Originally Posted by
Big Mac
The first day or two I will probably take it slow(er) because of jetlag so I'm not really concerned about spending a lot on fares (maybe 500 to 800 yen each day).
Precisely. If you stay in Tokyo for the first day or two, you'll spend a few thousand yen to get from NRT to Tokyo and a few hundred yen on local trains. If you go for the N'EX+SUICA deal, you'll probably have enough credit on that SUICA card to pay for your local train needs in Tokyo. It's definitely not worth buying a longer rail pass in this situation.
Originally Posted by
Big Mac
One more question, can you activate the JR Pass at a certain time or does it automatically start at 12am on the day you want it activated?
The 7-day pass is valid for seven calendar days. If you validate it from Monday, you can use it until the end of Sunday. Even if you waited until 11pm to use it on Monday, it would still only last until the end of Sunday.
There is one notable "exception" described on the JR pass page: If you travel overnight on the last day your pass is valid, the basic fare will be covered as far as you travel, including train changes, until you first exit a station. However, surcharges are only covered for the train on which you were riding past midnight on the final day your pass was valid.
You may need to read that a couple of times to get the meaning.