Hello, I will be arriving in Narita Airport late and planning to stay at the hotel near the airport. I am planning 4 nights in Tokyo and 4 nights in Kyoto. I would like to spend the 4 nights in Kyoto first in order to be in time to see fall foliage. If I activate my JR ticket the very next day, that mean I will be one day short on my JR pass. Is it better for me to hang around in Tokyo the first day and active my JR pass the next morning before heading out to Kyoto? Also, can I activate JR pass at any JR train stations or only at Narita Airport?
Thank you very much in advance for your advice.
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So if you use the pass, you must leave and return within 7 days.
The list of offices to exchange the voucher of the pass is at:
http://www.japanrailpass.net/en/exchange.html
If you want a cheap way into Tokyo without the pass, there is the 1000 yen bus.
http://accessnarita.jp/en/home/
The problem is, even by waiting and using the pass from Tokyo to Kyoto and back, you still fall a little short from breaking even. If you used the pass on your final day to go to Narita Airport on the Narita Express, that would do it, but there is still a cheaper way - the japanican ticket.
http://www.japanican.com/en/tour/detail/VJOPENTK1/
While it doesn't cover travel between cities in Kansai or from Tokyo to Narita, overall it still comes up as cheaper.
After the temples of Kyoto close down around 5 PM, you can zip over to Osaka for the evening. At night the city comes alive and has some great places to see, such as Dotonbori, plus the night views from the Umeda Sky Bldg and Abeno Harukas Bldg are wonderful.
On another evening, you could also go and see Kobe.
I also suggest you take at least half a day and see Nara - it was also a former capital and has some of Japan's best sights. Nara is often neglected by some tourists, which is a shame. Missing the Todaiji Great Buddha would be a tragedy. Nara Park has a lot of other great places, such as Kasuga Shrine, Kofukuji Temple, and feeding the many deer in the area.
You can see previews of some of the best places to see in Japan on:
https://www.youtube.com/user/thejapanfaq/videos