Unless you are traveling by train from city to city on almost a daily basis the rail pass is almost a scam imo. Just buy individual tickets. I saw some people that had rail passes had to take their pass through the booth on the JR lines and it was somewhat of a holdup compared to just getting tix and going.
Are the passes supposed to "save" westerners the hassle of dealing with getting tickets at each station, because the savings don't seem "that great." This goes for nearly every "savings type pass" I encountered in Japan, from the Kyoto bus passes (that said discounts at temples, yet the temples have signs that say no discount), train tix, etc. etc.
You have to travel alot for the pass to reap the savings. Moreoever, there is no flexibility in your trip. You can't take a day off without burning a day of your train pass. IE you have to take alot of trains for it to be worthwhile AND you have to layout the money before you get there. Only one shinkansen ride won't make it worthwhile. Don't forget the pass doesn't include subways.