Going to be in Tokyo for two weeks and have a JR pass for one, what to see?

JR Pass is good only if you take long distance trains several times. And Nara or Kyoto are far away from Tokyo.

If you want to purchase JR Pass, buy it only for days you take trains to go to Nara or Kyoto, and back. You don't need JR Pass if you stay within Tokyo.

Those famed passes are sold overseas more cheaply than they are in Japan, so use it. Why "probably" Nara? Just go. It's the original capital of Japan, before Kyoto. It has some of the oldest wooden buildings in the world. The oldest one is a bit south of the city. There are deer that walk where they want in the whole old part of the city.

Japan's full of interesting places, so just flip through your guide book, and go to some places that are far from each other so you can use the pass for what it's worth.

Two weeks is not a lot of time to see Japan. I have been there 7 times sofar, and still not seen or done all there is to see.

That said, I would stay in Tokyo no more than 3 or 4 days, and travel the rest of the time.

With your JR pass and some planning you can easily make it to Miyajima(floating shrine in the ocean). Your pass is good for the JR ferry there as well.

Also, Himeji is a must, and Shikoku is really nice as well, especially the 'Shikoku museum of private houses' near Sakaide and Takamatsu. This is an outdoor park which has ancient houses as they were in Edo times.

Kamakura is nice, and if you want to see the largest Buddha in the world, head to Ushiku, Ibaraki where Amida Daibutsu is located. This statue is built for and entered into the Guinness Book of World Records.

Tip: start and end your pass so that it will expire on your last day in Japan.(you can start it mid-week or on any day that you wish; it does not have to be from Sun. to Sat.). This way you can get to Narita using the N'EX train, for wich the pass is also valid.

With a JR pass you can certainly travel far, if you get a chance a stop at Hiroshima is possible from Kyoto. Stopping in Kyoto/Nara is going tor require more then simple day trips, if you can book lodging in Kyoto as well and use that as a base to explore Kyoto, Nara, Osaka etc.

The must see cities in Japan are Tokyo and Kyoto. Attractions in Tokyo include the Asakusa district famous for Sensoji temple and Nakamise shopping street; Meiji Shrine; The Imperial Palace; Ginza and Harajuku.

Read more about Tokyo here

http://japan-australia.blogspot.com/2010/06/tokyo-...

Kyoto attractions include Kiyomizudera; Kinkakuji (Temple of the Golden Pavilion); Ginkakuji (Temple of the Silver Pavilion); Nijo Castle; and Heian Shrine.

Read more about Kyoto here

http://japan-australia.blogspot.com/2011/01/pictur...

Other places I highly recommend include:

Nara - ancient capital and full of history and old temples

http://japan-australia.blogspot.com/2010/11/pictur...

Takayama - beautiful city known for its traditional architecture and crafts

http://japan-australia.blogspot.com/2010/10/pictur...

Hiroshima - beautiful city in Japan that reminds me of my home town of Melbourne in Australia with its green parks and trams

http://japan-australia.blogspot.com/2010/12/pictur...

If you plan to do a lot of travelling in Japan then it is worth getting the Japan Rail Pass, which allows unlimited travel on almost all JR trains, including the shinkansen (excluding the Nozomi superexpress). This pass can only be purchased outside of Japan.

To figure out if a JR Pass would be worth it or not for you, use Hyperdia’s website http://www.hyperdia.com/ to figure out how much your planned trips might cost, and compare it to the cost of a JR Pass.