Going from Haneda to Odawara, where I will buy Hakone free pass, Then odawara to Kyoto and back to Tokyo. Two questions: can I get from Haneda to Shinagawa on the rail pass, and is it worth buying the pass?
From my calculations, you are just at or a bit over the break-even point, so getting a pass would be worth it. As for getting from Haneda, you can take the monorail from the airport to Hamamatsucho, and then take the JR train to Shinagawa. Since you are going to Kyoto, if you have not seen Nara, don't skip there either - it has some of Japan's finest sights. https://goo.gl/LfvWnL
It's also possible to see Osaka in the evening after a day of sightseeing in Kyoto. The city really comes alive at night anyways. http://goo.gl/XE5R94 And if you have the time, spending a half or full day in Himeji is also very worthwhile, and with the pass you can quickly get there on the bullet train. https://goo.gl/65ZtRi
You can check on a site like Hyperdia - you can see regular fares, routes, and schedules. http://www.hyperdia.com Under "More Options", for your full JR pass be sure to uncheck the Nozomi box since you can't ride that train using the pass.
Comments
As for getting from Haneda, you can take the monorail from the airport to Hamamatsucho, and then take the JR train to Shinagawa.
Since you are going to Kyoto, if you have not seen Nara, don't skip there either - it has some of Japan's finest sights.
https://goo.gl/LfvWnL
It's also possible to see Osaka in the evening after a day of sightseeing in Kyoto. The city really comes alive at night anyways.
http://goo.gl/XE5R94
And if you have the time, spending a half or full day in Himeji is also very worthwhile, and with the pass you can quickly get there on the bullet train.
https://goo.gl/65ZtRi
You can check on a site like Hyperdia - you can see regular fares, routes, and schedules.
http://www.hyperdia.com
Under "More Options", for your full JR pass be sure to uncheck the Nozomi box since you can't ride that train using the pass.
Also, you can look at some previews of some of the best places to see in Japan on:
https://www.youtube.com/user/thejapanfaq/videos
There are also loads of other tips on
http://www.thejapanfaq.com/the-best-japan-travel-tips/
Best regards.