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Jetstar Japan Sale from $119 One-Way

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Looks like another round of Jetstar sales to Japan. Winter is a nice season in Japan especially for snow lovers.

Prices from:
Cairns to Osaka- $119 One way (17 Jan to 28 Mar 2012)
Cairns to Tokyo - $199 One way (17 Jan to 28 Mar 2012)
Gold coast to Osaka/Tokyo - $219 On Way (14 Jan to 28 Mar 2012)
Sydney to Osaka/Tokyo- $318 One Way (1 Feb to 28 Mar 2012)
Melbourne to Osaka/Tokyo- $331 One way (14 Feb to 28 Mar 2012)

Update: Prices are actually cheaper then listed above (ie, Melb to Tokyo from $580 return) AND the dates for Melbourne actually include all of Feb from what I can see.

Mod:
$199 Darwin to Tokyo
$171 Tokyo to Darwin

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  • +15

    Took advantage of a Japan flight deal last year. Stayed 6 weeks. Was an amazing holiday and fantastic country…there were times I was just utterly ashamed of Australia compared to mannerisms and customs over there. Get on to it for those prices. I am considering buying again just to go for a week or two.

    • +1

      6 weeks!!! nice…where did u stayed?

      • indeed. very lucky to stay there 6 weeks imo

      • Asakusa (visited all over Tokyo though), Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, Arashiyama.

        Kyoto was my favourite place though. Spent 2 weeks just there.

        • +1

          Agree, Kyoto was beautiful, peaceful & tranquil (I was there & it happened to snow with light shining through the forest canopy)

          Did you come across some of the buses have an automated 'arigato' message that plays every time it stops to drop off a passenger. Was amusing at first cause of the tone to was recorded at, but started to get stuck in my head soon after (it was a loooong ride I was on)

        • +8

          Ah, may I recommend Oak Hotel in Ueno (next suburb from Asakusa) if you're in Tokyo, close to Akihabara. Cheap rates for singles/doubles…

          The guy who used to be the manager at Oak moved to work on Hotel Yanagibasi in Asakusabashi and whilst smaller, its equally good!

          Highly recommended to go visit, spent 3 months travelling around Japan in 2008, out of which 1 month was in Tokyo. So many good memories. The people are so nice, courteous and very helpful. What freaked me out was just how much they'll go out of their way to help you.

          Once in Asakusa (the kitchen/houseware district in Tokyo) I went looking for some (imitation) Sakura to bring home for mum, went into a store and a lady told me where to go and drew a map on how to get to another store that sells it. Because the store was closed that day, I figured I'd go the next week, put her notes in my pocket and left… 3 days later I realise I had put my clothes through the wash and the note was no more. So I figured I'd go back and ask the same place… Turns out the lady I asked wasn't there, the guy who was there didn't know, so he said he'll try and ask the lady I talked to. Not thinking too much about it I said OK and walked around. The guy tells me that she's coming and to wait outside.

          About 10mins later I see in the distance this woman waving at me… as she got closer I realise that she's heavily pregnant and it's indeed the lady I talked to. Turns out she was at home on her day off, but decided to come down and personally rewrite those instructions again (even called the store to hook a brother up) and made sure I got there. Before I left I left a small present for her and the baby as a thank-you. No-ones ever been that nice to me and had I known she was off that day, I wouldn't have even asked!

          I'd recommend you consider buying a JR pass which will save you lots of trouble and makes travelling on all the trains dead easy - and it will definitely save you money!

          Not sure if the Tsukiji fish market is still open to the public, but make sure you drop in and taste some of the freshest sushi/sashimi around!

        • Wow, thushan. We didn't have anything that dramatic, but we only went for a short trip. Loved, it, though. :)

          Stayed at Horidome Villa in Chuo (one train stop and 15 mins' walk from Akihabara, lol) — was cheap (something like $50/night after some hotels.com discount) and the bed was larger than I'd expected! Really nice staff (24/7 reception) and clean rooms, though a bit cramped but to be expected.

          Tsukiji fish market — mmm the feesh. And so many people all shopping! (Actually, that was true everywhere, lol.)

    • what did you do during that time?
      planning to go for a week.

      • Spent a lot of time just exploring the cities, restaurant, meeting people (everyone is very friendly), went to Disneyland, Disney Sea, Universal Studios, a lot of arcades, temples, etc..the usual tourist stuff. If you don't know any Japanese do not let that deter you, most people know a little English, most signage is in English as well as Japanese and the universal language of hand signals works well….but try to learn some basics (hello, thank you, etc).

        • Just can't pass up on the engrish on signs, some were funny as!

        • How much did you spend in 6 weeks? I would love to go there for that long, got a 3 week trip coming up.

        • @superfly: glad you say they are friendly. i have an impression they don't really like foreigners.

        • It's been a while since I've been to Japan, but generally speaking, pretty much all young or mid-aged people were very receptive to gaijin (foreigners). The younger generation were especially happy to have someone to practice their english with. Some members of the older generations may still have a xenophobic bias, but I found the majority of Japanese people happy to help or talk.

        • +1

          @muzzamo In six weeks I probably spent about $6000, that included all my entry to theme parks, accommodation, JR pass, meals, daily public transport, etc. Overall was a very affordable holiday considering how long I was there, etc. I wasn't slumming it either. Was staying in some nice Ryokan. One thing you need to be ready for is the lack of availability of going out for breakfast. The Japanese don't really go out for breakfast and it is normally quite difficult to find somewhere outside of a hotel. In Kyoto there was a 24hr Gyudon restaurant near my accommodation so I went there for a traditional japanese breakfast - cost about 450yen.

          It really isn't much more expensive over there than it is in Australia to be honest…and in the case of Disneyland it was actually cheaper to get a bottle of water and meals than any theme park in Australia. 100yen (about $1.20) for a bottle of water there.

          @astroberryz Had absolutley no difficulty with anyone in Japan, they were all welcoming and helpful. There were at least 5 occasions where people just came up and introduced themselves to me and whenever I was in a train station my confused looks often got the attention of locals who were always happy to help.

    • bet the only down side to the holiday was getting on a jetstar flight. :P

  • +1

    I wonder if the days of $1000 return for 2(incl. tax) would return…

    • I only even dare to wish that the price above also applicable on their other way around, not just one way.

      Return trip from Tokyo or Osaka to Syd are still way too expensive, making the sale on departure price seems insignificant at all…

  • Cairns to Osaka, search on both jetstar & adioso does not seem to show any fares for $119 like stated….sold out already?

    • I wonder if it is a site error. Because the email said from $199 but the site page says $119.

    • Update: Prices are actually dearer then listed above. Site & email from Jetstar say SALE FARES FROM $199, not $119!! Cairns - Osaka $199. That's usual sale price.

  • All booked, but so everyone knows, although the sale runs through to March 28, that is only on flights there. As always flights on the way back end about a week earlier. And yes homersyd, about $1000 with baggage and cc fees. Didn't take the meals as surely I could do something better in my carry on.

    • really?! $1000 for 2 return from Sydney??? (incl. tax)?? If so, that's a good deal indeed!
      Now just need to convince the missus to go to Japan rather than Europe… What's with chicks and Europe anyway??! :)

      • i say fashion and clothing. lol

  • When we went last year it worked out to be exactly $950 (incl tax) for two people return from Gold Coast to Tokyo (Narita). Great prices!

  • how about the ski resorts there? are they still open? is it still possible to ski in feb/mar?

    • Perfect time to ski during that period. Feb will almost guarantee power days and March is a nice mix of snow and sunnier days. You will see fewer crowds too since its past Chinese new years and most major Japan holidays.

      • oh, nooooooooo. i really dont have enough annual leave, but i want to go………:(

  • +1

    Just got back from a 20 day visit to Japan. Took up last years sales and went with a few mates. Went from Tokyo - Gifu - Kyoto - Osaka. Fantastic holiday for the money. I miss it everyday now, the convenience was fantastic as well as the hospitality. People went out of their way to walk us to our hotel… Kyoto was by far the best place we visited, Tokyo comes second. Went to Disney sea(Tokyo) but skipped Universal(Osaka) Money wise, I took along $1500 for everything. Food, transport and just random expenditures. You save heaps of money on the 7/11/familymart food. We were considering buying the $500+ train ticket (takes you everywhere on the JR line) before we left Australia but luckily we didn't as we would of spend a whole lot less by buying individual tickets, so look into that. Hotels where nice, stayed in two traditional hotels in Osaka and Kyoto for a week each. Stayed in regular hotels everywhere else. One thing you should bring is your own pillow. The Japanese love HARD and beaded pillows. Was the only problem for me as It was hard getting to sleep. If you like hard pillows, then your set.

    Edit: Tickets for me were about $1100 return. Paid full price ($600+ from Osaka - cairns - Sydney) and around $340 Syd - Cairns - Tokyo.

    • Where about's would you get the train tickets from, they are for the Bullet Trains right? I know its cheaper to get them before you head over there. I'm planning to head over during the Easter break, Haven't been since 2006 so it will be fun. Any recommendations for Tokyo and Kyoto?

      • +1

        Google 'Japan Rail Pass' and you will find a few agents here in Australia selling them (only available outside of Japan).

    • +2

      I would like to mention that the hotels in total were $1150 (average of $60 a night?) for 19 days. Bullet train was around $120 one way from Tokyo - Nagoya.

      • +1. Watazen is a great place to stay. Close to transport, a shopping district, rooms are large and the shared bath is large and well maintained.

  • so excluding airfare, how much money would one need, say for a 2 week trip in japan (including average cost of half decent hotels)

    im guessing spending money + hotels would be about $3000 ???

    • +2

      I took around $1500 for food and transport and hotels cost me $1150 for 19 days. I think I had about 400yen left when I was leaving? lol. I carried about $300Aus for back up money, didn't need to touch it.

      I recommend staying at the Watazen in Kyoto. They had great service and spoke english. They also gave us 3400yen ($40Aus) for drinks and such in the lobby at no extra charge. I don't know if this was a special time or anything but it was really nice of them.

      http://www.agoda.com.au/asia/japan/kyoto/watazen_ryokan_hoteā€¦

      • Replied to the wrong comment (above). I can recommend Watazen too. Stayed there twice.

  • homersyd, $1000 from GC. Planning on a few days skiing, plus disneyworld, hiroshima, few days tokyo, few days kyoto. Then a lot of research to fill in what else I should be doing.

  • Great deal. I'm flying out to Japan on the 25th on the last Jetstar sale! Can't wait! This is cheaper though.

  • +1

    I just got back from Japan on one of these Jetstar flights flying in Starclass (Business) and it was a very pleasant trip, ate and drank heaps and ended up passing out till an hour before landing. Had a 60kg baggage allowance, so 2 suitcases and snowboards had no additional charges.

    Up to March is a great time to go skiing or snowboarding in Japan, the powder this year on the slopes are amazing and should last till the end of March for most of the resorts. I don't think I will do much snowboarding or skiing in Australia anymore after having a taste of the amazing powder in Japan.

    • Do you still need to check the radiation to the N.W. of "the name we cant mention", or is the danger elsewhere?

      • You will experience more ionizing radiation flying to and from Japan at 40,000 feet than you will while in Japan, unless you somehow enter the closed exclusion zone around the reactor. It's not exactly a hot tourist destination.

    • when you say "and snowboards had no additional charges" does that mean that they dont include snowboards or you were under the baggage allowance in total?

  • do these deals come up often? I got in on some cheap flights last year in april, at around 600 return syd-toyko.

    I would love to go again, also in april-may. does anyone know if it's likely we will see another sale in a months time?

    • Deje vu - search for previous deals!!!
      Seems to be same discussion every few months, when next sale arrives.
      I listed previous Jetstar deals last time, with approx dates. Very regular deal for about same price. I go to Japan on these deals most years for a few months.
      Lots of discussions about sites, deals, travel there.

  • For once I'd like to see a "From Perth to" in these bargains :(

  • +3

    Note that this deal allows 'open jaw' - i.e. arrive to Osaka and depart fr Tokyo or vice-versa. We went for about 12 days in October a couple of years ago and would have saved a little back-tracking if we had done this.

    Overall I was impressed with the level of service and comfort in JetStar's international economy.

    Japan is a great country to travel in - and an adventure also to figure out how to get around and to do everything. Don't think I've ever felt so safe whilst travelling - nor met people so keen everywhere to assist despite language barriers.

    We arrived in Osaka but had accommodation booked for that night in Kyoto, so to get there we bought a three-day JR West Pass on arrival inside the ticket office at the airport station. The pass was then slightly cheaper than a one-way Shinkansen express train from Osaka airport to Kyoto - and then we used it two days later to visit Nara from Kyoto. Nara day-trip was a highlight of the whole visit for me. The JR West pass did not at that time require pre-purchase outside of Japan.

    We had pre-purchased in Australia an 8-day JR Pass which we chose to use for the final 8 days of our trip. We first used that pass for a day trip to Hiroshima from Kyoto - then for the trip to Tokyo, and on the second last day to travel north from Tokyo to Echigoyuzawa in the mountains by Shinkansen fast train to stay one night in a mountain onsen (guest house with natural spring bath-house). Then on our last day we left the mountains at midday using the pass to return to Tokyo and then again for our last train back to Osaka airport for late-evening departure of the JetStar flight back to the Gold Coast.

    Given language challenges Japan would be an ideal country for using a good 3G smart phone or tablet - however there were not then any cheap and easy prepaid 3G options available at all. Also for travel where I have no data access I usually love my Nokia E71's GPS with free downloadable off-line maps - however Nokia has no market share in Japan - so back then there were no Nokia maps available for Japan!

    Other highlights of the trip were moments to explore 'recovery of historic memory' (John Howard with his provocative support for the 'history wars', would be proud of the proactive denialism of some sectors of Japanese society.)

    Key experiences of this phenomena that we had - and that I would commend to others - were:-
    (a) the museum in the Hiroshima Peace Park;
    (b) in Tokyo the Yasukuni Shrine with its WWII military museum; and
    (c) in Tokyo the tiny museum: 'WAM - Women's Active Museum on War and Peace' with its focus on publicising the WWII abuse of women as 'comfort women' etc.

    The museum in the Hiroshima Peace Park is interesting in its take on the causes for WWII and scant treatment of abuses by Japanese soldiers i.e. Nanking massacre. Interesting to watch the groups of school kids from all over Japan on 'pilgrimage' to visit the Hiroshima Peace Park…

    The Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo is very close to the Imperial Palace. The shrine is the home of the spirits of the heroic warriors who gave their lives for Japan in WWII (and other conflicts) and it has a very large military and war museum on the grounds. Among the triumphalist items look out in the entry hall for the actual locomotive repatriated to Japan from Thailand to celebrate the glorious Japanese engineering feat of building a railway connection through to Burma! No mention of course of the brutality or human cost to build the Burma railway. Note too the plane hanging above in the main hall that was built too late in the war to be used by one of the glorious suicide pilots waiting for it. We had an external historian as our guide through that museum who could point out for us editorialising divergences where the English 'translation' of many descriptions of items gives a completely different account than the Japanese version. Also interesting is the racist denigration of ethnic-Korean crewmen of WWII mini-submarines - who despite giving their lives for Japan can not be honoured as heroes because they are not ethnically pure. There is a minor shrine next to the main shrine where such unworthy souls may dwell!

    As for WAM - Women's Active Museum on War and Peace - this is great - Google it for more info. Excellent to see this dedicated little group trying to confront such a big taboo within their Japanese society. All of this is important background for the struggle to defend the creeping erosion of Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution - the commitment to peace such that the Japanese Self-Defence Force are prohibited from participating in belligerent actions outside of Japan.

    So… apologies for my mega-rant! Hope some find it of interest - or of use for a visit to Japan!. The Japanese are fantastic people - and in many ways offer the most hospitable culture you could visit anywhere.

    • I was deeply moved when I visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. An absolute must visit to make an unforgettable trip.

      The golden rule of travelling (applies anywhere really) is if you make a little effort, so will they. Actually the Japanese will make an effort regardless, but get yourself a Lonely Planet Japanese phrasebook and by (badly) cobbling sentences together you'll be able to do and experience so much more than someone armed only with English and charades.

  • Japan here I come :-)

  • Shame about no Perth to options - although I did have a look!

    One good thing that has come from this is I have decided to add on some extra time to my holiday next year to visit Japan. So hopefully we will be going Perth to Honk Kong (stay a week) and then Hong Kong to Japan before coming back to Perth!

  • If wasnt going to Europe in 2 months I would be all over this, I went twice last year. it was time of my life.

  • Reading these comments makes me nostalgic for my times back in Japan… sigh

    I've stayed at a lot of the same cities and hotels too, and similarly what I experienced put Sydney to shame in a lot of ways. Skiing in Niseko was probably the best holiday experience I've ever had.

    Every time I arrive at Coolangatta airport on the way home to change planes it makes me want to cry with depression.

  • Be sure to take your ipod if you can with a phrasebook loaded on.

    This helped us considerably when hiring rooms, finding food/toilets etc although we went "off the beaten track".

    Ipods also come in handy to take pictures of the food you want (often there are plastic displays).

    So you are not just tied to places with Japanese/English menus - well not as much anyhow :)

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