I'll be visiting Japan for 23 days or so.

And reading the other posts, a JR pass is not worth my while? As I'll be going from Kansai Airport to Osaka, later to Kyoto (day trip to Nara and back to Kyoto) and then off to Tokyo.

I think that's the gist of it.

According to some sites listed here it'll be cheaper to pay as you go? or do I need to reserve Shinkansen seats for travel? Can you just arrive at the station and buy a ticket?

I'm wondering, Hyperdia lists JR lines and the cost. Does this mean I can still use the JR lines without a JR pass?

Currently I've booked for 21 days for a JR pass, but I can get a refund of 80% of that? is that correct?

Sorry for so many questions for my first post~

Xing wrote (View Post): › a JR pass is not worth my while? As I'll be going from Kansai Airport to Osaka, later to Kyoto (day trip to Nara and back to Kyoto) and then off to Tokyo.

To check whether a JR Pass is worth or not, you have to calculate the total cost of all journeys you plan to do. So we can't give you a definitive answer. Still, if you just plan to do one Osaka-Tokyo trip, then probably it is not a good idea to buy a pass.

Typically, a 1-week pass costs the same as a Tokyo-Kyoto-Tokyo round trip...

Xing wrote (View Post): › or do I need to reserve Shinkansen seats for travel? Can you just arrive at the station and buy a ticket?

You can reserve shinkansen seats for free if you have a JR Pass, or you can pay for a reservation if you do not have a JR Pass. And in both cases, you can take an "unreserved" seat in every train.

Xing wrote (View Post): › I'm wondering, Hyperdia lists JR lines and the cost. Does this mean I can still use the JR lines without a JR pass?

Absolutely, you just pay for each journey like in any other country.

Xing wrote (View Post): › Currently I've booked for 21 days for a JR pass, but I can get a refund of 80% of that?

No idea, if you already paid for the pass, I doubt you can get a refund. But I am really not sure of that...

For the last question, it's true. If you haven't exchange your rail pail in Japan ( the travel agencie give you a coupon ( it's a french word i don't know in english) , you can get a refund even after your trip.
It's my memorie is good, in France it's 90% refund.