JR Rail Pass

[Dan]

I searched the JR English site and couldn't find the relevant information, I hope someone can help me with the following questions:
Firstly: Must all the days of the pass be used consecutively? Can some days be transferred to later on?
Secondly: Does the pass only work inside Honshu? Does it work in the gap between Honshu and Hokkaido? What about in Kyushu and Shikoku?
Thirdly: (This is dependent on opinion) Is the pass really economical? I am planning on slowly making my way all over Honshu, but doing this little bits at a time, the biggest trip I could possibly imagine making (and this is unrealistic) is a one time trip from Kyushu to Hokkaido.
Any advice would also be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[Glenski]

You have to use the pass for consecutive days. You can't forward days to a future day and skip some time between.

The pass works on all JR lines, regardless of what part of Japan you are in.

Yes, it's economical for the kind of travel you describe. It pretty much pays for itself on just one trip from Tokyo to Kyoto.

[trip_hop]

Kyushu to Hokkaido - a few options- Oita/ Nagasaki to Tokyo change trains and then up the Tohoku main line to Aomori and the Seikan tunnel to Hokkaido and Sapporo - best part of 36 hours. More interesting might be to change in Osaka and take the Kanazawa/ Hokuriku line on the Japan sea side, much more scenic.

[Dan]

Thank you very much Glenski, Th.

Glenski: How much typically are trips like that? I was considering at the beginning either Tokyo to Nagoya or Tokyo to Kyoto, how much would that cost do you think? I read that if you take alternate transit besides the Shinkansens you can save a bit of money even though it could potentially more than double the time. Is there any truth to that?

[trip_hop]

The Shinkansen runs at 240-285 km/h, sometimes 2 hours between stations, the 500 series tops out at 300 km/ h between Osaka and Hakata. Other trains run between 120 and 160 km/ h. On average a bullet train is 3 times quicker over the same distance.
You pay distance charge, plus surcharges for reserved seat, express/ superexpress cost. The slower fares are NOT 1/3 of the price!

One way prices - normal reserved seat
Tokyo>Osaka-Umeda (Kyoto bit cheaper)
Shinkansen 13,750 yen 3 hours 07 minutes
Express 8,720 yen 10 hours 01 minutes

Tokyo>Nagoya
Shinkansen 10,580 yen 1 hour 51 minutes
Local/ express 6,090 yen 7 hours 14 minute

Tokyo>Sapporo
Shinkansen+express
22,780 yen 10 hours 54 minutes
Express 23,130 yen 19 hours 17 minutes

Tokyo>Nagasaki
Shinkansen+express 26,020 yen 7 hours 04 minutes
Local/ express 21,680 yen 36 hours 53 minutes

I had to do this for my nephew, a train enthusiast.
You can do this all by yourself using the TownPage
JR TRAVEL NAVIGATOR
http://ekimae.itp.ne.jp/tra-bin/jrtrageng.cgi

th