On this trip, I traveled from Nagoya through Ise, Matsusaka, and Tsu, then continued on to Osaka. I used the KINTETSU RAIL PASS 5day plus. After actually using it, I think that for this pass to really be worth it, it's best to plan at least two longer trips, such as Nagoya to Ise and then Ise to Osaka. If you only have one long-distance trip and the rest are short trips, the savings aren't as noticeable.
The most valuable part of PLUS is that you can take Mie Kotsu buses within designated areas in the Ise region. Places like Futamiura and Naiku aren't most conveniently reached by Kintetsu alone. Especially when going to Futamiura, the bus stop is closer to the main attractions, and you can also walk a lot less when going to Naiku. So if you're only taking Kintetsu, the regular 5-day pass may be enough, but if you want to explore Ise more thoroughly, I'd recommend PLUS.
At one point, I even got on the wrong bus and rode all the way to the area around Shima-Isobe Station, then took Kintetsu back to Ujiyamada. Although I accidentally made a huge detour, having the pass meant I didn't have to recalculate fares the whole way, and it instead became an amusing little incident during the trip.
What's a bit disappointing is that the KINTETSU RAIL PASS has now switched entirely to digital tickets, and the old paper version is no longer available. You now need to buy it in advance or online and display a QR Code on your phone to ride, so you have to keep an eye on your phone's battery and internet connection during the trip. For someone like me who likes to keep physical passes as travel souvenirs, it's still a little disappointing not to have a paper version.
