Originally Posted by abmj-jr

Agree with RRT above. If you opt for them, I'd suggest activating your passes 7 days before your departure from Japan. That would mean you would pay out of pocket for the trip into Tokyo from NRT upon arrival and any travel around town during the first couple of days. After activation, your passes would be good for Yamanote line travel around Tokyo, any JR line travel in and around Tokyo, your round trip Tokyo-Kyoto-Tokyo on the Hikari RailStar shinkansen, JR travel around the Kansai region while in Kyoto (for example, to/from Himeji or Nara) and the Narita Express back to NRT for departure.

Even if you don't save very much, the JR Pass also adds a lot of convenience. That is worth something in the calculation.

JR