Plane tickets, airport procedures, Shinkansen...

[figroll2]

I am hoping to visit Japan in the summer after the first year of university (2008). I'm just looking for advice on which ticket companies offer the lowest reliable prices, since i live in the UK it seems that few travel companies actually bother offering many flights to japan under £800 (well over $1000). I have been looking online but i am unsure of where the best places are.

When i finally do arrive in Japan (yep, i think too far ahead), what can i expect on arrival? Are there any strange forms i have to fill in or anything, or is it a straight-forward 'find suitcase at baggage collecty place' and jump on the narita express? Though, my japanese will get me by in regards to shopping and sightseeing, i'm not convinced i'd know what to do if a problem arose.

Also, i am fascinated by Shinkansen and have always wanted to ride one... are they really that different to the slower trains that i am accustomed to?

Sorry to type so much with so little regard to sentence structure, and i apologise if any of these questions have already been answered (as they no doubt have).

[darje]

Considering we're still in 2006, you might want to wait and ask the same question about six months before your planned visit. If this was sometime soon, I'd gladly investigate for you, but in two years economy can shift and change unexpectedly.

[figroll2]

That's a fair point. Thanks. I was intending to visit next year, but other things will have to come first.

[Yang]

i expect to travel there in 2008 too...but, i highly recommend you to save some money for now....and then look for some options to go there, cause there could some change in the economy in the future...and maybe we could travl there for less (or more) money...you never know what will happen in the future....

i ll consider what darje said....

[Monkey]

From the UK it's just a standard tourist visa, no forms to fill out or anything. As long as you are only staying for 3 months or less that is.

[hanacker]

By 2008 they'll probably have teleportation devices, making airplanes obsolete.

[Pezonna]

All I've been told is to go for the round-trip ticket as the fee for changing your departure date from Japan is alot less than buying two separate one-way tickets...then again, I'm going for a year. Unfortunately, according to the International Programs office here, I won't find out when I have to arrive in Japan until like a month before I have to leave. Add to that that I want to leave about a week early so I can visit with some of my Japanese friends before school starts and it's gonna be interesting...Although I'm pretty sure school starts the second week of this september
Any advice about the Nagoya area, traveling, and such would be greatly appreciated though. My school will pay the first $700 for my plane ticket...but how much do plane tickets to Japan cost? Am I correct to think that'll cover about half of a round-trip ticket?

[figroll2]

Thanks monkey! Yeah, i already started saving. I worked out that i will probably need about £3000 ($5700) to have a decent time including flights, JR rail pass and lots of souvenirs and japan-only things, so ive got plenty of time :)

[Akagaminosteven]

The JR railpass was a god-send for me. I dunno about others, but I recommend it.

[figroll2]

Yeah, i was looking at the average Tokyo-Kyoto price for a return ticket and its more than half the railpass cost!!! So it seems like i might make a slight saving there :eyepop:

[katobrucelee02]

Hope this helps anyone.... Cheap tickets to round trip to japan!

http://www.amnet-usa.com/ (All Japanese)

http://www.iace-usa.com/scripts/iace/vb_bridge3.dll?VBPROG=call&IF=LIST&PG=index.xsl&LAN=US&CAT=TOP&OPT=TOP (Japanese and English (option))

[Antinomia]

From the UK it's just a standard tourist visa, no forms to fill out or anything. As long as you are only staying for 3 months or less that is.

That's strange, last year me and all the other foreigners in the airplane had to fill in a form and had to wait in a long line (half hour or so) to be able to get in Japan, tell the reason why we are in Japan, duration of staying and even tell them where we stay or at least a telephone number of the place you are going to stay.

All the people with Japanese passport also have to wait in line, but of course that line goes much quicker.

Also keep in mind that traveling will suck your wallet empty really fast. Food on the other hand is much better priced :) Staying in 1 city would be much cheaper than travelling through whole Japan.

[figroll2]

Thanks katobrucelee02, i appreciate it!
Not to worry Antinomia, I was looking at a few things and i think that is a form that you can get hold before arriving in Japan. Also, I'll be staying at a youth hostel in Tokyo at £20 ($38) per night and travelling from there with a railpass. Should be cheap enough methinks. :)

[Antinomia]

... and i think that is a form that you can get hold before arriving in Japan. Also, I'll be staying at a youth hostel in Tokyo at £20 ($38) per night and travelling from there with a railpass. Should be cheap enough methinks. :)

Yes, you don't have to worry about that form at all.

I do have a question about that railpass. Can you also step in the shinkansen for free? I used a railpass during a trip through Europe, but it still cost me some reservation money for every TGV/Thalys/ICE train. It's not that much, but if you are planning to use these trains a lot, it can be an unexpected extra cost.

[figroll2]

Yeah, you can use all shinkansen except the 'nozomi' shinkansen. They are the fastest of the shinkansen i believe. So, somewhat of a bargain don't you think?

[DoM of the South]

figroll2 - if your japanese is good enough for general chat i'm sure you will be quite competent in two years time to deal with any major problems. You do have to queue from the UK and tell them where you are staying etc but it's not the same as having to fill in a Visa form, this is just standard procedure.

On the shinkansen you will notice a difference to UK trains because of the speed and general quietness. If you use the JR West (Shin-Osaka to Hakata) you will notice some pretty damn amazing leg space and large seats. Definitely go for the JR pass as it is well worth it if you plan to travel far. If you are going to start in Tokyo consider starting your JR pass when you leave as you don't really need it to get round tokyo and train fares to yokohama and kamakura are relatively cheap. If you spend a week in tokyo then move on west to kyoto etc maybe activate it for then so as to maximise use over the long distance journies when you get your money worth.

Otherwise relax and research but don't worry too much, you have loads of time and probably by 2008 new hostels, air routes etc will be available.

[koku]

Someone told me 2 months before your departure date is the best time to look for tickets. About how much is a good deal for a mid September departure date? Plan on returning towards the end of December so 3 months.

edit: to Osaka.

[gentlemanandscholar]

The JR railpass was a god-send for me. I dunno about others, but I recommend it.


I HIGHLY recommend getting this as well. It probably saved me 500 CD or so.

[katobrucelee02]

Some one should write a e-book (or somthing like it) on the cheapest ways to go to japane/in japan.... I have never been there...just got good links for cheap tickets from my sensei

[FOBulous]

Last time I was there, I had everything planned out through Japan Airlines (JAL) travel agent. Including the shinkansen. But yeah, listen to everyone else and wait to look about 6 months ahead. Study hard instead!

[figroll2]

Speaking of six months ahead... a few dates in my life that prevented me going next year have been altered... so i am now hoping to go in Easter 2007!!

I've found a plane price for £475 ($893) return flight to 'Tokyo Metropolitan Area', does that refer to Narita or Hameda airport?

Also, i've found a cheap hostel in Jimbocho, Tokyo for £20 a night.

The only being now that i have to wait until near enough 2007 itself to see if i have university interviews as late as that... (shouldnt happen though, hopefully)

[DoM of the South]

figroll2 - try this site http://www.khaosan-tokyo.com/ it's in Asakusa which is a really nice area of tokyo imo and i have stayed there myself and can recommend it highly. quite small but cheaper than what you have found and very easy to get to from narita.

On the subject of plane tickets i got a direct flight from heathrow to narita with JAL for £550 in mid June 2005 through STA travel and that was one of the better flights as it was 12hrs and not 14-16 with stops in paris or milan for around £475-500. I would suggest paying the small difference as it is nice to just get on and enjoy the flight and JAL were very good to us.

I researched quite heavily the cheapest guesthouses etc so if you need anymore sites etc i will be happy to help but the others on here prob know more about specifics if that makes sense.

[figroll2]

Ah, thanks very much for your help! That's awesome! The flight is direct too, thankfully. Any idea which airport 'metropolitan area' refers to?
I have a strong suspicion that it's Hameda and not Narita but i'm not complaining. :P

[DoM of the South]

i'm not sure but i was under the impression that international flights went to narita and haneda was more for internal flights. could be wrong but that was what i was told. who are you flying with?

[figroll2]

You are correct indeed, though Haneda does take a few international flights. The cheapest deal in the time span that i want to fly is through Southall Travel on an Aeroflot plane, it's Russian i think, and a direct flight.

I'm under the impression that Southall Travel is a small British company, as it has a British phone number. Any ideas on their reliability?

[DoM of the South]

i haven't heard of them but they seem pretty good. bare in mind that they are just an agent and therefore whilst getting discounts it may be cheaper to go direct to the airline company (although not usually) and also check that the price includes all airport taxes as they like to sting you with an extra £50 when you actually take the quote through to the confirmation booking stage.

On a similar note when you ring them try this number 0208 5748410 or 0208 8436800. these are the geographic numbers for southall travel as opposed to the 0870 number they advertise. These numbers will be charged as a local call and not as a premium rate number (this is another area they make their money back for cutting the cost of tickets). The numbers are totally legit if they work when you get round to booking and are just merely a cost saving measure. good luck

[figroll2]

Thanks very much! It's much appreciated! No worries, the first thing i checked was if it was tax inclusive and it is! :) Thanks again.