further clarification for travel within Osaka and Kyoto - are we right to say that there are local passes required in Kyoto but JR passes can be used in Osaka.

Thank you,

Hi again!

Yes that's right, the JR Pass can be used to reach pretty much any place in Osaka.
Here is a very useful map for reference:
http://youinjapan.net/maps/osaka/kansai_jr_map.jpg

In Kyoto JR lines run on the west and south side of the city but most of the city is better reached by bus, metro or on foot. The JR Pass in Kyoto can be used for travel to places such as Arashiyama, Fushimi Inari and Uji.

The Wiki travel page is also very useful when it comes down to travel around Kyoto:
http://wikitravel.org/en/Kyoto

Hope this clears things up,
Daniel

And to Nara?

Travel to Nara from either Osaka or Kyoto is covered. Nara itself is very small and can be done on foot or by bus (bus is not included in the pass).

Thank you Daniel. All this information is most useful and gives us the clarity we need.

Cheers!