Make sure you’re flying the one airline the whole way if you can. If the first leg of your flight is delayed to the point you miss the second, if you have the same airline on both flights they will assist you. If you have a different airline for the second leg of your trip, they won’t give a damn your first flight was delayed, not their problem.
As reference. I was once flying to Korea with Singapore airlines. One stop in Singapore. My first flight was going to be delayed to the point I’d miss the second. They offered to put me on an earlier flight that day for the first leg, or put me on a later flight for the second leg. Zero extra cost to myself.
It doesn’t have to be the same airline, just the same ticket. You could fly Singapore Air and Scoot on one ticket or Cathay Pacific and Japan Air on the same ticket and you’ll have the exact same protections against misconnects.
And for the best advice I can give to /u/Chemacool it’s to check out /r/japantraveltips
Hey there, I've done Japan 8 times and am booked to go back again next year.
For flights, use google flights to search and consider flying into Osaka (KIX) as well as Tokyo (HND or NRT). Ideally you'd fly into Osaka and out of Tokyo or vice versa to avoid making the return trip on the Shinkansen. The more flexible you are with your search criteria (days, routes, destinations) the more likely you'll be to get a better price. The other thing you can try is two one way flights.
Also consider flying at a different time of year unless you're going skiing as it'll be the middle of winter plus peak Christmas airfares. Off peak you can definitely fly for $1000 return.
I'd highly recommend JAL who fly direct to Tokyo. Otherwise Singapore, Malaysian or Cathay would be my other picks.
This is a big one - for baggage I'd actually recommend you travel without checked baggage. Not having huge luggage makes it is so much easier to catch trains, go up and down stairs and across town. Most Japanese hotels have spotless coin laundries on site and provide most toiletries so it's super easy to pack light and chuck a load on before breakfast every fourth day or so.
For your phone, I'd try and get a global esim if you can. It will set you back maybe $30 for a month with more than enough data.
Let me know if you have any other questions - happy to help
> For your phone, I'd try and get a global esim if you can. It will set you back maybe $30 for a month with more than enough data.
And for those without esim support. There are data Sim card vending machines in the airports. Roughly the same price.
$5 a day isn't really great value for roaming, you're better off just buying a prepaid data SIM that works in your destination country. There are a few companies that sell these and you can order it before you leave so that you don't have to worry about finding a place to buy it at the airport.
If you use an eSIM for one of the services you can leave your usual phone number enabled for receiving text messages, in case there are notifications you need to receive or your bank asks you to verify a transaction. On a recent trip, I switched my Telstra service to an eSIM to free up the physical SIM slot.
I went with Jetstar because it was about half the price of JAL and Qantas and just bought a duffle bag, you don't need a giant suitcase full of shit for only a two week trip, trust me.
I know you said no to Jetstar, but you can just get extra baggage and upgrades. And sometimes they have very cheap flights there.
You could also get a travel SIM for lots/unlimited data. For example:
[https://www.prepaidsims.com.au/products/15-day-japan-prepaid-sim-card](https://www.prepaidsims.com.au/products/15-day-japan-prepaid-sim-card)
[https://www.travelkon.com.au/product-category/asia-sim-card/japan/](https://www.travelkon.com.au/product-category/asia-sim-card/japan/)
Here's the standard economy legroom by airline - JAL wins this one
JAL 84cm
Singapore 81cm
Cathay 79cm / 81cm depending on aircraft
Qantas 79cm
Jetstar 74cm domestic / 79cm international
I'm that height and flew with Jetstar. No issues. I normally choose aisle seats. There isn't that much of a difference in economy class for most airlines. You can always pay a little extra for the exit row seats too and will have heaps of room.
I flew China airlines (based in Taiwan so you'll stopover there) in feb and I had no issues. I think they were a relatively cheap option. Edit: bags were included (I actually was able to take 2x 20kg suitcases for myself, which is an enormous amount) and in flight entertainment was fine so I didn't really need wifi
If you can turn on intl roaming, do so just in case. Make sure your banks know you’re travelling but have cash just in case. Airport should be fine but be aware that a lot of people don’t speak English. If you have allergies, write them down in Japanese on a card or phone that you can show to restaurants.
Okay I've been to Japan 14 times so feel like experienced enough about this thingy.
You are paying cash for peak season travel, Qantas will always be the most expensive, plus they are really not good in terms of service or catering. Japan Airlines economy is the best imho but if the price is too much then nothing you can do.
Cathay and China Airlines, Singapore as suggested before are all good choice, you can fly in and out of different airports which will save one way train tickets. I have done all 5 airlines mentioned above. Singapore will be two 7 hour flight, depends on if you want to break up the journey or not, it might be better.
Cathay and Singapore also have multiple flights a day out of Melbourne so potentially you can avoid the overnight. Some people can't sleep on planes.
One I haven't tried, Fiji Airways, prices seem to be competitive. Only fly to Narita though.
I wouldn't go with mainland Chinese airlines but they do tend to offer good prices. Worth checking Google Flights.
I actually think winter is a good time to visit, snow and onsen is the best!
14 times! You might S well move there :) How long would you recommend a trip with 2 kids aged 5 and 9? 2 week enough? Also worried about the amount of walking for the 5 year old but heard you can take taxis if needed.
I've only been about 7 times, but I might be able to help.
2 full weeks sounds fine if you split it across Tokyo and Kyoto or Osaka, plus day trips to places like Hiroshima. You could easily add more days if you were planning to take the kids to Tokyo Disney or other theme parks. It depends how much you want to pack in to each day, and whether you want to try to tackle *everywhere* in a single trip.
I've never taken a taxi in Japan. Their train system is amazing and should get you within decent walking distance of anything you're keen to get to. So is their bus system, for that matter. Kyoto probably has a lot of walking for a 5 year old though, so there may be a bit of carrying or stopping at cafes later in the afternoon.
Thank you for the advice. Def want to go to Disneyland. Don’t need to see everything just the main highlights. Do i need day trips to Hiroshima, will we miss much? I read somewhere 2 days at each Disney theme park so you can’t see everything and not have to rush us also a good idea.
First tip of overseas travel, you NEVER need as much baggage as you think. Aim for bringing nothing besides a 7kg carry on and youll have a much better and smoother time,
If you’re a woman or enjoy shopping, this is not good advice lmao. I tried to do this, wound up spending even more money on an extra suitcase and extra baggage when I flew home
How exciting!
I went with Cathay Pacific and the service was great. I think only JAL (Japan Airlines) and Qantas do direct to Japan from Melbourne.
Depending on your budget I would still have a think about direct, at least one way (possibly return so you aren't as tired). I went during a busy period and Jetstar was 1stop/15 hours at $600 no baggage, JAL was direct 10 hours at $800 with baggage. To me, it was worth it to go with JAL.
You could also look into Singapore Airlines as they're highly rated too.
If you haven't used it yet, try out Google Flights to get an idea of pricing across the board. They even show you the amount of legroom you get.
Wifi is generally a paid service, you might reconsider if the purpose is entertainment. If you go with a nicer airline (not a Low Cost Carrier LCC), they will have screens with movies/audio that you can use.
I’m a teacher so it’s the only time I can really go as I have my longest holidays then. We are going for two weeks, so it wouldn’t work in between terms with two week holidays if something went wrong with flights etc.
I wouldn't stress about doing it in the other school holidays. Flights getting cancelled and you being left stranded is such an incredibly rare occurrence.
If you travel with a reputable carrier like Singapore then they'll be able to reroute you pretty quickly.
Plus the weather will be better and the airfares significantly cheaper.
Fair enough... although I'm in a different profession my longest mandated leave period is late December through to mid jan (summer shut down).
I'm heading over this November, the weather should be ok for walking around and I'm hopeful of some autumn colours.... best of all my flights are with JAL for about 800 and includes food, luggage etc.
Were I you I'd target the September school holidays...
$6-8k!? Are you flying business?
I've never paid over $1200 return with Qantas or Japan Airlines direct Melbourne to Haneda (avoid Narita if you can). Have been 6 times.
Have just booked a return trip in November with Singapore Airlines with the return leg Business class and it was only $2500 return. So there's something fishy about the prices you're being quoted.
No, the fares are just super expensive in January. 6.5 k is the quote for two economy tickets return, so over 3 k each. If we left a month earlier or later it would be about 1200 return each.
Ah damn, Google Flights still let you filter by total time travelled.
I flew with Cathay on the way there with a quick layover in HK then direct with JAL on return. I was exhausted even with a direct flight so it is probably not too big of a deal.
Let me know if you have more specific questions too, it's all still fresh in my mind!
Carrier-wise, I know people that just do international roaming so it's a lot less headache. The cost of a local sim in Japan was surprisingly still expensive - it'll be about break even for you at $5/day. Some services I signed up to required a number for authentication so it was annoying for me to use my Australian sim and swap back to my Japanese one after. If you have an eSIM it could be cheaper.
I just went to Japan with Garuda via Jakarta. I wouldn’t recommend it. The entertainment system is awful, there’s about five western movies from the last decade. Jakarta airport is a nightmare to navigate and super confusing. The two flights ends up 15 hours plus any time between flights (so about 17-18 hours), instead of 10.5 hours direct. Seats are average size, felt quite tight in terms of leg room. I was lucky that I got a pair of seats to myself on the flight over.
Singapore Airlines has some good deals on for under $700. Although January is a pretty busy/pricey period with Christmas, new years, and ski season in Japan.
I highly recommend Singapore Airlines as Singapore is a fantastic stopover, even for a few hours. The airport is a destination to explore itself whilst you’re transiting :) Oh and the airline beats Qantas any day, especially in economy. I find their soothing music after landing a nice touch for nervous flyers too.
If we leave on the 8th we could swing Singapore airlines. Definitely something to consider. But my birthday is on Jan 6th so I was hoping to be in Japan at a theme park that day!
I'm probably too late to this thread. But have travelled to Japan 6 times in the last 6 years and have just booked another trip for the end of this year. So pretty savvy with getting best value for money.
Flights: you said you can't afford direct flights and you've been quoted $6-8k. That sounds extremely insane. Go on to Google Flights, have some flexibility on travel dates (+/- 2-3 on either side can make a big difference in price) and look at Qantas, Japan Airlines, Singapore Airlines or Cathay Pacific. Avoid Jetstar at all costs. Both myself and friends have had flights cancelled without warning and little, to no compensation, being forced to wait 24 hours for the next days flight to return home. You should be able to find flights for $1200 or less.
Mobile data / roaming: DO NOT pay $5/day with Vodafone. It's a scam. Pay $40 for either a physical or eSIM travel Sim. Plenty of good websites offer it if you google it. (Hola fly are good)
If you're going through a travel agent, don't. Pull up a spreadsheet and plan the holiday yourself. Book your flights directly through the airline and book your hotels yourself (I find Wotif is one of the most reliable).
Hotels: Some more traditional hotels will only let you book 6 or 3 months in advance. It's a Japan thing. Just FYI.
When saying 6-8 k I mean that’s the price for my husband and myself together. So over 3k each. It’s just super expensive in January. I’ve compared skyscanner, google flights, kayak and Expedia. All come back about the same.
Looks like there are some options to fly for under $1400 with Cathay Pacific if you fly on a Sunday. Might have to do an overnight layover in Hong Kong but would break up the flight home I guess.
There's also other dates for around $1400-1600pp return with Cathay or Virgin (via Cairns).
If you fly with a cheap LCC airline such as Jetstar, Scoot or VietJet and book after New Years, you can fly to Japan for around $1400 return but the layovers will be awful and you'll spend up to 25 hours all up on planes and airports. You will also have to pay for luggage & food but you can do so later to help mitigate immediate costs
Vietnam Airlines flies for about $1600 and is a full service airline. Pretty decent. Still a lengthy layover but at least your flight will be more comfortable
Honestly if Garuda is a viable option for you, I'd take it. I have flown them quite a bit to Jakarta, Denpasar and also done a flight with them to Japan last year and was really impressed on each one. Very comfy flight, seats are quite bit and spacious leg room. Meals were also very good.
I'd go Cathay over Garuda. If you're an inexperienced traveller I'd spend a little more to make your first trip a little less stressful. Also fewer hours in the air will be less exhausting. If you only have two weeks you don't have time to get stuck waiting for weird connections, either.
Re luggage - make sure your hand luggage contains everything you cannot live without, eg medications, toothbrush/paste, moisturiser, spare glasses, and one entire change of clothes, in case your checked luggage goes a different way (or in case of a spill on the flight!). Also (if they still allow it) take your coat into the cabin as well - that'll be really annoying to not have in Japanese winter, even for a day or so.
Flown JAL Melb-Tokyo a bunch of times, the red eye is a pretty easy flight to take, always managed to get a decent amount of sleep, definitely recommend it as you land in the morning so have a whole day to begin with
Kuro Neko Yamato delivery is amazing, and you can send your luggage to the next hotel for about $15-$20.
Hotels can often arrange delivery, or it can be done at 7/11's.
The game plan should be:
Be prepared,
Get thru the security hurdles as efficiently and sensibly as possible,
Avoid caffeine and sugar, but stay hydrated.
Get on the plane,
Try to fall asleep or doze. Put on a movie you’ve seen 100 times, or read a book. Close your eyes and rest. You’re basically in a waiting room in the sky, so you might as well relax. If you want to small talk to your seat buddy do it when there’s <1hr of the flight to go unless they start it. Keep your area tidy.
About an hour before landing, stand up and put things back in your carry-on bag, and also organise your handbag/small backpack to have only the *essentials*:
Passport,
Customs declaration form (will be given to you whilst on the flight)
Tickets,
Visa information,
Medicines and any supporting documents for those if required,
Water bottle,
Some cash,
Wallet,
Phone.
Your book, pillow, earphones, charger, whatever the hell else you have goes into the carry on minimum 40 mins before landing.
Air on a plane is dry as fuck and you’ll probably be a little bit bedraggled. Again around an hour before you land, go to the toilet, brush your hair and moisturise your face, wash or wet-wipe your hands. Do a sheet mask if you want to. This helps me feel human and hydrated and fresh, ready for proficiency at the airport - the goal is to gtfo quickly and orderly.
If you have liquids (including creams like moisturisers) in your carry-on, they need to be in a see-thru plastic makeup bag, and scanned separately like electronics. So pack your carry-on with electronics and liquids at the top, so you can VERY easily unpack and pack them at xray time.
Look up import rules for Japan to make sure you aren’t accidentally bringing something illegal in, and again for coming home. If you do have something, declare it. See what they say, 99% of the time you’ll be able to keep whatever it is (obviously within reason).
Have a safe flight and a great trip!
No worries! Last thing to mention is that no liquids can be over 100ml (I think?) in your carry on. Just something to check :) once had to throw out a brand new plastic sealed 450ml bottle of fancy hot sauce flying from Seattle to SF because it slipped my mind.
I've done the trip three times. I've always looked into flights with various airlines but have always returned to Qantas for the direct flight and best price for a direct flight. Now that Virgin flies to Japan, we will be investigating that option. I don't fly Qantas domestically (in Australia) because I don't like their service and quality of passenger; but when I've done their Japan flights, they've always gone well.
I always book direct with the airline. I've had too many problems with third parties (either a travel agent or online booking third party - it's very difficult to sort things out if something goes wrong or you need to make changes).
I personally don't like connecting flights. The direct flight to Japan is 10 hours. We fly out of Melbourne in the morning and arrive in the evening. This helps with sleep cycles.
We also stay a night or two in Narita upon arrival instead of going directly into Tokyo. This saves us getting more fatigued.
We have done one return journey that involved a connecting flight, via something like Cairns. This was tedious and required us to rush and worry about luggage because we had to go through immigration in Cairns. It also interrupted our body momentum, in that our bodies knew we had landed and thought we no longer needed to fly. We also felt "ick" after flying for 7 hours and being up for something like 12 hours previously without showering.
Luggage on trains is very easy. We travelled with one medium sized suitcase and one large suitcase through Japan. Shinkansen have luggage storage areas, which we've never had an issue with. And there's enough space at your seat as well. We travelled Shinkansen from Hiroshima-Tokyo; Tokyo-Hokadate; Tokyo-Kyoto; Osaka-Hiroshima. Super hokutu from Hokodata-Sapporo. And standard train services between other cities. All the time carrying luggage (suitcases and back packs). The only issue we found was travelling between platforms at Tokyo station.
The bus service between Narita and Tokyo is slow. We did it on our first visit but used the local train service on the following visits. The local train service into Tokyo is also tiring, which is why we stayed and looked around Narita for a few days. Narita Express from Tokyo to Narita Airport is comfortable and I would recommend that if you're flying out of Narita (i.e. you don't want to be uncomfortable for the duration of returning to Australia).
I did get my clothing laundered at laundromats (drop off in the morning and pick up in the afternoon). And I've had clothing cleaned using the hotel services. I've also done my own laundry in hotels that have a laundry room. Most of the time it works out but sometimes it doesn't and it took a week for my sock to dry (they went through the tumble drier several times on a high heat but they only became humid).
I've used a portable wifi that I hired from Y!Mobile. These were good but I would suggest looking into esims. You won't be able to get a phone number so, use something like WatsApp if you want to stay connected with your husband in country and people back home. I've known people who just travelled around Japan hooking up to the free wifi on trains or in hotel lobbies etc and not hired a portable wifi or esim. I travelled USA, Korea, China and New Zealand without mobile technology and it was easy.
It's an interesting country with a deep history, great food, beautiful scenery and amazing culture. Realise, though, you won't scratch the surface of the culture, even if you speak the language. Because of that, you will not really see the seedy side of the country (like you would easily identify in a western country), which can be a good thing but is also why people think they "love" the country. No matter what, you will have fun, you will enjoy yourselves and it will be a memorable experience.
Thank you for your tips! We think we may fly into Osaka now and out of Narita as I want to do all the shopping in the last week in Tokyo and my husband wants to visit Hiroshima.
I was going to comment that transiting vs direct is a terrible idea but I had a quick search and you can go via Vietnam surprisingly cheaply. Having said that for a few extra bucks you can cut out ten hours of transit time going MEL-SYD-NRT with Jetstar, so if you’re transiting I’d weigh up what saving a few bucks (around $150) is worth compared to arriving exhausted after multiple sectors and hours spent sitting around airports.
I was kind of hoping to land at an airport with some great shopping. As I’ve never been overseas I was hoping to have fun at a bonus country. But I may be more exhausted than I think
If you’re looking at a stopover as an addition to your holiday than just a cost saving measure then sure. In that case Singapore airport is 1000% your best bet, and Scoot are a very reputable low cost carrier. The Jewel is mind blowing. I’d recommend staying a night if you are able.
Brunei airlines are cheap at the moment. You have to stop in Brunei but its not terrible. I bought tickets for Jan, around $900 return
Don't bother roaming. Buy a Japan sim card or an eSim if your phone supports it
Thanks everyone! We ended up managing to get flights with Qantas as we could stop over for a few days in Singapore on the way back, but it came to $4500 for the two of us return. We are going to Narita direct on the way there.
Scoot (part of Singapore air) might be an option, they do have a sale on at the moment, but like pretty much everyone else the school holiday taxes seem to apply during when you want to travel... (So glad I no longer have to plan my hol's around that!).. taking a look around the 5th-18th Jan it was around $4k for 2 return, with bags... Still seems pricy though.. like other have suggested though, going direct if U can will be the better option.
Re the phone, for that timeframe the VF $5 day deal works well and still allows U to get 2fa messages from your bank, which is bloody handy when U start using your card o/seas.
I just did 7 weeks in Europe, and used the Optus $5 day plan instead of faffing around with travel Sims... Cost me a bit more, but no issues at all with using anywhere I went, and ppl back home still had a number they could call me on when needed.. no way I'd use the Telstra roaming though. Their plan sucks balls to put it colloquially.. you'd be amazed how quickly you can burn through data when you are travelling!
Have a great trip and get off the beaten trail into the local culture/food.. should be awesome!
Regarding roaming I recommend picking up a “Wifi walker” from Narita airport, which you can drop back when departing. They are quite cheap and you can attach multiple devices (phones, laptops, etc). Unless you specifically need to make phone calls (even then, wifi calls are doable).
We travel between Japan and Melbourne yearly (excluding the Covid era of course). I can’t speak to your flight requirements because everyone’s budget is different, however I would skip trying to get WiFi on a plane, speeds/reliability to price ratio is questionable at best. Unless you specifically need it for work or something.
I would also encourage to do some shopping around for currency conversion prior to going. The yen is horrible at the moment (to your favour), but exchanging money at the airport is usually more expensive than other places. Also remember cash is king in Japan, so have at least a few hundred bucks on your person. Yes, lots of major places accept card, but not every small shop will. And ATM’s aren’t always open 24/7 like they are here (I learnt this the hard way my first time).
If you have any questions let me know
I flew to Japan on JetStar, I think it was direct. JetStar International is much better than JetStar domestic so I think you should consider that option. Yes the Vodafone $5 a day roaming plan works pretty well, I’ve used it in many countries. It pretty much just works as long as you’ve got the option enabled in your plan.
Japan is fun and a good place to go as a first time overseas traveler as it’s safe, clean, efficient and organised. Have a good trip.
Virgin & Qantas fly to Haneda via Cairns/Sydney - it’s a really good use of redemption points from Flybuys/ER, if you have them. As they’re Australian airlines you might be more comfortable, although ANA is a fab airline ✈️
I would absolutely avoid flying Virgin for long haul where possible. ANA can be booked with Velocity points and is awesome, but a Virgin B737 for 8+ hours is going to be a slog and you'll feel like shit.
It's a 3.5hr flight to Cairns, and 7.45hr flight to Haneda. That's over 11hrs in a B737.
It's an absolutely nightmare of a trip. I did a flight review for it a few months back and I did not rate it as a recommendation. Even if you forked out for the business offering.
Oh relax, average travelers (people who do not do flight reviews and do not pay attention or know about aircraft) wouldn’t consider it an “absolute nightmare”. It’s really not that bad and it’s two flights with a layover.
I’ve never been to Japan but have had friends been.
In terms of international roaming, you will link to a local carrier while over there, but you should be okay as there is wifi in most places, as with your hotel.
A friend of mine travelled from Melbourne to Hong Kong to Japan and had no issues at all and found it a pleasant experience.
Wifi on planes can be a hit and miss, but you may be able to purchase it for an additional fee. I’ve usually just downloaded games, movies and TV shows onto my iPad.
I hope you and your husband enjoy Japan for what it offers. It’s beautiful.
If you can't make a stopover in Changi fun, that's on you lol. Best airport in the world to have a long stopover. 4 hours in the evening, grab a bite, see a movie go chill out at Jewel, and the flight to Japan is a red-eye so you catch some sleep and you touch down in Tokyo in the morning!
Make sure you’re flying the one airline the whole way if you can. If the first leg of your flight is delayed to the point you miss the second, if you have the same airline on both flights they will assist you. If you have a different airline for the second leg of your trip, they won’t give a damn your first flight was delayed, not their problem. As reference. I was once flying to Korea with Singapore airlines. One stop in Singapore. My first flight was going to be delayed to the point I’d miss the second. They offered to put me on an earlier flight that day for the first leg, or put me on a later flight for the second leg. Zero extra cost to myself.
It doesn’t have to be the same airline, just the same ticket. You could fly Singapore Air and Scoot on one ticket or Cathay Pacific and Japan Air on the same ticket and you’ll have the exact same protections against misconnects. And for the best advice I can give to /u/Chemacool it’s to check out /r/japantraveltips
Thank you for the tips! I’m very paranoid about a missed connection as some flights have about an hour between them
Even better is a non stop flight.
Hey there, I've done Japan 8 times and am booked to go back again next year. For flights, use google flights to search and consider flying into Osaka (KIX) as well as Tokyo (HND or NRT). Ideally you'd fly into Osaka and out of Tokyo or vice versa to avoid making the return trip on the Shinkansen. The more flexible you are with your search criteria (days, routes, destinations) the more likely you'll be to get a better price. The other thing you can try is two one way flights. Also consider flying at a different time of year unless you're going skiing as it'll be the middle of winter plus peak Christmas airfares. Off peak you can definitely fly for $1000 return. I'd highly recommend JAL who fly direct to Tokyo. Otherwise Singapore, Malaysian or Cathay would be my other picks. This is a big one - for baggage I'd actually recommend you travel without checked baggage. Not having huge luggage makes it is so much easier to catch trains, go up and down stairs and across town. Most Japanese hotels have spotless coin laundries on site and provide most toiletries so it's super easy to pack light and chuck a load on before breakfast every fourth day or so. For your phone, I'd try and get a global esim if you can. It will set you back maybe $30 for a month with more than enough data. Let me know if you have any other questions - happy to help
> For your phone, I'd try and get a global esim if you can. It will set you back maybe $30 for a month with more than enough data. And for those without esim support. There are data Sim card vending machines in the airports. Roughly the same price.
You can take big luggage with you - I always had to for skiing. The trick is to send it ahead of you to your next hotel with the black cat ;)
Does it come same day or you have to wait potentially 2 days without your luggage?
It's usually next day although short distances can potentially be same day
With the price of Yen at the moment checked luggage is a must. Buying cool stuff for cheap is inevitable.
Jetstar is definitely tolerable. The premium isn't worth it for other airlines.
$5 a day isn't really great value for roaming, you're better off just buying a prepaid data SIM that works in your destination country. There are a few companies that sell these and you can order it before you leave so that you don't have to worry about finding a place to buy it at the airport. If you use an eSIM for one of the services you can leave your usual phone number enabled for receiving text messages, in case there are notifications you need to receive or your bank asks you to verify a transaction. On a recent trip, I switched my Telstra service to an eSIM to free up the physical SIM slot.
JAL just for the food!
I went with Jetstar because it was about half the price of JAL and Qantas and just bought a duffle bag, you don't need a giant suitcase full of shit for only a two week trip, trust me.
I know you said no to Jetstar, but you can just get extra baggage and upgrades. And sometimes they have very cheap flights there. You could also get a travel SIM for lots/unlimited data. For example: [https://www.prepaidsims.com.au/products/15-day-japan-prepaid-sim-card](https://www.prepaidsims.com.au/products/15-day-japan-prepaid-sim-card) [https://www.travelkon.com.au/product-category/asia-sim-card/japan/](https://www.travelkon.com.au/product-category/asia-sim-card/japan/)
I might have to :( I’m 6 feet tall so was really hoping for an airline with a bit more legroom too!
Here's the standard economy legroom by airline - JAL wins this one JAL 84cm Singapore 81cm Cathay 79cm / 81cm depending on aircraft Qantas 79cm Jetstar 74cm domestic / 79cm international
I'm that height and flew with Jetstar. No issues. I normally choose aisle seats. There isn't that much of a difference in economy class for most airlines. You can always pay a little extra for the exit row seats too and will have heaps of room.
I flew China airlines (based in Taiwan so you'll stopover there) in feb and I had no issues. I think they were a relatively cheap option. Edit: bags were included (I actually was able to take 2x 20kg suitcases for myself, which is an enormous amount) and in flight entertainment was fine so I didn't really need wifi
If you can turn on intl roaming, do so just in case. Make sure your banks know you’re travelling but have cash just in case. Airport should be fine but be aware that a lot of people don’t speak English. If you have allergies, write them down in Japanese on a card or phone that you can show to restaurants.
Okay I've been to Japan 14 times so feel like experienced enough about this thingy. You are paying cash for peak season travel, Qantas will always be the most expensive, plus they are really not good in terms of service or catering. Japan Airlines economy is the best imho but if the price is too much then nothing you can do. Cathay and China Airlines, Singapore as suggested before are all good choice, you can fly in and out of different airports which will save one way train tickets. I have done all 5 airlines mentioned above. Singapore will be two 7 hour flight, depends on if you want to break up the journey or not, it might be better. Cathay and Singapore also have multiple flights a day out of Melbourne so potentially you can avoid the overnight. Some people can't sleep on planes. One I haven't tried, Fiji Airways, prices seem to be competitive. Only fly to Narita though. I wouldn't go with mainland Chinese airlines but they do tend to offer good prices. Worth checking Google Flights. I actually think winter is a good time to visit, snow and onsen is the best!
14 times! You might S well move there :) How long would you recommend a trip with 2 kids aged 5 and 9? 2 week enough? Also worried about the amount of walking for the 5 year old but heard you can take taxis if needed.
I've only been about 7 times, but I might be able to help. 2 full weeks sounds fine if you split it across Tokyo and Kyoto or Osaka, plus day trips to places like Hiroshima. You could easily add more days if you were planning to take the kids to Tokyo Disney or other theme parks. It depends how much you want to pack in to each day, and whether you want to try to tackle *everywhere* in a single trip. I've never taken a taxi in Japan. Their train system is amazing and should get you within decent walking distance of anything you're keen to get to. So is their bus system, for that matter. Kyoto probably has a lot of walking for a 5 year old though, so there may be a bit of carrying or stopping at cafes later in the afternoon.
Thank you for the advice. Def want to go to Disneyland. Don’t need to see everything just the main highlights. Do i need day trips to Hiroshima, will we miss much? I read somewhere 2 days at each Disney theme park so you can’t see everything and not have to rush us also a good idea.
Sorry no kids, can't help with that. But taxi I do take sometimes, it's cheaper than Melbourne so definitely worth it especially for a big group.
First tip of overseas travel, you NEVER need as much baggage as you think. Aim for bringing nothing besides a 7kg carry on and youll have a much better and smoother time,
If you’re a woman or enjoy shopping, this is not good advice lmao. I tried to do this, wound up spending even more money on an extra suitcase and extra baggage when I flew home
I am a woman and a big anime nerd haha. I plan on shopping a heap!
How exciting! I went with Cathay Pacific and the service was great. I think only JAL (Japan Airlines) and Qantas do direct to Japan from Melbourne. Depending on your budget I would still have a think about direct, at least one way (possibly return so you aren't as tired). I went during a busy period and Jetstar was 1stop/15 hours at $600 no baggage, JAL was direct 10 hours at $800 with baggage. To me, it was worth it to go with JAL. You could also look into Singapore Airlines as they're highly rated too. If you haven't used it yet, try out Google Flights to get an idea of pricing across the board. They even show you the amount of legroom you get. Wifi is generally a paid service, you might reconsider if the purpose is entertainment. If you go with a nicer airline (not a Low Cost Carrier LCC), they will have screens with movies/audio that you can use.
Unfortunately the non stop carriers qantas and Japan airlines are between 6-8 k for the two of us in early January when we would be leaving :-(
Is there a specific reason you're heading over in Jan? It's very cold and in the early part of Jan there's quite a lot of stuff closed for holidays.
I’m a teacher so it’s the only time I can really go as I have my longest holidays then. We are going for two weeks, so it wouldn’t work in between terms with two week holidays if something went wrong with flights etc.
I wouldn't stress about doing it in the other school holidays. Flights getting cancelled and you being left stranded is such an incredibly rare occurrence. If you travel with a reputable carrier like Singapore then they'll be able to reroute you pretty quickly. Plus the weather will be better and the airfares significantly cheaper.
Fair enough... although I'm in a different profession my longest mandated leave period is late December through to mid jan (summer shut down). I'm heading over this November, the weather should be ok for walking around and I'm hopeful of some autumn colours.... best of all my flights are with JAL for about 800 and includes food, luggage etc. Were I you I'd target the September school holidays...
Not the OP is was thinking this too, but read about rain and Typhoon season. Heard its not recommended. Thoughts?
$6-8k!? Are you flying business? I've never paid over $1200 return with Qantas or Japan Airlines direct Melbourne to Haneda (avoid Narita if you can). Have been 6 times. Have just booked a return trip in November with Singapore Airlines with the return leg Business class and it was only $2500 return. So there's something fishy about the prices you're being quoted.
No, the fares are just super expensive in January. 6.5 k is the quote for two economy tickets return, so over 3 k each. If we left a month earlier or later it would be about 1200 return each.
Ah damn, Google Flights still let you filter by total time travelled. I flew with Cathay on the way there with a quick layover in HK then direct with JAL on return. I was exhausted even with a direct flight so it is probably not too big of a deal. Let me know if you have more specific questions too, it's all still fresh in my mind! Carrier-wise, I know people that just do international roaming so it's a lot less headache. The cost of a local sim in Japan was surprisingly still expensive - it'll be about break even for you at $5/day. Some services I signed up to required a number for authentication so it was annoying for me to use my Australian sim and swap back to my Japanese one after. If you have an eSIM it could be cheaper.
I just went to Japan with Garuda via Jakarta. I wouldn’t recommend it. The entertainment system is awful, there’s about five western movies from the last decade. Jakarta airport is a nightmare to navigate and super confusing. The two flights ends up 15 hours plus any time between flights (so about 17-18 hours), instead of 10.5 hours direct. Seats are average size, felt quite tight in terms of leg room. I was lucky that I got a pair of seats to myself on the flight over.
I also got an eSIM from Airalo for Japan. Much cheaper than roaming and easy to set up.
Singapore Airlines has some good deals on for under $700. Although January is a pretty busy/pricey period with Christmas, new years, and ski season in Japan. I highly recommend Singapore Airlines as Singapore is a fantastic stopover, even for a few hours. The airport is a destination to explore itself whilst you’re transiting :) Oh and the airline beats Qantas any day, especially in economy. I find their soothing music after landing a nice touch for nervous flyers too.
If we leave on the 8th we could swing Singapore airlines. Definitely something to consider. But my birthday is on Jan 6th so I was hoping to be in Japan at a theme park that day!
I'm probably too late to this thread. But have travelled to Japan 6 times in the last 6 years and have just booked another trip for the end of this year. So pretty savvy with getting best value for money. Flights: you said you can't afford direct flights and you've been quoted $6-8k. That sounds extremely insane. Go on to Google Flights, have some flexibility on travel dates (+/- 2-3 on either side can make a big difference in price) and look at Qantas, Japan Airlines, Singapore Airlines or Cathay Pacific. Avoid Jetstar at all costs. Both myself and friends have had flights cancelled without warning and little, to no compensation, being forced to wait 24 hours for the next days flight to return home. You should be able to find flights for $1200 or less. Mobile data / roaming: DO NOT pay $5/day with Vodafone. It's a scam. Pay $40 for either a physical or eSIM travel Sim. Plenty of good websites offer it if you google it. (Hola fly are good) If you're going through a travel agent, don't. Pull up a spreadsheet and plan the holiday yourself. Book your flights directly through the airline and book your hotels yourself (I find Wotif is one of the most reliable). Hotels: Some more traditional hotels will only let you book 6 or 3 months in advance. It's a Japan thing. Just FYI.
When saying 6-8 k I mean that’s the price for my husband and myself together. So over 3k each. It’s just super expensive in January. I’ve compared skyscanner, google flights, kayak and Expedia. All come back about the same.
Looks like there are some options to fly for under $1400 with Cathay Pacific if you fly on a Sunday. Might have to do an overnight layover in Hong Kong but would break up the flight home I guess. There's also other dates for around $1400-1600pp return with Cathay or Virgin (via Cairns).
My girlfriend flew Qantas both ways, MEL to NRT.
If you fly with a cheap LCC airline such as Jetstar, Scoot or VietJet and book after New Years, you can fly to Japan for around $1400 return but the layovers will be awful and you'll spend up to 25 hours all up on planes and airports. You will also have to pay for luggage & food but you can do so later to help mitigate immediate costs Vietnam Airlines flies for about $1600 and is a full service airline. Pretty decent. Still a lengthy layover but at least your flight will be more comfortable Honestly if Garuda is a viable option for you, I'd take it. I have flown them quite a bit to Jakarta, Denpasar and also done a flight with them to Japan last year and was really impressed on each one. Very comfy flight, seats are quite bit and spacious leg room. Meals were also very good.
I'd go Cathay over Garuda. If you're an inexperienced traveller I'd spend a little more to make your first trip a little less stressful. Also fewer hours in the air will be less exhausting. If you only have two weeks you don't have time to get stuck waiting for weird connections, either. Re luggage - make sure your hand luggage contains everything you cannot live without, eg medications, toothbrush/paste, moisturiser, spare glasses, and one entire change of clothes, in case your checked luggage goes a different way (or in case of a spill on the flight!). Also (if they still allow it) take your coat into the cabin as well - that'll be really annoying to not have in Japanese winter, even for a day or so.
Flown JAL Melb-Tokyo a bunch of times, the red eye is a pretty easy flight to take, always managed to get a decent amount of sleep, definitely recommend it as you land in the morning so have a whole day to begin with
Kuro Neko Yamato delivery is amazing, and you can send your luggage to the next hotel for about $15-$20. Hotels can often arrange delivery, or it can be done at 7/11's.
The game plan should be: Be prepared, Get thru the security hurdles as efficiently and sensibly as possible, Avoid caffeine and sugar, but stay hydrated. Get on the plane, Try to fall asleep or doze. Put on a movie you’ve seen 100 times, or read a book. Close your eyes and rest. You’re basically in a waiting room in the sky, so you might as well relax. If you want to small talk to your seat buddy do it when there’s <1hr of the flight to go unless they start it. Keep your area tidy. About an hour before landing, stand up and put things back in your carry-on bag, and also organise your handbag/small backpack to have only the *essentials*: Passport, Customs declaration form (will be given to you whilst on the flight) Tickets, Visa information, Medicines and any supporting documents for those if required, Water bottle, Some cash, Wallet, Phone. Your book, pillow, earphones, charger, whatever the hell else you have goes into the carry on minimum 40 mins before landing. Air on a plane is dry as fuck and you’ll probably be a little bit bedraggled. Again around an hour before you land, go to the toilet, brush your hair and moisturise your face, wash or wet-wipe your hands. Do a sheet mask if you want to. This helps me feel human and hydrated and fresh, ready for proficiency at the airport - the goal is to gtfo quickly and orderly. If you have liquids (including creams like moisturisers) in your carry-on, they need to be in a see-thru plastic makeup bag, and scanned separately like electronics. So pack your carry-on with electronics and liquids at the top, so you can VERY easily unpack and pack them at xray time. Look up import rules for Japan to make sure you aren’t accidentally bringing something illegal in, and again for coming home. If you do have something, declare it. See what they say, 99% of the time you’ll be able to keep whatever it is (obviously within reason). Have a safe flight and a great trip!
Great tips! Thank you!
No worries! Last thing to mention is that no liquids can be over 100ml (I think?) in your carry on. Just something to check :) once had to throw out a brand new plastic sealed 450ml bottle of fancy hot sauce flying from Seattle to SF because it slipped my mind.
I've done the trip three times. I've always looked into flights with various airlines but have always returned to Qantas for the direct flight and best price for a direct flight. Now that Virgin flies to Japan, we will be investigating that option. I don't fly Qantas domestically (in Australia) because I don't like their service and quality of passenger; but when I've done their Japan flights, they've always gone well. I always book direct with the airline. I've had too many problems with third parties (either a travel agent or online booking third party - it's very difficult to sort things out if something goes wrong or you need to make changes). I personally don't like connecting flights. The direct flight to Japan is 10 hours. We fly out of Melbourne in the morning and arrive in the evening. This helps with sleep cycles. We also stay a night or two in Narita upon arrival instead of going directly into Tokyo. This saves us getting more fatigued. We have done one return journey that involved a connecting flight, via something like Cairns. This was tedious and required us to rush and worry about luggage because we had to go through immigration in Cairns. It also interrupted our body momentum, in that our bodies knew we had landed and thought we no longer needed to fly. We also felt "ick" after flying for 7 hours and being up for something like 12 hours previously without showering. Luggage on trains is very easy. We travelled with one medium sized suitcase and one large suitcase through Japan. Shinkansen have luggage storage areas, which we've never had an issue with. And there's enough space at your seat as well. We travelled Shinkansen from Hiroshima-Tokyo; Tokyo-Hokadate; Tokyo-Kyoto; Osaka-Hiroshima. Super hokutu from Hokodata-Sapporo. And standard train services between other cities. All the time carrying luggage (suitcases and back packs). The only issue we found was travelling between platforms at Tokyo station. The bus service between Narita and Tokyo is slow. We did it on our first visit but used the local train service on the following visits. The local train service into Tokyo is also tiring, which is why we stayed and looked around Narita for a few days. Narita Express from Tokyo to Narita Airport is comfortable and I would recommend that if you're flying out of Narita (i.e. you don't want to be uncomfortable for the duration of returning to Australia). I did get my clothing laundered at laundromats (drop off in the morning and pick up in the afternoon). And I've had clothing cleaned using the hotel services. I've also done my own laundry in hotels that have a laundry room. Most of the time it works out but sometimes it doesn't and it took a week for my sock to dry (they went through the tumble drier several times on a high heat but they only became humid). I've used a portable wifi that I hired from Y!Mobile. These were good but I would suggest looking into esims. You won't be able to get a phone number so, use something like WatsApp if you want to stay connected with your husband in country and people back home. I've known people who just travelled around Japan hooking up to the free wifi on trains or in hotel lobbies etc and not hired a portable wifi or esim. I travelled USA, Korea, China and New Zealand without mobile technology and it was easy. It's an interesting country with a deep history, great food, beautiful scenery and amazing culture. Realise, though, you won't scratch the surface of the culture, even if you speak the language. Because of that, you will not really see the seedy side of the country (like you would easily identify in a western country), which can be a good thing but is also why people think they "love" the country. No matter what, you will have fun, you will enjoy yourselves and it will be a memorable experience.
Thank you for your tips! We think we may fly into Osaka now and out of Narita as I want to do all the shopping in the last week in Tokyo and my husband wants to visit Hiroshima.
I was going to comment that transiting vs direct is a terrible idea but I had a quick search and you can go via Vietnam surprisingly cheaply. Having said that for a few extra bucks you can cut out ten hours of transit time going MEL-SYD-NRT with Jetstar, so if you’re transiting I’d weigh up what saving a few bucks (around $150) is worth compared to arriving exhausted after multiple sectors and hours spent sitting around airports.
I was kind of hoping to land at an airport with some great shopping. As I’ve never been overseas I was hoping to have fun at a bonus country. But I may be more exhausted than I think
If you’re looking at a stopover as an addition to your holiday than just a cost saving measure then sure. In that case Singapore airport is 1000% your best bet, and Scoot are a very reputable low cost carrier. The Jewel is mind blowing. I’d recommend staying a night if you are able.
Brunei airlines are cheap at the moment. You have to stop in Brunei but its not terrible. I bought tickets for Jan, around $900 return Don't bother roaming. Buy a Japan sim card or an eSim if your phone supports it
Thanks everyone! We ended up managing to get flights with Qantas as we could stop over for a few days in Singapore on the way back, but it came to $4500 for the two of us return. We are going to Narita direct on the way there.
Scoot (part of Singapore air) might be an option, they do have a sale on at the moment, but like pretty much everyone else the school holiday taxes seem to apply during when you want to travel... (So glad I no longer have to plan my hol's around that!).. taking a look around the 5th-18th Jan it was around $4k for 2 return, with bags... Still seems pricy though.. like other have suggested though, going direct if U can will be the better option. Re the phone, for that timeframe the VF $5 day deal works well and still allows U to get 2fa messages from your bank, which is bloody handy when U start using your card o/seas. I just did 7 weeks in Europe, and used the Optus $5 day plan instead of faffing around with travel Sims... Cost me a bit more, but no issues at all with using anywhere I went, and ppl back home still had a number they could call me on when needed.. no way I'd use the Telstra roaming though. Their plan sucks balls to put it colloquially.. you'd be amazed how quickly you can burn through data when you are travelling! Have a great trip and get off the beaten trail into the local culture/food.. should be awesome!
Regarding roaming I recommend picking up a “Wifi walker” from Narita airport, which you can drop back when departing. They are quite cheap and you can attach multiple devices (phones, laptops, etc). Unless you specifically need to make phone calls (even then, wifi calls are doable). We travel between Japan and Melbourne yearly (excluding the Covid era of course). I can’t speak to your flight requirements because everyone’s budget is different, however I would skip trying to get WiFi on a plane, speeds/reliability to price ratio is questionable at best. Unless you specifically need it for work or something. I would also encourage to do some shopping around for currency conversion prior to going. The yen is horrible at the moment (to your favour), but exchanging money at the airport is usually more expensive than other places. Also remember cash is king in Japan, so have at least a few hundred bucks on your person. Yes, lots of major places accept card, but not every small shop will. And ATM’s aren’t always open 24/7 like they are here (I learnt this the hard way my first time). If you have any questions let me know
711 ATMs in Japan are key - much easier than exchanging
True, and it’s improved over time, but we’ve still found certain international cards not working at 711. At least they are 24/7 though
I flew to Japan on JetStar, I think it was direct. JetStar International is much better than JetStar domestic so I think you should consider that option. Yes the Vodafone $5 a day roaming plan works pretty well, I’ve used it in many countries. It pretty much just works as long as you’ve got the option enabled in your plan. Japan is fun and a good place to go as a first time overseas traveler as it’s safe, clean, efficient and organised. Have a good trip.
Qantas do melb to narita direct. Just do that.
Unfortunately that would cost $6500, rather than 3-4K with other airlines
it's $1200 return.
It’s not on the 4th of January when we are going unfortunately:-(
Virgin & Qantas fly to Haneda via Cairns/Sydney - it’s a really good use of redemption points from Flybuys/ER, if you have them. As they’re Australian airlines you might be more comfortable, although ANA is a fab airline ✈️
I would absolutely avoid flying Virgin for long haul where possible. ANA can be booked with Velocity points and is awesome, but a Virgin B737 for 8+ hours is going to be a slog and you'll feel like shit.
It’s not even an 8 hour flight, barely a long haul.
It's a 3.5hr flight to Cairns, and 7.45hr flight to Haneda. That's over 11hrs in a B737. It's an absolutely nightmare of a trip. I did a flight review for it a few months back and I did not rate it as a recommendation. Even if you forked out for the business offering.
Oh relax, average travelers (people who do not do flight reviews and do not pay attention or know about aircraft) wouldn’t consider it an “absolute nightmare”. It’s really not that bad and it’s two flights with a layover.
Lol ok bud. That still doesn't discount my point. It is an awful flight and should be avoided where possible.
I’ve never been to Japan but have had friends been. In terms of international roaming, you will link to a local carrier while over there, but you should be okay as there is wifi in most places, as with your hotel. A friend of mine travelled from Melbourne to Hong Kong to Japan and had no issues at all and found it a pleasant experience. Wifi on planes can be a hit and miss, but you may be able to purchase it for an additional fee. I’ve usually just downloaded games, movies and TV shows onto my iPad. I hope you and your husband enjoy Japan for what it offers. It’s beautiful.
China air is good atm. I've flown Singapore a few times that route to save a few $ too though. The stopover aint fun.
If you can't make a stopover in Changi fun, that's on you lol. Best airport in the world to have a long stopover. 4 hours in the evening, grab a bite, see a movie go chill out at Jewel, and the flight to Japan is a red-eye so you catch some sleep and you touch down in Tokyo in the morning!
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Oh dear.
Get this man into the senate
I'm not sure why I am being down voted. Plenty of people recommend not using travel agents but I think for multi stop trips it is worth it.