Most international travel starts with a flight. Therefore, this Japanese vacation plan will start by helping you to plan for how you will arrive into Japan.

            The debate is still open on booking fights directly with airlines or using online travel agents. Each is not without its horror stories, but I have always booked with airlines and never had an issue.

            One thing I would do is check with airfare aggregators to get an idea of the costs. Two of the best I use are Kayak and Skyscanner. Both sites trawl the internet for airfares and will find sales and discounts to give you the best price as well as the airline price. Kayak also offers a service where they can speculate on the trend of an airfare and advise you if they think the price will decrease or increase.

            When flying into Japan, you have a lot of choices. Japanese carriers Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways fly to major destinations in Europe, North America, and Oceania. Legacy carriers from the U.S., Canada, England, Germany, France, Netherlands, Austria, Russia and Scandinavia also offer several flights. Asian carriers from Hong Kong, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, and Singapore add to your choices while Oceania carriers from Australia and New Zealand are also in on the fun. And let’s not forget the big three of the Middle East.

            One suggestion I can put forward, especially for European travellers, is Finnair. Although Finnair is small compared to the giants of Europe, they offer flights to Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, and Fukuoka. In Tokyo, they use Narita Airport. What sets them apart from the more established carriers is that they use the ultra-modern Airbus A350-900XWB jets and they are the shortest flight option from Western Europe. For the purposes of illustrating this point, I will use Manchester Airport in the UK as a starting point. There are no direct flights to Japan from Manchester, therefore, you will connect somewhere either in Europe, the Middle East or Asia. Flight times tend to be 15 to 16 hours on these routes, not including the layover for connecting flights.

            Finnair from Manchester is about 12 hours. It is about a 2.5-hour flight from Manchester to Helsinki and then 9.5 hours from Helsinki to Tokyo.

            I have flown on Cathay Pacific’s Airbus A350 before and it is the best airplane for ultra-long haul flights. The planes are made with composite materials and don’t rely on heavy pressurisation of the cabins. This means you can get some rest and your nose does not feel as dry as the Sahara when you arrive at your destination.

            Another bonus for selecting Finnair is that the codeshare with Japan Airlines which means you can possibly have a booking with Finnair on the Manchester to Helsinki segments and JAL on the Helsinki to Tokyo flights.

            If that is your choice, JAL uses the Boeing 787-9 on the route which is the competing airplane to the Airbus A350 and has similar features to ensure a better flying experience.

            Flight prices to Japan from Manchester are about £600 (economy), £1,000 (premium economy), £2,500 (business), and £4,000 (first).

            There are some tips you can use to help make the airfare cost more bearable:

• Plan your trips outside of peak travel times in Japan. There are three peak seasons in Japan: Golden week (late April to early May), school holidays (July/August), and New Years.
• Airlines tend to hold seat sales from just after Christmas Day through January. I have seen business class flights on JAL via Helsinki for as low as £1,800 during this time.
• Consider a tour package because tour operators are able to offer you flight prices much lower than you can find. But this is probably not an option if you prefer to head out on your own in Tokyo.
• Consider flying to a nearby Asian country and using one of their low cost carriers for the rest of the way.
• If you subscribe to an airline alliance points programme, you can get flights for very cheap or at a discount depending on how many points you have already accrued. The three main airline alliances are Star Alliance, Oneworld, and Skyteam. Star Alliance major carriers include ANA, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways, EVA Air, Air China, Air India, Air Canada, and United. Oneworld carriers are JAL, Cathay Pacific, Malysian Airlines, British Airways, Finnair, and American Airlines. Skyteam includes; KLM, Air France, China Airlines, China Southern, Garuda Indonesia, and Korean Airlines.

Haneda versus Narita

            As I have stated before, there are two airports in Tokyo with Narita being in Chiba Prefecture, about 60 km from central Tokyo.

            Narita was set up as Tokyo’s international airport with Haneda handling mainly domestic flights. However, in the past decade or so, more international flights are landing at Haneda and it is a great option because it is between Tokyo and Yokohama.

            At 10 km from central Tokyo, it is a much better option especially after a long flight.

            The best part is that within 15 minutes you can be in central Tokyo if you take either the Tokyo Monorail to Hamamatsucho Station or the Keikyu Line to Shinagawa Station.

            Hopefully this information and the tips will help you to get a better understanding of how to get to Japan. In the next blog, I will explore rail travel and the discounts available to you.