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2004年11月05日
Japanese Air Fare
When I was researching air fares for my trip to Osaka last May, I came across this website about Traveling [sic] Cheaply to and in Japan. The author is American, but many of the agencies he listed that offer cheap fares have Canadian versions. I tracked down the Canadian branches of those agencies and would like to share with you how to spend slightly less than a fortune going to Japan.
I tried to compare round trip fares from Vancouver, Canada to Tokyo, Japan departing on January 5th and returning on February 5th. Some of the websites did not have facilties to search for specific dates, travel restrictions vary, and some websites listed fares in different currencies. The following prices are in Canadian dollars and were converted, if necessary, using today's rates. Use the information, for which I make no guarantees, at your own risk and read the fine print from the individual websites. Caveat emptor.
Air Canada
Air Canada, bless their souls, can find it very difficult to come up with competitive rates. I know Robert Milton is doing his best and they have a very slick website and customer reward program, but a return trip to Tokyo (via Los Angeles!) will cost you:
1734.50
Travelocity
Travelocity is one of the big online discount travel agencies. I have used them for a lot of my travel ever since Expedia charged me more for a hotel room than the hotel would have charged me itself. They beat Air Canada for a trip to Japan offering a direct trip with United Airlines / Alaska Airlines, but it is nothing to write home about at:
1394.99
Tokyo Tours
I booked my trip in May with Tokyo Tours. A kitchy website lists discount air fares, but you will have to phone for details and booking. Goodbye Travelocity. Only prices from Toronto were listed but the cheapest January fare appears to be:
870.00
NaviTOUR
NaviTOUR (emphasis theirs) have perhaps the nicest website and cheapest deals listed on the main page. They also have excellent search facilities allowing you to compare prices, restrictions, and information for flights matching your travel plans. Wonderful eh? The only drawback for the average Canadian is that the website is entirely Japanese. Via San Francisco or Los Angeles with ANA, the fare I found on their site is:
850.00
IACE Travel
The International Association for Cultural Exchange has a pretty basic website, but lists some nice fares. Again, you will have to phone for details as the specifics are somewhat unclear. Also, the site is in Japanese. A trip to Tokyo with Northwest Airlines should cost you:
770.00
HIS
Highest International Standards has a website with a lot of information and nice layout despite missing a search feature. They produced the best fare I found with a United Airlines flight via Seattle. Sorry, Japanese only! It will cost you:
610.00
JTBI
Japan Travel Bureau International has a clear site, but without a lot of information. All the fares listed are from Toronto, but the site is fully bilingual and I expect you can find anything you need if you give them a call. They also offer flights from Kitchener via Detroit! Their fare (from Toronto) with JAL is pretty good:
819.00
Kintetsu
I do not know what Kintetsu is smoking. Their site has a search facility which is good, but their friendly fare listed in US Dollars and converted to Canadian is a whopping:
2925.87
Travel Cuts
Travel Cuts can be good if you are a student or under 25 years old. Sometimes they have good deals, but a search for my comparison dates and times yeilded a fare of:
1353.50
I hope that helps you save some money on your next trip to Japan or, if you have never thought about going, maybe you will now consider visiting.
UPDATE:
No. 1 Travel
"No1 Travel has been serving the foreign community in Japan for over 19 years." reads their tagline. They list some really good deals on the main page for flights originating in Japan. "HIS in English" is how Andrew, who contributed the link, described it. However, to get a flight to Japan from Canada, you will have to phone the HIS overseas departure desk (contact information on their page) during business hours.
Posted by William at 2004年11月05日 14:32