Hello Everyone! Family and I are heading to Japan on Friday. Landing in Haneda and staying in Tokyo (Shinjuku) for 4 nights and then Kyoto for 4 nights. I am still unsure about getting the JRail pass or not anyone have any suggestions.

Definitely get the JR pass, you'll be able to take advantage of the great intra-city transportation in Tokyo and if you just make one round trip between Tokyo and Kyoto on the shinkansen (bullet train) and use the pass to travel between Narita and Tokyo, you’ve already saved money with the pass

Also, the pass is cheaper to purchase from outside of Japan

Plan out your trip. If it doesn’t involve noticeable JR Pass savings skip it. It doesn’t work for all trains and I found I wasted my money on it.

If U only plan to go to Kyoto and back, then definitly you dont need a JR pass... tokyo and kyoto has local metro, bus systems and their 24 hr passes are inexpensive...

Well considering you are leaving Friday, it might be too late to get the JR pass as it gets mailed to you (based on my last searching back in feb). I agree, if you are not going back to Tokyo, it might not be worth it. I did not get one when I was there for 10 days and used the JR Line maybe 3 times. We got a SUICA card instead.

We are going to Japan in December, also landing in Haneda, staying in Shinjuku then travelling to Kyoto. We will be flying out of Osaka and with the research I’ve done for our itinerary, the JR Pass doesn’t make sense for us. However, if you’re doing a return trip from Tokyo to Kyoto and back, then it may be worthwhile for you. Safe travels!

JR Passes are only worth it if you're doing several shinkansen trips. If you were doing Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka it might be worth it. But if you're just travelling between Tokyo and Kyoto once it wont pay for itself.

When you arrive in the airport, grab a Pasmo or Suica card and load it up. It'll make traveling via Subway much easier. And rent a portable Wifi if you don't have an international data plan with your phone company. Google Maps is fantastic for navigating.

No not worth it if staying in Tokyo

Plan your travels on Hyperdia, it will give you accurate pricing and help you determine if it is worth it. I think Tokyo to Kyoto was about $100CAD and the 7 day pass is around $350CAD
http://www.hyperdia.com/sp/
Edit: You can also use it on the Yamanote and other JR subway lines in Tokyo. Trips are like 280-400円 so it wont make up the cost but it might be a nice bonus
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Like Sarah said Hyperdia can tell you how much all of your train rides will cost. 7 day JR pays for itself if you go round trip Tokyo-Osaka. In Kyoto, JR only gets you to Arashiyama - the rest of the city and sites are bus or subway. JR pass definitely works in Tokyo! So timing the 7 days so your RT to Kyoto is there and there's time left on it for within Tokyo will be worth it (Kamakura & Yokohama are just outside Tokyo and JR pass will save $ there; you can also use the JR pass to visit Osaka or Kobe for kobe beef lunch - 1/3 the price of dinner - from Kyoto).

I have written about Japan and both cities on my accessible travel site: worldbyasscart.com if you need ideas or want to see pics/links to resources
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World by ass cart – A disabled traveller's journey around a perfectly imperfect world

to break even for JR pass is to take at least 1 trip of Shinkansan from Tokyo to Kyoto or Osaka (return) and 1 express trip from Haneda to Tokyo. However, I dont advise express trains from Haneda into tokyo during rush hour. Try the limousine bus, if there is a stop at Shinjuku.

Francis I got the JR pass has I did daytrips from Tokyo, kyoto and Osaka. You can also use the JR line .

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For sure take the fast train to Kyoto it’s downtown Tokyo to downtown Kyoto