Our rough route is Tokyo, then Kyoto, with Osaka as either a day trip or one final night. I keep seeing rail passes in old itineraries, but I do not want to buy one just because it sounds like part of the Japan checklist.
My instinct is to price the actual long-distance trips we know we will take and compare that with whatever pass options are current when we travel. Local transport would be separate anyway.
Is there any reason not to approach it that way? I am trying to avoid building extra train rides into the trip just to 'get value' from a pass.