complicated itinerary, need help from someone in the know ;-)

Hi Anna,

Interesting plan! Yakushima is especially nice to visit. As for the JR Pass, let's have a look at ticket prices and see if a JR Pass would be a good buy.

Tokyo - Osaka ¥ 14,340
Osaka - Okayama ¥ 6,220
Okayama - Uno (for ferry to Naoshima) ¥ 1,100
Unu - Okayama ¥ 1,100
Okayama - Osaka ¥ 6,220
Osaka - Tokyo ¥ 14,340

For a total of ¥ 43,320 the 14 day JR Pass is ¥ 46,390 so right now you would be just below the price. However add in local travel in Osaka and Tokyo and you would be able to make small savings.

For travel between Osaka - Tokyo, be sure to use the Shinkansen (bullet trains) these are the most comfortable and fastest way to travel between both places.

Hope this helps!
Daniel

Thank you Daniel for you swift and detailed answer ;-)
We are rather inclined to use your advice and buy a 14 days pass.
If you don't mind could you please explain a small logistic detail.
If we have a Rail Pass do we still need to go to the box office and get a "ticket/voucher" every time we want to travel ?
Thank you very much for you help. Most kind of you :)

Hi Again!

It depends, with the JR Pass you can just hop on any JR train you like. Some trains like to Shinkansen have reserved and non reserved seats. You could just go to the platform and take a non reserved seat, or go to the ticket office in advance and get a seat reserved for you. Both options work!

Personally I prefer to reserve my seats in advance, this can be done up to 5min before departure. This avoids queuing up on the train platform in order to gain a seat.

Hope this helps too!
Daniel