Rail advice needed for 9 day itinerary Japan
 

Hi I will be arriving in Nagoya, 1 night, osaka 1 night, kyoto 3 nights, tokyo 3 nights sendai 1 night then back to Nagoya. Can anyone help with advice. Can I get away with a 7 day JR pass or would it be more feasible to buy a 14 day JR pass?. I'm confused? From kyoto or Osaka I want to go down to see Hiroshima for a day trip. Would it be better to buy a singel pass Nagoya/Osaka/Hiroshim/Kyoto. And start a 7 day JR pass in Kyoto?
thanks in advance

You can use hyperdia.com to get the prices for your individual journeys. Then figure which is cheaper, pass or individual tickets. I'm thinking that paying for Nagoya-Osaka on shinkansen is 5640 yen, slower train less money, then starting your 7 day pass from Kyoto, as Osaka to Kyoto is not expensive either.

Actually, that is a 10-day itinerary (9 nights).

Here is how I see your days in Japan:
1 - Nagoya
2 - Nagoya to Osaka
3 - Osaka to Kyoto
4 - Kyoto
5 - Kyoto
6 - Kyoto to Tokyo
7 - Tokyo
8 - Tokyo
9 - Tokyo to Sendai
10 - Sendai to Nagoya

If you are willing to wait until day 4, 5, or 6 to go to Hiroshima then all you need is a JR Pass and to purchase tickets from Nagoya to Osaka and Osaka to Kyoto.

If you want to go to Hiroshima before day 4 then you would need a 14-day JR Pass or all of the following:
7-day JR Pass
Nagoya - Osaka ticket
Sanyo Area Pass
Osaka - Kyoto ticket
Kyoto - Osaka ticket if you go to Hiroshima from Kyoto since (am pretty sure) the Sanyo Area Pass doesn't cover travel between Kyoto and Osaka.

Since the Sanyo Area Pass costs 20,000 yen then you would be much better off getting the 14-day JR Pass if you want to go to Hiroshima on day 2 or 3.

Nagoya- Osaka on the shinkansen costs 6380 yen. It's 5640 for Nagoya-Kyoto. Fares from Osaka to Kyoto (on non-JR trains) can be as low as 590.

So figure 7000 for Nagoya- Osaka- Kyoto plus 28000 for the 7-day Pass, is 35000. Compare that to the 45000 yen cost of the 14-day JR Pass.

Thank you so much for your replies. This has helped me so much! It all seemed a bit daunting before with so many rail lines. Now I can concentrate on my sightseeing tours in each place. Do I purchase rail tickets here in Australia or online (JR website?)
thanks again.

You will buy your tickets for Nagoya- Osaka- Kyoto when you get to the train station in Japan.

For your JR Pass you will, of course, buy a voucher in Australia and exchange it in Japan. See www.japanrailpass.net for all the details.