Transportations from NRT to Kamakura and Kyoto?

Question:

I'm planning my trip to japan in October (7 days trip). Flying in to Narita Airport, what would be the best transportations/ routes to get from NRT to Kamakura -> Kyoto -> Nara -> back to NRT. Will a JR pass a good idea?

Thanks

Answer:

Definitely use JR trains.

Here is a simple example.

From NRT to Kamakura
Take Keisei Main Line or Narita Express (Those go to Ueno from NRT (Ueno is one district of Tokyo) ) Narita express is more expensive but much faster than keisei main line (local train).
Once you arrive at Ueno station, you need to go to Ueno station of JR and take Keihin-Tōhoku Line that goes to Ofuna, which is one of the major stations in Kamakura.
Make sure to take the south-bound train. if you take the train that goes the opposite direction, it goes north.

From Kamakura to Kyoto
You may need to go back to Tokyo from kamakura to take a bullet train called Shinkansen (Specifically, Tokaido Shinkansen) to go to Kyoto. Most people prefer to use this because they can see Mt. Fuji clearly. Avoid to take a local train to go to Kyoto from Kamakura since it takes a lot of time.

From Kyoto, you can go to Nara with Nara line.

From Kyoto to Tokyo, take the same bullet train.
From Tokyo, you go back to NRT via Ueno.

Here is the link of the stations of JR <>http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/routemaps/index.html> and there are other official website of the train company that nicely gives all the info so that you can plan.

In Tokyo, Kamakura, and Kyoto, all the JR station names are written in English and announcement are made with English along with Japanese.

By the way, If you lost the your way, ask police officers or JR staff (it may be weird to ask in the U.S.). They are willing to help you.
Some of them can speak English but you may need to speak very very slowly.