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[Japan] Osaka / Tokyo Return ex Melb $471 / $447, Perth $428 / $464, GC $476 / $544, Syd $476 / $549 with Air Asia @ IWTF

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[Japan] Osaka / Tokyo Return ex Melb $471 / $447, Perth $428 / $464, GC $476 / $544, Syd $476 / $549 with Air Asia @ IWTF
Go to Deal
tightarse on 12/09/2016 - 20:21 iwantthatflight.com.au (840 clicks)
Last edited 12/09/2016 - 22:56

Spotted these great fares over at IWTF. From the sample fares below, travel seems to be valid Sep-Oct. Prices are for payment with POLi or PayPal. Additional fees may apply if using a CC. Enjoy :)

Melbourne to Osaka - Kansai
Dep. 21/Sep Ret. 07/Oct $471
Dep. 21/Sep Ret. 10/Oct $471
Dep. 21/Sep Ret. 13/Oct $471
Dep. 21/Sep Ret. 19/Oct $471

Perth to Osaka - Kansai
Dep. 15/Sep Ret. 22/Sep $428
Dep. 15/Sep Ret. 25/Sep $428
Dep. 15/Sep Ret. 28/Sep $428
Dep. 15/Sep Ret. 01/Oct $428

Gold Coast to Osaka - Kansai
Dep. 15/Sep Ret. 19/Sep $476
Dep. 15/Sep Ret. 22/Sep $476
Dep. 15/Sep Ret. 25/Sep $476

Sydney to Osaka - Kansai
Dep. 15/Sep Ret. 25/Sep $476
Dep. 15/Sep Ret. 28/Sep $476
Dep. 15/Sep Ret. 01/Oct $476
Dep. 15/Sep Ret. 04/Oct $476

Melbourne to Tokyo - Haneda
Dep. 27/Sep Ret. 13/Oct $447
Dep. 27/Sep Ret. 19/Oct $447
Dep. 27/Sep Ret. 22/Oct $447
Dep. 27/Sep Ret. 25/Oct $447

Perth to Tokyo - Haneda
Dep. 18/Sep Ret. 28/Sep $464
Dep. 18/Sep Ret. 13/Oct $464
Dep. 18/Sep Ret. 19/Oct $464
Dep. 18/Sep Ret. 22/Oct $464

Gold Coast to Tokyo - Haneda
Dep. 15/Sep Ret. 25/Sep $544
Dep. 15/Sep Ret. 28/Sep $544
Dep. 15/Sep Ret. 13/Oct $544
Dep. 15/Sep Ret. 19/Oct $544

Sydney to Tokyo - Haneda
Dep. 24/Oct Ret. 11/Nov $549
Dep. 12/Oct Ret. 22/Oct $550
Dep. 15/Sep Ret. 25/Sep $564
Dep. 15/Sep Ret. 28/Sep $564

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closed Comments

  • DaTa on 12/09/2016 - 20:27
    +5

    Ugly flight times for what is a sub 10 hour flight on jetstar

    16 plus hours for some of the flights

    • dazweeja on 13/09/2016 - 09:59
      +2

      Yes, 20-25 hours total travel time each way from Melbourne, with 15-16 hours on the plane. Not worth it.

      • Dadidalol on 13/09/2016 - 10:25
        +1

        Yeah, for Melb-Tokyo some flights are 15 hrs + 11hrs (!) layover in KL…

        Still think the Jetstar Melb-Tokyo 10hr direct was a better deal for just around $130 more.

        • DaTa on 13/09/2016 - 10:55
          +1

          Yeah I dont care about flying into Narita instead of Hanada for more money.

          Ive found Jetstar very good on my 2 return trips to Japan.

    • rambutann on 12/09/2016 - 21:25

      Care rating zero, I would say never fly jetstar if you actually want to get to your destination without any delays or cancellations (mainly cancellations..).

      Would fly air Asia any day of the week. Flew them from Bangkok to Osaka the other day 10/10 would reattend.

      • [Deactivated] on 12/09/2016 - 21:36
        +1

        Jetstar didn't fly an unserviceable aircraft into the ocean that should have been grounded until engineering fixed the issue. Jetstar cancels the flight and probably disrupted a lot of people's travel plans, but AirAsia pilots pulled circuit breakers mid flight, lost control and killed 160 people.

        • phluffed on 12/09/2016 - 22:20
          -3

          Not 100% true… rather than cancel a lot of flights, Jetstar just chose to keep flying planes with known engine glitches rather than pull them and do the update provided by the manufacturer.

          It's cheaper to pay out families than it is to ground planes.

        • dazweeja on 13/09/2016 - 09:56
          -2

          That is a different company. Indonesia AirAsia is a rebranding of Awair and is owned and operated in Indonesia by PT Fersindo Nusaperkasa. AirAsia has a 49% stake but they do not run it.

    • [Deactivated] on 12/09/2016 - 21:27
      +1

      I'll +1 because the majority of the general public don't understand the seriousness of what has actually occurred.

      Don't be surprised to see their AOC cancelled in the short term due to what has occurred.

      • phluffed on 12/09/2016 - 22:36
        -2

        AOC cancellation wouldn't make any difference to these. AXM, XAX and AWQ are all different airlines where those matters are concerned.
        These flights are on AXM and XAX operated planes, not part of the AWQ branch which was the one that crashed.

        As for the XAX flight that put in the wrong details, this is something that happens several times a year. Yes, there's an update from Airbus to fix it, but only half the planes worldwide have actually applied it. Airlines put things off as long as possible because updates mean grounding which means losses.

  • downhillmtbr on 12/09/2016 - 21:17
    +1

    Anything good midish Feb - end of Feb? Can't see anything, but would like some cheap flights to Sapporo to go skiing.

  • Chachamaru7 on 12/09/2016 - 21:22
    +3

    Cheap but not worth the immediate timeframe and long flight. I flew direct (return) from Melbourne to Narita Airport, Japan last July for $430 total (including extras - inflight media, allocated seating) via Jetstar on a 10 hour direct flight, that's probably the best bang for buck I've ever got.

    • pyro love bird on 13/09/2016 - 02:05
      +1

      Where abouts did you stay when you went? Any recommendations/advice? I'm heading there this november!

      • Chachamaru7 on 13/09/2016 - 12:53
        +1

        I went to Tokyo and Kyoto, both places I just used AirBnB - for 10 days I think I paid around $600 in accommodation total. I think all up I spent 10 days in japan for just under $1.5k - talk about an OzBargain holiday!

        Definitely look up AirBnB and try through there - all the places I booked were great and the people spoke great English, it's extremely cheap compared to the over priced hotels. I would definitely recommend Kyoto - beautiful place to explore and all the temples are amazing - Fushimi Inari, Arashiyama etc

        • pyro love bird on 13/09/2016 - 14:11
          +1

          That's amazing! I'm going for just over two weeks and was also looking at air bnb. Any areas I should avoid staying in Tokyo? I was actually planning on staying in Osaka and doing trips out to Kyoto, Nara, Kobe, Hiroshima and Nagoya. Did you get a Jr pass then?

        • Chachamaru7 on 13/09/2016 - 15:07
          +5

          @pyro love bird: Definitely buy a JR Rail pass, it will save you hundreds when taking the fast train from Tokyo to Kyoto/Osaka. I bought mine from Sachi Tours.

          When I was going to stay in Tokyo and Kyoto I actually made two maps of places to visit after researching for quite a while, you're welcome to use them if you want (most of them have links and other data in them as well):

          Tokyo Map
          Kyoto Map

          I recommend hiring a bike - in both Kyoto and Tokyo they can be rented for like $10 a day and it will save you a lot of walking whilst still being able to explore the sights. Regarding Tokyo - I stayed in Toshima-ku which was a wonderful area and very friendly.

          For Tokyo, the things I absolutely recommend are:

          • Robot Restaurant. Gigantic robots fighting each other, over the top Japanese themes, aimed at tourists but it's a 2 hour show for around $90 per person and well worth it.
          • Entirety of Akihabara for a good taste of Japans arcades and pop culture
          • Sky Circus. At the top of a large building, allows you to have panoramic views of the Tokyo skyline and has a bunch of interactive and VR elements. Cost about $20 to access.
          • Meiji Shrine. Beautiful shrine and garden area.
          • Tokyo Imperial Palace right near Tokyo station. Really nice scenic garden.

          For Kyoto, there are a few things I suggest you absolutely do if you're in the area:

          • Visit Fushimi Inari. It's quite a hike to the top, but it's a beautiful shrine and very iconic.
          • Visit Arashiyama - the famous 'bamboo forest', absolutely stunning but be prepared to be bombarded with a large amount of tourists.
          • Experience the Hozugaw-kudari boat run. It's a 2 hour boat ride that's only about $50 per person, starting in Kameoka (JR Rail, catch the train to Kameoka station, get off at the station and follow the signs for the Hozugawa-kudari Boarding Site) that goes all the way up the river to Arashiyama, and you see beautiful cherry blossoms, large mountains and beautiful green scenery. Easily the one thing I recommend you do. The tour is in Japanese but that doesn't matter, you can just enjoy the scenery.
          • Rent a bike and explore all the shrines up around Arashiyama. There is a site called Cycle Kyoto which lists a bunch of places to visit by bike, where to hire bikes etc.

          Above all, just explore. There are really no dull areas in Japan, I found it all quite entertaining but the above are the ones that stood out. I treated Tokyo as exploring the city and culture and Kyoto as exploring the gardens, shrines and beautiful landscapes that Japan has to offer.

          Great, now I'm already wanting to go back! If you have any other questions feel free to ask.

        • Chachamaru7 on 13/09/2016 - 15:15
          +1

          @Chachamaru7: Side note, depending on how long you're staying I would recommend not trying to 'over-do' it. I stayed for 10 days, and was originally planning to do what you did - make day trips to various places via train. You end up losing a lot of time just travelling. I eventually settled on just Tokyo and Kyoto and even then still ran out of time to do all the things I wanted to do! It also makes booking accommodation ten times easier.

        • pyro love bird on 13/09/2016 - 15:39
          +1

          @Chachamaru7: ah, I kind of wanted a taster of Japan. If it goes well I'm going back early next year! It sounds amazing all the things you've done! And thankyou so much, it'd be so amazing if I could use those maps! I'm travelling on my own, and unfortunately I haven't ridden and bike in about 17 years! I didn't realise there was so muvh to do in Kyoto, I didn't think there was that much and so I thought to stay in Osaka instead. I'll be in Osaka for 7 days and Tokyo for about 9 I'll lose my last day as I'm flying out early though. How did you travel from narita to Tokyo?

        • kwailo on 13/09/2016 - 16:57
          +2

          @Chachamaru7: +1 on hiring bikes and +1 on that boat ride. I used to live in Japan previously, went back for a trip two years ago and did that boat ride for the first time, and had a blast. Best thing I did on that trip. Its also possible to catch a scenic train on the way up the river to where the boat ride begins.

          Kyoto is pretty flat and very bike friendly. We cycled to and up and down the philosophers path during cherry blossom season. Awesome. Currently planning another trip back for cherry blossoms next year.

          Don't exclude the big buddha in Nara if you are in that region as well.

        • Chachamaru7 on 13/09/2016 - 17:30
          +1

          @pyro love bird: To get from Narita to Tokyo I recommend the Narita Sky Access Express, train that leaves from Narita aiport and is about a $30 ticket and a nice train ride through the countryside into Tokyo (not covered by JR Rail however).

          When I was looking at places to stay, Osaka doesn't actually have that much to do for tourists (at least that I could find) - you've got the lovely Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan and the Osaka Universal Studios Japan, but I couldn't find much else to do (unless you just want to roam around the city). I haven't personally been to Osaka though, just when I was researching stuff to do in Osaka, Kyoto bypassed it by far in terms of scenery and things to do.

          If you're worried about riding in Kyoto you can actually hire someone to take you around in a rickshaw - in fact, there's even tours starting at $60 AUD that go from 30 mins to 2 hours.

        • Chachamaru7 on 13/09/2016 - 17:31
          +1

          @kwailo73: The philosophers path is amazing, so many shrines to visit, such beautiful vistas of Kyoto once you get high enough too.

        • pyro love bird on 13/09/2016 - 17:42
          +1

          @kwailo73: what's the big buddha you're talking about? I'm going to see the deer in Nara. Anything you recommend eating there? I'm a big food person so I'm mostly gonna be food adventuring

        • pyro love bird on 13/09/2016 - 17:47
          +1

          @Chachamaru7: Is that the cheapest one? And how long would that take, do you know? (Sorry about all the questions!)

          I've heard that Osaka is good for food, and it's just more centrally located to Nora, Hiroshima, Kobe, Kyoto etc. Kyoto lends more to one side. I'm not keen on the idea of tours, I feel like they might be restrictive, I like to wander and if I find something I like, I'll go there, I end up interested in a bunch of different things and have to choose which way I wanna go because I'll probably get lost and never find my way back! haha.

          Any places you recommend eating/trying whilst in Tokyo/Kyoto?

        • dtc on 13/09/2016 - 19:59
          +2

          @pyro love bird: the big Buddha is todaiji. It's in Nara park where all the deer are and its fantastic

        • Chachamaru7 on 13/09/2016 - 22:17
          +1

          @pyro love bird: The Narita Sky Train is the quickest and most scenic - takes about 25 minutes. You can catch the JR rail from Narita to Tokyo but it's double the time and not as scenic - it is the JR Narita Express and takes about an hour from Narita airport to Tokyo but is covered by the JR Rail Pass. More info here.

          If you're looking for food and want to try Kobe beef, I absolutely recommend Kobe Beef Kaiseki 511 in Tokyo. It's a bit expensive, around $150 per person for a 5 course meal in the evening but I would absolutely spend that money twice over, the food was amazing, service was impeccable and I've never had a better meal in my life than Kobe beef - it melts like butter in your mouth and all of the dishes were amazing.

          Pretty much any curry place in Japan will give you cheap, delicious Japanese curry (I had a lot of curry in Japan, never a bad one! Avoid eating at stations, they're way over priced and often tourist traps). If you like good coffee, Arabica in Kyoto near Arashiyama is a must. I went there like 3 times in the space of two days just because of how good the coffee was.

          I tried a lot of restaurants in Japan and honestly, I only ever had one bad experience and it was my own fault because our group had been walking all day and we just wanted something, and we went into the most dodgy place out of all Japan when we were in Shibuya (seriously, the Japanese dude had 'fcuk' and 'you' tattooed on his eye lids. I wish I could make this shit up) but we were so tired we didn't care. Ended up costing the most out of most of the casual places we've been to!

          If you like Sushi, the sushi train in Shibuya called Uobei Shibuya Dogenzaka is amazing. You can get high quality sushi, sake and other sides for so damn cheap and I highly recommened it (and I don't even like sushi!).

          A little tip, if you see any place you think looks good simply google it and Trip Advisor or some other site will generally tell you what's up.

        • pyro love bird on 13/09/2016 - 22:43
          +1

          @dtc: Fantastic, I was just going to visit the deer then roam around Nara as I may as well spend the rest of the day there if I've made the effort to travel out there :)

        • pyro love bird on 13/09/2016 - 22:54
          +1

          @Chachamaru7: You're an absolute godsend! I can't thank you enough for sending me all these links in your detailed responses!

          I actually wanted to visit Kobe itself to have the beef there, I don't know if it's any better but I'll definately check that place out in Tokyo, 150 isn't bad, I was looking at going to jiro's but I'm not actually a massive fan of seafood (I'm just super picky) so I'm not sure if I would spend $300+ I'm sure it'd be amazing, but sometimes seafood makes me gag and I don't want to offend him :(

          I've heard of a few curry places, I've been watching a lot of YT lately for some travel advice, there's a massive curry rice chain in Japan that's apparently cheap and delicious, win-win!

          I'm actually caffeine intolerant, however if the coffee is as good as you say it is, I'm willing to put up with the aftermath. I will make sure to visit Arabica.

          I'm sorry for laughing at your misfortune, but that's hilarious! "french connection UK you?"

          I do enjoy sushi, I really like sashimi when it's done right, I've only ever found it bareable once, but if it's amazing and not fishy, I won't have an issue :) Is shibuya/Shinjuku ok to stay in? I'm all on my lonesome and a bit concerned with travelling alone/at night, I don't want to get mobbed.

          I was actually thinking of getting up super early and travelling early morn to late…ish? night? To get the most out of it. So that I can hopefully offset the travel time between cities.

          What times does Japan, well, wake up? I was gonna take the trains from Osaka at maybe 5 or 6 am to get to places then spend the day there.

          I was also going to travel there light, so that I could bring Japan back with me! What's the weather like there? Any other tips?

          Thankyou so so much again

        • Chachamaru7 on 13/09/2016 - 23:07

          @pyro love bird: A few things: I hate seafood, which made eating in Japan interesting but there are many places in Japan which offer a variety of meals so it ended up alright. The best curry place in Japan is Curry House CoCo Ichibanya Akasaka. It was the most delicious curry I had whilst in Japan that was both delicious and dirt cheap!

          Regarding travel, generally speaking trains stop operating around 1am regardless, and start again at around 4:30-5am so you should be good for most cases. Shibuya/Shinjuku is perfectly fine although probably more expensive than some outlier regions - it's one thing to note that Japan is extremely safe for travelling at night time. They have strict laws regarding guns, and crime is nothing like saying being out in Melbourne at night time.

          For reference, on a Friday night me and a friend travelled around town in Tokyo (walking) whilst absolutely trashed (yes I regret being that tourist that was drunk in a foreign country but by god if it wasn't fun as hell!) and we didn't encounter one seedy person, in fact I even drunkingly asked a Japanese policemen where the closest toilet was and he was almost happy to help! My entire trip in Japan I never once felt in danger, in fact it was the safest I've ever felt and I was in a completely foreign place. Just be wary of anyone being overly helpful or wanting to assist you - regardless of country they're more than likely trying to scam you or take advantage of you.

          I went in June so it was Summer and raining and it was great - I basically rocked shorts and a tshirt every single day and just carried an umbrella everywhere I went. In November it's their Autumn so pack a variety of "oh it's warm" and "oh my god it's freezing" clothing (that's some expert advice there) but I can't speak personally since I've only been once and for 10 days haha.

          Japan has a weird social trait (well, weird compared to Melbourne / Australia) where a lot of stores don't open until midday so be prepared to plan around that if you're specifically looking to visit famous shopping centres like Nakano Broadway in Tokyo or the Takashimaya Department Store in Kyoto.

          Always happen to help, I'm basically vicariously reliving my holiday through these comments so it's fun.

        • pyro love bird on 13/09/2016 - 23:13
          +1

          @Chachamaru7: I'm the same! I actually don't like seafood generally, but there have been a couple of occasions where I did try it and it was ah-mazing. THATS THE ONE! coco curry house!

          I'm also located in Melbourne, I'm a bit concerned as I've heard about the culture of men harassing women on trains and upskirt photos and trying to sneak in a grope here and there as it's super packed in trains etc, right? I can be a bit paranoid if people try to help me out too much, I do get a bit suspicious, thankyou for the top.

          Well you've been once and for 10 days more than I have!

          I'm glad you're having fun, it's fantastic to be talking to someone who's so willing to share their advice and adventures with me

        • Chachamaru7 on 13/09/2016 - 23:21
          +1

          @pyro love bird: Honestly, I think the whole pervert thing is a bit overplayed. I never once ran into anything of the sort and I travelled in a group with a rather attractive girl, most people don't even pay attention to you. Try and avoid travelling during peak hour regardless just because of how packed the trains are, but we were travelling at peak hour on a Friday and didn't even remotely encounter anything of the sort however we were in a group of 3 so that may have affected it. There are police and workers at every station however so if you get harassed you can quickly just get off at the next station and seek help / support and most of the people I spoke to could speak decent English or at least discern what you were trying to say if you spoke basic English keywords.

          A side note but please download Google Translate and install the Japanese language pack. It can translate your English into Japanese, read signs using the camera (oh my god did it make ordering at a menu so much easier when you could translate what you were ordering) and even have real time conversations (it has a mode where it will wait for Japanese, translate it to English then translate what you were saying to Japanese). It saved my ass so many times, especially when ordering at restaurants. Also, don't be afraid to be an idiot and just point to what you want at a restaurant and say "please" in Japanese ("Onegaishimasu"). Nearly every place I went to were receptive to that method and asking nicely isn't offensive and they were very appreciative of you being polite.

        • pyro love bird on 13/09/2016 - 23:43
          +1

          @Chachamaru7: I did one unit of japanese in my first year of uni. So I know very very broken basic japanese. Hopefully a combination of that and google translate will save my ass. But google translate has been horrendously unreliable at times. I've got an app atm to help me learn some basic japanese.

          Did you go straight to Kyoto when you got there or did you stay in tokyo? Originally I was going to go straight to Osaka but the train ride is like 6 hours? 4 hours? I forget, but I arrive in Narita at about 9am. if I travel to Osaka straight away it'd take me maybe 7 hours? Inclusive of the time to get to Tokyo then train it out. So when I get there It'll be mid afternoon and I'll only really have half a day in Osaka, and I'd be tired, plus I have to check in and everything, so I don't know what the best course of action would be here.

          Is it expensive to train it around, do you know by any chance? I'm not sure how much money to put aside for everything.

          I'm hoping to keep accommodation under 1k.

          JR pass for one week is around 400 and for two is 600 no idea which one to go with.

          Then there's food maybe like 1k?

          Other travel expenses, the suica card? I guess. How's that fair with myki prices?

          Attraction prices, I wanted to go to the ghibli museum, I also wanted to visit WB movie world (massive HP fan) but I didn't wanna waste a whole day lining up for everything. The same for Disneyland, I'm not keen on losing out a whole day to lining up for things.

          Then just shopping money, maybe 1k?

          I guess so far I've got worked out maybe 4k for expenses? omg, why's that adding up to so much!?

        • Chachamaru7 on 14/09/2016 - 00:00

          @pyro love bird: I would recommend staying in Tokyo first, then going to Osaka / Kyoto once you're done and then coming back to Tokyo for a day before heading back to Narita airport. The fast train from Tokyo to Kyoto is around 2h 30m but has beautiful views of the countryside, nothing close to your 7hr estimate.

          You're way overestimating the costs in Japan. Every single station in Japan doesn't need you to buy a pass (ie: the Suica card), you can buy tickets at every station. You pay for how far you'll travel, and it's like $2-5 each time, if that. It's extremely efficient and way more effective than Myki.

          Food won't cost you even close to 1k unless you're going to high-tier restaurants every day, I got spoiled because I ate out at basically every meal and each time it was barely breaking the $15 barrier for casual restaurants, relax! For reference, CoCo Curry House was like $10 a meal.

          Regarding the JR Pass: you need to figure out when you'll need the JR Pass to maximise your savings. The main benefit of the JR Pass is the fast train from Tokyo to Kyoto/Osaka up and back so if you time it to work within the dates you'll be going to and from those provinces you'll be fine. For example, I stayed in Tokyo for 3 days before I went to Kyoto so I bought a 7-day pass and set the activation date on the day I was going form Tokyo to Kyoto - it is not necessary to have a JR Pass to travel in Japan, it's just money-efficient especially when travelling on the bullet trains so time it appropriately, if that makes sense.

          You can google the prices for all of those attractions online, the Studio Ghibli Museum was closed for renovations when I went but AFAIK it's open again now and tickets are around $13 so not even an issue. I say again but I spent a total of like $1.5k in Japan, eating out for every meal and visiting a lot of shrines but the attractions are so dirt cheap (like $3-10 per attraction ) that it doesn't even matter. For reference, visiting the Ueno Zoo in Tokyo is frickin' $8! The Melbourne Zoo is $35! And the Ueno Zoo has Pandas!

          A side note, and something I took to heart when I was looking at attractions in Japan - don't go to Japan and visit the western attractions - ie: the attractions you can visit elsewhere. By that, I mean like Tokyo has a massive Disneyland that you could easily spend a day at but for what? You don't experience anything centred around Japanese culture and you just end up in an expensive tourist trap. I originally had Disneyland on my itinerary because "I've never been!" but once I looked at the other places to visit it soon dropped off because that would be a day spent simply on a Western theme park in Japan and you could visit Disneyland in a lot of other countries.

        • pyro love bird on 14/09/2016 - 00:48
          +1

          @Chachamaru7: I guess that would make sense. I'm not sure where I got the 7 hrs from then, I must've remembered it wrong, my apologies.

          I've just heard that Japan can be fairly expensive, so I'm trying to have a bit of leeway for everything, I guess I'm overdoing it huh?

          I'll probably be eating out basically everyday I want to try street food and stuff too, I love love love okonomiyaki and takoyaki. Anything iconic or something that I should look out for there that we can't get here?

          I originally wanted to break the trip into two Osaka + everywhere else and Tokyo because I thought it'd be more efficient than exploring tokyo first then going to kyoto/osaka as I'd need to return back to tokyo anyway.

          $13 for the ghibli museum?! I didn't realise it was so cheap! Why has everyone been telling me about how expensive Japan is then? Where on earth did they go? haha.

          Thankyou for that piece of advice, I feel the same way about disney land, I suppose you're right, I should explore actual Japan first, if I want I guess I could always go there next time :) I'll be dropping off disneyland and movie world definately now :)

        • Chachamaru7 on 14/09/2016 - 01:02

          @pyro love bird: If you love Okonomiyaki then there is a restaurant in Kyoto tailored exactly to you! You get to make your own vegetable pancake! There is a section at Kyoto station called 'The Cube' (you'll understand once you visit it) that has a vegetable pancake parlour that you customise and make your own pancake! I was kind of underwhelmed but I got the most basic 'pancake' there is, but the gist is there is a hot plate on your table and they serve you your food and let you do what you want with it basically. Worth a look!

        • dtc on 15/09/2016 - 11:54

          @pyro love bird:

          although the train from Tokyo to Osaka is about 3hrs, from the time you touch down it will take approx 1hr through customs, 20 min buying ticket/waiting for the train to Tokyo, 1hr on the train, 20 min connection to the shinkansen and then 3 hrs on the train - so 6hrs from touchdown to Osaka is pretty much what it will take. Its easier, as suggested, to have a few days in Tokyo, then go south, then a few more days in Tokyo.

          As a 'tip' - the first stay in Tokyo stay over in Shinjuku/Shibuya and have a look at that side of Tokyo (Harajuku, Ghibli museum etc) and when you return stay in Ueno/Asakusa and look at that side (Akihabara etc). It only takes 20 min to go from Ueno to Shinjuku but its a way of experiencing different parts of the city.

          (also - there is far far more to see in Kyoto than Osaka; my suggestion is stay in Kyoto and do a day trip to Osaka if you must)

          for trains have a look at hyperdia.com - you can plug in your destination and dates and it will give you the train timetable and costs (google how to search if you are on a JR pass - you cant use the pass on all the trains, ie not the nozomi train)(which is just a normal shinkansen but it doesnt stop as often so is a touch faster point to point). You can use this to add up the cost of train travel and decide if a JR pass is worth it. If you are just going Tokyo/Kyoto return (or Osaka return) then the cheapest way is a japanican voucher, which gives you a return trip for Y22000. However, if you are adding side trips etc then you might just get up to the 7 day pass cost Y29,000, which makes the pass worthwhile. If not, just buy tickets as you need.

          Breakfast is a hard meal to eat out in Japan (outside of whatever your hotel offers) - you can find bakeries relatively easily but not sit down meals.

        • pyro love bird on 15/09/2016 - 19:48

          @Chachamaru7: I'll make sure I'll take a look, thanks :)

          I hear that Japan is mostly a cash driven society, is that the case? I've heard of people using the 21 degrees credit card, but any recommendations of carrying cash or using cards and stuff?

        • pyro love bird on 15/09/2016 - 19:53

          @dtc: Thanks so much for that detailed response, that's probably why I remember it being so long until I get to Osaka, thanks for clarifying! :)

          That's not a bad idea, I thought it would just be easier to do one part or japan than the next, as I didn't wanna waste time checking in and waiting to check out etc and waste travelling time from one place to another. Thanks for the advice, I just wanna try to maximise what time I have there!

          Thanks for the advice about Kyoto/Osaka, is it then inconvinient to go from Kyoto to Nara, Kobe and Hiroshima? I thought Osaka would be a bit more central to it all?

          I will probably end up buying a JR pass as I'm looking at travelling to neighbouring cities.

          Does Japan not wake up early then? Do you mean traditional western breakfasts? I've heard of some cafe that specialises in toast? Maybe I'll find it and visit that one everyday! haha.

          I was also supse interested in the hedgehog and owl cafes, any recommendations?

          Thanks again!

        • Chachamaru7 on 16/09/2016 - 09:42

          @pyro love bird: Japan does not do breakfast, that was the one meal I struggled with when I was in Japan - even cafe's and things don't open until like 10/11 haha. What you can do however, is find plenty of bakeries that sell breakfast-ish type food (like pastries and such) but what I did was buy some eggs and some bread and some meat (note: finding packaged 'bacon' is almost impossible at convenience stores in Japan, and if you do find it, it is ridiculously expensive in comparison - like $7 for 100g, same for a lot of cold meat) and had eggs on toast for breakfast for a lot of days just to keep me going, that or McDonalds is open for breakfast so that's always a good alternative!

          Regarding train timetables, I just used Google as it has most, if not all, the trains I used on there and even tell you how much it will cost.

          Going from Kyoto to those places is easy via the Shinkansen however I think you're trying to do too much in Japan in a short time span. Focus on a few areas and explore those, don't try and hit all the destinations at once - you can always come back. Going from Kyoto to Kobe, for instance, is 90 minutes on a fast train - that's 3 hours of a day gone just travelling to and from the place you want to explore - then if you stay at said places you've got to worry about more accommodation, how to get to the train station from each place etc. I cannot stress this enough but I would seriously recommend a max of two different places to stay (Tokyo and Kyoto being my choices) and visiting areas locally and then next time you go to Japan you'll be more adapted and can travel to those other places to explore and already have the skills under wraps (trying to communicate, what trains to catch, how to use the trains etc). That's just my opinion, I found it way less stressful to only have to worry about finding what to do in two places then figuring out what to do in multiple.

          Japan is absolutely a cash driven society, I didn't once pay with my card whilst I was there (although to be fair I didn't try). What I did was just use my standard Eftpos card (ANZ Bank - Access Card) to withdraw Yen from any 7/11 (and there are a lot of 7/11's in Japan so you'll never have to worry about not having access to one). I think ANZ charged me a fee like like $2.50 each time I did that? But it was the easiest option - didn't have to worry about buying a travel card or anything of the like. As long as you have an Eftpos card that has Cirrus support (look for the symbol on the back of your card) then you can also do this.

          I was going to go to an Owl cafe in Akihabara but when we got there, there was a queue and it was booked out so you may want to either get there early or find some way to book a session at one of those, not sure about hedgehog cafes.

        • pyro love bird on 16/09/2016 - 13:44

          @Chachamaru7: That makes me sad to hear :( Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day! I guess I'll be having maccas pretty frequently then, haha.

          I guess that makes sense, I just feel like it's such a waste because I'm so close.. yet so far.

          How was the exchange rate then? Obviously I don't want to be carrying around too much cash, but I don't wanna have to deal with ridiculous exchange rates either, you know?

          I don't wanna end up skipping out on everything I want to do because of queues, gosh, what am I gonna do !

        • Chachamaru7 on 16/09/2016 - 13:51

          @pyro love bird: Only time I experienced a queue was the owl cafe (just ended up not going). Everything else is fine :)

          Exchange rate the bank gives you is basically the same if not better than getting cash from anywhere else, there's little variance so don't stress about getting shafted, you won't even notice it. I always carried around $100 with me and never once felt like it was an issue, Japan is a pretty darn safe place to be just be wary of anyone seeming too helpful for basically no reason.

          Just make sure to research all the stuff you want to do and plan ahead, you'll be fine. I would suggest building an actual itinerary so you know what to do on each day otherwise you'll end up getting overwhelmed or having to plan it when you're there (wasting precious Japan time! haha).

          Make sure your phone either a) has an international plan for data or b) you buy a travel sim INSIDE Japan (I got a 3gb data sim, for data only, for $30 for like 30 days - you just pay the cost, get the sim and swap out your sim for the Japanese one and enjoy 100% 4G reception at all times!). That way you can use google maps, google translate etc without having to worry. Most of the data sims can be bought at the airport, at Narita it's right next to the place you'll have to pickup your JR Pass from.

        • shakoo on 16/09/2016 - 14:05
          +1

          @pyro love bird:

          have you considered just having a japanese style breakfast instead? some natto, rice and miso soup? hey, when in rome (japan) :-)

        • dtc on 16/09/2016 - 16:22
          +1

          @shakoo:

          Cant find japanese breakfasts either, not to take away or sit down at 8am

          In terms of cash, sign up for the Citibank debit card - no withdrawal fee and good exchange rate

          And I absolutely agree that you need a data sim in Japan - streets have no names and train stations can have 15 exits and restaurants arent always easy to find either. Also invaluable for train timetables

        • shakoo on 16/09/2016 - 16:54
          +1

          @dtc:

          even from the convenience stores?
          it was our go-to breakfast if we didn't get a chance to pick some stuff up the previous night when they went on sale.
          then again, we were in an AirBnB that had it's own kitchen so could just heat things up or cook as we pleased.

        • pyro love bird on 16/09/2016 - 21:28

          @Chachamaru7: Oh really? If that's the case then I might just use my commbank card over there. I will give the research and everything a go. I just spotted another lot of cheap flights for next year, I haven't even taken this trip yet and I already wanna buy the tickets, they're so darn cheap!

          I was going to buy a data sim, but I didn't know how to go about that, is there no way that I could do it here in Melbs? Where'd you get yours from? 3gb is pretty darn good for $30. I was looking at the mobile sims they have and its so expensive to hire out. Oh, nevermind, just read the bottom of your paragraph, sounds good! Thanks!

          Btw, how'd you go with buying things and bringing them back? I planned on travelling light there and essentially bringing back as much of Japan as possible, ahah.

        • pyro love bird on 16/09/2016 - 21:29

          @shakoo: Yes, I am open to it, and although I'm used to other fermented asian dishes like fermented tofu, the stickiness of natto… I don't know if I could do it. I can't stand fermented/pickled fish or fish sauce either, I've also had mentaiko and I nearly died.

        • Chachamaru7 on 16/09/2016 - 22:52

          @pyro love bird: Honestly if you dislike seafood you'll hate miso soup, it had such a strong fish taste to me and I couldn't stand it - that being said, convenience stores in Japan have a ton of different food so you can pretty much buy something to have for breakfast for every morning there and literally every single place I stayed at in Japan had a convenience store within 100 meters, in some case several. Things like pastries, donuts, bread, microwave meals, and the 7/11s had fried chicken and hot dogs so there's that!

          Bringing things back was no issue, customs in Japan is ridiculously chill (seriously it took me like 20 mins after landing to go through customs and get out of the terminal) although I didn't really buy anything but picked up a lot of souvenirs from the various temple and shrine visits.

          Regarding buying a data sim - do not, and I repeat do not buy what they advertise as a 'wireless 4g hotspot'. They're about $45-60 but a) you must return it and b) failure to return it will net you several hundred dollars in fees. You're looking strictly for a data card, and you cannot buy it from outside Japan. At Narita airport there are several places, most are basically the same but when you go pick up your JR Pass (the people there basically only ever deal with foreigners since you can only get a JR Pass as a tourist so they speak very good English) you can ask the people there to point you in the right direction - this guide on TripAdvisor gives detailed information on what to look for.

          Dammit now I want to go back ASAP! Any chance you want a travel buddy? Hah.

        • Chachamaru7 on 16/09/2016 - 22:54

          @dtc: The amount of times I was lost whilst also knowing fully well where I was, and where the destination was is nuts! Japan may have some of the best public transport around but by god if their street names and navigation isn't downright ridiculous.

        • pyro love bird on 16/09/2016 - 23:18

          @Chachamaru7: I've had miso soup in melbs, it's not terrible, but they use bonito stock… so I'm not really a fan. I've heard about 7/11 having things like fried chicken, sounds amazing! I'm probably gonna have a lot of onigiri tbh haha.

          I meant bringing back as in, packing it in your bag, did you end up taking a lot back with you? Anything you recommend getting whilst I'm over there? I wanted to get those unusual pocky flavours, they costing upwards of $20 here.

          That's what I was looking at and it was ridiculous! It was something like $70 for 5 days usage or something crazy. I bought an Optus modem during the OW sale and just need a data sim. Absolutely, I want a travel buddy!

          The tickets to Osaka that I was looking at were 371 return leg free. gotta add baggage and that, probs add up to about $450? return?

        • pyro love bird on 16/09/2016 - 23:19

          @Chachamaru7: whut. That doesn't even make sense! ahah. I have been slowly trying to brush up on my Japanese, a lot of late night anime on my half with early lectures in the morning haha

        • Chachamaru7 on 16/09/2016 - 23:52

          @pyro love bird: I used to watch a ton of anime and just general Japanese game shows / comedians, that's about my extent of Japanese and I managed to get through with broken Japanese just fine - especially if you use auto-translate for the harder requests, you'll be fine.

          Regarding taking a lot back - no, I did not but I could have, I just didn't see the need as I'm not really a 'travel and buy stuff' type person. You should have no issue getting any of that stuff through customs regardless. A lot of things that are cheap in Japan, but really expensive in comparison here is:

          • alcohol (and the fact you can buy it from convenience stores and drink it at any time is a dangerous combination!), especially spirits, are dirt cheap. I'm talking 1L of Smirnoff vodka for like $20 in comparison. Although this has nothing to do with things to buy, I just thought it was an interesting side note haha.
          • anything anime related is dirt cheap compared to buying it in Australia so be sure to pickup any figurines and posters etc from the various arcades and shopping malls in Japan

          oh god pocky, how I miss you. They're so cheap and available at all convenience stores in Japan, the chocolate almond one was my favourite (I bought back 3 packets haha). You can still get the chocolate almond one at Asian grocers (although it's quite hard to find) but it's about $5 a packet versus like, $1.50 in Japan.

          I just saw the other thread about cheap flights via Jetstar but sadly they're all sold out (for direct flights) and I absolutely hate wasting time doing layovers versus a solid 10 hour stint on a plane so I'll wait for flights like that to pop up again. If you have any more questions you can probably just message me directly versus keeping this comment chain going haha.

        • shakoo on 17/09/2016 - 17:16

          @pyro love bird: fair enough :-) its not for everyone.
          Also, as chacha has said, the konbini/convenience stores stock a lot of Japanese style bread and pastries

  • [Deactivated] on 12/09/2016 - 21:24
    +6

    As someone who works in the industry there is a lot of talk happening about this mob and their ability to operate safely in our airspace especially since the major cockup reported last week.

    I'd be watching the Aviation Regulator's moves toward this carrier very closely. Not sure if travel insurances covers you should CASA decide to cancel their AOC tomorrow, something is close to happening so watch closely and read the fine print.

    https://blogs.crikey.com.au/planetalking/2016/09/07/atsb-rep…

    • StewBalls on 12/09/2016 - 21:51
      +1

      Yes, if the regulator pulls the AOC it will be interesting to see how purchasers go with refunds from this deal?

      • phluffed on 12/09/2016 - 22:37
        -1

        Won't make a difference. These are on Air Asia or Air Asia X flights. AOC cancellation would only be on Indonesian Air Asia and Indonesian Air Asia X.

        • StewBalls on 12/09/2016 - 22:39
          +1

          I hope you're right on that.

        • phluffed on 12/09/2016 - 22:43
          +2

          The way Air Asia is structured means that there are a number of different subsidiaries, each with it's own operating license.
          When looking at these flights, code AK is Air Asia (Malaysia) and D7 is Air Asia X (Malaysia). The plane that crashed, and the one that is being looked at Indonesian Air Asia (Flights QZ).

          Cancelling the entire Air Asia brand due to a subsidiary would be like shutting down Qantas because of a Jetstar issue.

    • spaij on 12/09/2016 - 22:37
      +1

      That's a great website, at the bottom of that article I saw a link to this story, which looks pretty sobering…

      https://blogs.crikey.com.au/planetalking/2009/04/30/how-emir…

      What are your thoughts on that incident?

  • hamwhisperer on 12/09/2016 - 21:34

    I need a one way flight from Narita Tokyo back to Melbourne in very late October, anyone got any ideas on the best place to find this?

  • T-man on 12/09/2016 - 21:44
    +5

    Great deal but I'll wait for Jetstar Sakura season deal.

    • INFIDEL on 12/09/2016 - 22:56

      Worth the wait for that deal. Shorter journey times makes for a better travel experience.

      Went with Jetstar this year during Sakura season (March-April) $249 return from Cairns.
      Looking forward to next year's trip
      🗻🏯🍡🍜🛀🈷🚄🚅🎎🍶🌊♨🎌🎏

      • GateheaD on 13/09/2016 - 11:05

        when do these usually pop up? 3 months before hand?

        • INFIDEL on 13/09/2016 - 12:19

          Check past Jetstar deals. I can't remember, but had a few months to prepare.

        • INFIDEL on 18/09/2016 - 00:03

          On special right now!
          Got $339 return Gold Coast to Tokyo direct, against a far too long $544 flight in this deal.

  • Benday990 on 12/09/2016 - 22:38

    It mentions early Feb, but I can't see anything?

  • cvas on 12/09/2016 - 22:50

    Same here, looking for late Jan. Everything finishes in Oct?

  • bargin424 on 13/09/2016 - 06:45

    What's the best travel card in this case? Still the 28 degree card?

    • rgr on 13/09/2016 - 07:06
      +1

      no, you get a citibank plus debit card (for cash withdrawals) and a bankwest platinum zero (for free travel insurance and shopping with credit) plus an ING orange everyday as a back up for cash (minor withdrawal fee)

      • bargin424 on 13/09/2016 - 08:01

        What happened to the 28degree card?

        Also, what would you recommend for domestic transactions?

        • dtc on 13/09/2016 - 10:07

          the citibank card allows for fee free ATM withdrawals at good exchange rates. Cash is more important in Japan than here so you do a lot of withdrawals (plus there is a Y50,000 per withdrawal limit across the board, so you do lots of withdrawals)

        • bargin424 on 13/09/2016 - 15:35

          @dtc: doesn't 28 degee offer this? In international transactions

        • rgr on 13/09/2016 - 19:19

          the problem is 28D has fees for withdrawals now. you don't want to use it as a main, you want to have it as a 2nd backup or something.

        • bargin424 on 13/09/2016 - 19:25

          @rogr:

          I'm assuming the 28D card is still good to link up with paypal for international purchases? I believe Citibank has an annual fee?

        • rgr on 13/09/2016 - 19:30

          @bargin424: no dude, the citibank has no fee because it's not a credit card, it's a debit card. you can link up 28D with paypal if you want to shop online, but if you have the bankwest card you wouldn't have to as it provides the same shopping protection with the added bonus of free travel insurance.

        • bargin424 on 13/09/2016 - 19:36

          @rogr:
          Apolgoies for the questions. But is there any benefits of making a 28D card, as it seems that citbank provides all the benefits and more

        • rgr on 13/09/2016 - 20:02

          @bargin424: price protection is a benefit of owning a 28D, but it's more for online shopping or shopping with a credit card.

      • cisco on 13/09/2016 - 08:14

        Does BankWest platinum zero covers international and demostic car rental?

    • mrrizzle on 13/09/2016 - 11:47
      +2

      Remember, Japan is very much a cash based society. There will be a lot of places where your card won't be accepted.

  • TsunamiJ on 13/09/2016 - 10:02

    Anyone know if we can break the segments say I leave at KUL? Reason I asked was I am looking to fly last minute to KUL and it is very expensive on 17/9 but then this deal came up and funny it is so much cheaper to do PER-KUL-HND.

  • anth0888 on 13/09/2016 - 12:10

    For Asia domestic Airasia is OK, but long haul from Australia was like sardines. I'd travel Jetstar for the fact its only 10hrs direct and overnight from Melbourne and also more confortable. Flying into Tokyo as the sunrises out the plane window was a spectacular sight.

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