Does it feel like everyone you know has been to Japan recently? If you're tired of hearing that you “simply have to go to Japan,” let's make this your year. We're here to help you do it for less.
Those long flights across the Pacific Ocean can be pricey, but not lately. We've seen a resurgence of dirt-cheap fares from North America over to Tokyo – like, $436 roundtrip cheap. If you're looking to splurge for a lie-flat seat for that long flight, you're in luck: There are also some excellent ways to redeem your hard-earned credit card points for a business or even first class ticket.
Whether you're fine flying economy or are aiming to splurge for a lie-flat business seat to Tokyo and back, we've got some ideas for how you can get there for less.
Wait for a Cheap Flight to Japan
Seeing four-figure airfare to Japan and back for a trip still this year or next? You can do better.
We spend all day, every day looking for cheap flights for our Thrifty Traveler Premium members, and Japan is always near the top of the list. Wait for the right deal to come around and you can get to Tokyo and back for $900 or less … sometimes way less!
You'll often find the lowest prices departing from the West Coast – particularly Los Angeles (LAX), where a dozen or more flights take off for Tokyo every day. That makes it ripe for Japan flight deals, none better than this recent fare we found.
This fares are more than half-off the normal price, so what gives? Why are fares suddenly so cheap flying to Tokyo? The answer: Competition between the airlines – and especially with ultra-low cost carrier ZipAir.
For our friends up north in Canada, some cutthroat competition between WestJet and Air Canada flying across the Pacific led to similarly cheap fares.
If you see a deal like this, book first and ask questions later! This Air Canada fare was among a flurry of WestJet fares we rounded up and sent to our Thrifty Traveler Premium members – including the nonstop flight from Calgary (YYC).
No matter which airline you book, your best bet might be booking a separate positioning flight to get to the West Coast in order to take advantage of these cheaper nonstop flights.
But sometimes the flight deal comes and meets you right at your home airport, too. In the past few weeks, we've dug up a few flight deals from all over the U.S. and Canada to Tokyo.
This roundup of fares in the $500s roundtrip was mind-blowing. Even from eastern U.S. cities like Raleigh (RDU), Pittsburgh (PIT), and Columbus (CMH), you could get to Tokyo for next to nothing.
And right after we found those fares, we rounded up more than 100 U.S. cities flying to Tokyo for less than $900 roundtrip!
How'd we find so many of these fares? We search for flight deals from more than 200 U.S. and Canadian airports.
Finally, not all deals have to be to Tokyo, either. How about these fares to the island of Okinawa!
We found sub-$899 fares to OKA from dozens of U.S. airports in this deal.
Let's upgrade – but just slightly.
Premium economy can be a far more comfortable way to fly ultra-long-haul without breaking the bank for business class. It's perfect for that long flight to Japan. In many cases, the best way to book these seats is using your airline miles.
The best part: Booking premium economy is way cheaper and more easy to actually pull off than business class seats. Just look at all of these routes you can fly using your American Airlines miles (or British Airways Avios) flying to and from Japan!
This deal is long gone now – get the next one in your inbox with Thrifty Traveler Premium!
Tips for Finding a Cheaper Flight to Japan
If you’re looking for a cheap flight to Japan, you’ll want to keep these tried-and-true tips in the back of your mind.
- Fly mid-week: There isn’t a best day to book flights, but the cheapest days to fly are generally during the middle of the week. For flights to Japan, look to travel on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, or Thursdays.
- Travel during the off-season: Avoid the crowds (and save on flights) by traveling during the shoulder season. For Japan, this is typically mid-January thru March and September thru mid-December.
- Fly from low-cost hubs: There aren’t many budget carriers flying across the Pacific but newcomer ZIPAIR is shaking up the market with flights from Los Angeles (LAX) and Honolulu (HNL) to Tokyo (NRT). While you may not want to fly a low-cost carrier, the presence of ZIPAIR means you’ll often find the cheapest flights (on any airline) from California or Hawaii.
- Take a positioning flight: Don’t live on the West Coast where fares to Japan are lowest? You may want to book a separate positioning flight within the U.S. in order to get to a gateway where there are cheaper flights to Japan.
- Use Google Flights to search: Google Flights is far and away the most powerful tool for finding cheap airfare no matter where you want to go – and yes, that definitely includes Japan.
- Be flexible with your dates: Most people choose their travel dates, then start searching for airfare. By flipping that process around, you can let a good deal decide when you're taking your trip to Japan. It's our No. 1 tip for saving on travel.
Fly Economy Using AA Miles
If you've been stacking up American Airlines miles, it's for a moment like this: AA miles might go further than any other currency when it comes to getting to Japan – in business class (more on that later) or economy.
How good of a deal can you get, though?
American charges a flat 70,000-point rate from all over the U.S. to Tokyo. Many of these flights are flying American Airlines the whole way, but some of them connect to long-haul flights operated by Japan Airlines … and that's a good thing.
Japan Airlines Economy – Better Than You Think
When you're flying across the Pacific Ocean at the back of the plane, you want to be comfortable. And while economy seats across airlines may seem identical, every extra inch of space counts.
Read our full Japan Airlines economy review!
At up to 19 inches across, these seats are substantially wider than what airlines like American fly on many of the same long-haul routes. An inch or two of extra width is the difference between relaxing and worrying about rubbing shoulders with your neighbor. Look for JAL's Boeing 787 Dreamliners on these routes, as they configure the economy cabin with just eight seats across – most airlines squeeze nine seats into the same space.
Want extra legroom? You're in luck there, too. JAL gives you up to 34 inches of pitch on these planes, which is at least 2 inches more than you'd get on most airlines. Factor in JAL's tasty food and sterling service, and you've got one of the best economy seats for that log-haul flight to Japan.
Or Fly Japan Airlines Business Class from 55k Miles!
OK, so maybe we have a soft spot for Japan Airlines. Can you blame us when their business class seats look like this and you can fly them for just 60,000 AAdvantage miles each way?
Read our full review of flying Japan Airlines business class!
Welcome to Japan Airlines' business class SkySuites. These seats are the best of both worlds, offering tremendous privacy while giving you near-limitless room to stretch your legs and store your bags. But it gets better, with some outstanding service and some of the tastiest food you'll have – in the sky or on the ground.
We're convinced JAL business class is one of the best ways to get to Asia in style. Just as with JAL economy, you can book these flights with American AAdvantage miles. And you only need 60,000 AAdvantage miles to do it. Here's proof.
However, there's an exciting new (and even better) way to book these seats with your credit card points. A new partnership between Capital One and Japan Airlines itself is the ticket to booking these for an even better 55,000 Japan Airlines Mileage Bank points each way!
This deal was a perfect example, showcasing the new booking method on many of Japan Airlines' brand new business class suites (pictured above.) You can find those flying from Dallas (DFW), New York (JFK), and Los Angeles (LAX).
Whether you live near one of JAL's U.S. outposts or have to make a connection on American (or Alaska Airlines) to get there, flying business class from cities nationwide to Tokyo for just 60,000 miles and a few bucks is tough to beat. You can also book these same seats for as low as 60,000 Alaska Mileage Plan miles (or much more after a recent award rate hike) as well as through both British Airways and Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, though both programs tack on some hefty taxes and fees.
Your points might get you in one of these seats if you watch for availability, or pay attention to your Thrifty Traveler Premium alerts.
Wait for a Delta SkyMiles Flash Sale (Including Delta One!)
Unlike American's concrete award chart which means you'll pay at least 70,000 miles for roundtrip flights to Japan, Delta's award pricing system is unpredictable. Sometimes, the pricing to fly Delta can be good. Other times, it's exorbitantly expensive.
But when the Delta deals are good, they're unbeatable. And deals to get to Japan just don't get any better than Delta SkyMiles flash sales. Case in point: Years ago, we found roundtrip fares to Japan on Delta for as low as 30,000 SkyMiles. That's less than most airlines charge for a one-way fare!
While SkyMiles flash sales have made a resurgence with some incredible deals like 37,000 SkyMiles to New Zealand or 9,000 SkyMiles to Mexico, it's been a while since we've seen a deal that cheap to Tokyo. But lower prices are still out there, like this recent Delta deal we sent to Thrifty Traveler Premium with flights to Tokyo as low as 42,000 SkyMiles roundtrip!
The trick with using Delta SkyMiles is waiting for the right deal, and being flexible enough to wait for it to come to you. That means this option likely won't work if you've got a specific time period. And as we mentioned, we haven't seen a great SkyMiles deal to Japan in some time.
There's just no telling when the next great deal will pop up. But Thrifty Traveler Premium members will get the first heads up about the next Delta SkyMiles deal to Japan.
And that includes the deals we find using SkyMiles to fly in the front of the plane, too! Yes, you're reading that correctly – just 85,000 SkyMiles for a Delta One business class seat to Japan. Considering these routes typically go for 300,000 SkyMiles (or more), it was one heck of a deal.
This deal was so rare, we issued a Unicorn Alert – which includes an instant text message sent to the phones of our members – so they could book this before anyone else. We had members booking this deal hours before Delta even sent an email alerting travelers to their own sale!
If you can stockpile Delta SkyMiles, this might be the best use!
Fly Delta to Tokyo … But Not Using SkyMiles
Unless you hop on one of those deeply discounted Delta SkyMiles flash sales, expect to fork over 150,000 SkyMiles or more for a flight to Japan … and sometimes much, much more.
There's a much better way: Save your SkyMiles and book those exact same Delta flights via Air France/KLM Flying Blue instead – often for far, far fewer points.
How much cheaper? We're talking flying from Seattle (SEA) to Tokyo for just 63,000 points roundtrip. And that's for a main cabin ticket – not the basic economy award Delta will sell you instead.
Looking to fly from elsewhere in the U.S.? The rate jumps up depending on the distance of your flight. For instance, it’s 83,000 points roundtrip for nonstop flights from Minneapolis or 91,000 points roundtrip if you're based in a regional airport like Green Bay (GRB), for instance.
You can't transfer SkyMiles over to Flying Blue to book these Delta flights … but you can easily get the points you need. That's because Air France/KLM is a transfer partner with all the major credit card programs. That means you can easily get the points you need from cards like the *chase sapphire preferred*, the *amex gold*, or the *venture x*.
Time it right with one of the regular 20% to 25% transfer bonuses to Flying Blue from one of those banks, and it gets even cheaper. Despite some painful increases last year, it can also be a good deal to book nonstop Delta flights to Japan using Virgin Atlantic Flying Club – especially with an incredible 40% transfer bonus!
Fly ANA Business Class from 50K Miles Each Way
This one's not for the faint of heart, but here's your chance to fly business class to Japan for the price of economy. And on one of the world's best airlines, to boot.
Most airlines charge at least 160,000 miles for a roundtrip flight in business class to Japan. Booking flights on All Nippon Airways with ANA Mileage Club, it starts at just 100,000 miles. For a roundtrip. In business class. That's not a typo.
And now, ANA has changed things up, allowing one-way bookings for half the price of the roundtrip for the first time this year!
Even after raising award rates earlier this year, this remains one of the cheapest ways to get to Japan in a lie-flat seat using miles. The trick is timing it right, as ANA carves out different pricing during low (L), regular (R), and high (H) travel seasons.
You'll want to focus on the low season if you can, as that's when a business class roundtrip flight from the U.S. to Tokyo will cost you just 100,000 miles. A trip during the regular season will jump to 105,000 miles and 110,000 miles during the high season – all still excellent deals.
But no matter how you time it, this is a great deal. United Airlines, a partner carrier through the Star Alliance, would charge at least 220,000 miles for the exact same flights.
And while all of ANA's business class seats are excellent, the new seats flying between New York City (JFK) and Tokyo – and occasionally, from San Francisco (SFO) or Chicago-O'Hare (ORD) – are absolutely out of this world. They may just dethrone Qatar Airways' Qsuites for the mantle of the best business class in the world.
Read Next: Our Review of ANA's New “The Room” Business Class
Spring for ANA First Class
We saved the best for last. And even after a hike last year, it's still one of the best points and miles redemptions, period – not just to get to Japan, but in the world.
It combines two airlines you're already familiar with – Virgin Atlantic and ANA – to fly first class to Japan for a fraction of what most other airlines would charge: As low as just 145,000 Virgin Atlantic points roundtrip (or 72,500 miles for a one-way flight). Get this: You'd need to use 121,000 miles from United to book this exact same flight one-way – not roundtrip!
You'll get the best deal flying from West Coast cities like Los Angeles or San Francisco. Starting in this Midwest or East Coast pushes award rates up to 170,000 points roundtrip – or 85,000 miles each way. Expect to pay about $300 or so in taxes and fees for a roundtrip booking.
All those miles are worth it because flying first class on ANA is an absolute treat. These suites are almost too private – if that's a thing. You'll have one of the most comfortable beds available in the skies. Amazing dining, comfortable pajamas, top-notch amenities, and seemingly bottomless glasses of Krug champagne will help put you right to sleep.
Read our full review of ANA First Class on the flight from Chicago-O'Hare (ORD) to Tokyo-Haneda (HND)
Want to make this work? Here are the miles you need to stack up.
ANA, Avianca, and United miles could all be used to secure these seats in this deal we sent a few weeks ago.
Bottom Line
Japan is waiting for you, and you want to get there. But it's up to you to make it happen.
As you can see, you've got plenty of options to book flights to Japan – whether you're fine flying economy or are looking for the comfort of business class.
This is incredibly helpful! The tips on using miles and finding cheap flights from various airports are gold. Really demystified how to get to Japan affordably.