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While regular airfares on domestic routes remain high (see table at the bottom of the page), a wide array of discount offers has made domestic air travel very attractive and competitive in recent years. In fact, there are so many discount plans, that only very few travelers are ever paying regular fares.
Air Passes for foreign visitors only:
JAL (oneworld) and ANA (Star Alliance) are each offering air passes for exclusive use by foreign visitors to Japan, which enable holders to fly anywhere within Japan for around 12,000 Yen per flight. This is an excellent price on many domestic routes, especially on longer flights, such as from Tokyo to Kyushu, Okinawa or Hokkaido.
Like the Japan Rail Pass, air passes have to be purchased outside of Japan and before you leave for Japan. They can only be used by non-residents of Japan who arrive to and depart from Japan by international flights. There is a limit of one air pass of the same airline per person and visit.
Air passes are valid for a minimum of one or two to a maximum of five domestic flights, also called sectors. The number and routes of the sectors must be specified when you purchase the pass, but the actual flights do not need to be booked until later, except the first one, which has to be booked at the time of purchase. Air passes are valid for 60 days after the date of the first domestic flight.
Note that there are some blackout periods, during which air passes cannot be used. The typical blackout periods are mid December to early January (winter holidays), early to late March (spring holidays) and mid July to late August (summer holidays).
Below are the available types of air passes in more detail:
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Oneworld Yokoso Visit Japan Pass
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Price:
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10,000 Yen per domestic flight*
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Validity:
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1-5 domestic flights by JAL Group
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Blackout:
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Blackout periods through March 2010:
August 7, 2009 to August 17, 2009
December 22, 2009 to January 5, 2010
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Eligibility:
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Foreign visitors who fly to/via Japan by oneworld, which includes JAL, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Quantas and several other airlines.
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JAL Welcome To Japan Fare
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Price:
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13,000 Yen per domestic flight*
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Validity:
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2-5 domestic flights by JAL Group
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Blackout:
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Blackout periods through March 2010:
July 17, 2009 to August 31, 2009
December 18, 2009 to January 5, 2010
March 12, 2010 to March 31, 2010
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Eligibility:
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Foreign visitors who fly to/via Japan by any airline.
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Star Alliance Japan Airpass
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Price:
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11,000 Yen per domestic flight*
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Validity:
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1-5 domestic flights by ANA Group
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Blackout:
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Blackout periods through September 2010:
December 25, 2009 to January 4, 2010
March 19, 2010 to March 31, 2010
August 6, 2010 to August 16, 2010
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Eligibility:
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Foreign visitors who fly to/via Japan by Star Alliance, which includes ANA, United, US Airways, Air Canada, Singapore Airlines, Asiana Airlines, Lufthansa and several other airlines.
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ANA Visit Japan Fare
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Price:
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13,000 Yen per domestic flight*
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Validity:
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2-5 domestic flights by ANA Group
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Blackout:
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Blackout periods through September 2010:
December 11, 2009 to January 4, 2010
March 5, 2010 to March 31, 2010
July 9, 2010 to August 31, 2010
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Eligibility:
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Foreign visitors who fly to/via Japan by any airline.
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* not including taxes and surcharges of a few hundred yen
Discounts for foreign visitors and residents of Japan:
Advance Purchase Discount
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Most airlines offer discounts on domestic flights, if you reserve your ticket in advance, as shown in the table below. The biggest discounts are offered on popular routes on which competition is high. Some of the discounts are reduced or not available during peak travel seasons.
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Advance Reservation
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Typical Discounts
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at least 28 days in advance
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25% - 70%
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at least 7 days in advance
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20% - 40%
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at least 1 day in advance
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10% - 40%
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JAL Bargain Fare and ANA Chowari
Over 50 percent off domestic flights
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Massive discounts on domestic flights for certain boarding dates, when booked during a given reservation period (typically about two months in advance of the boarding date). Below are some typical approximate discounted fares for one way tickets on selected major routes.
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Route
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Approximate One Way Fare
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Tokyo-Sapporo
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13,000 Yen
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Tokyo-Osaka
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10,000 Yen
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Tokyo-Fukuoka
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13,000 Yen
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Tokyo-Okinawa
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14,000 Yen
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Osaka-Sapporo
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14,000 Yen
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Osaka-Okinawa
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13,000 Yen
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JAL Time Waribiki and ANA Totsuzen Waribiki
Around 60 percent off domestic flights
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This is a kind of last-minute offer, which applies to the purchase of two or more round trip tickets on specified flights departing on weekends, and when reserved ten or fewer days in advance of the boarding date.
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Discount Airlines
Around 20 percent cheaper than JAL and ANA
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Discount airlines, such as Air Do and Skymark Airlines, offer many of the same types of discounts as JAL and ANA, but prices are typically at least 20 percent lower:
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Skymark Airlines
From Tokyo to Fukuoka, Kobe, Okinawa, Asahikawa and Sapporo
From Fukuoka to Okinawa
From Kobe to Okinawa, Fukuoka, Sapporo (from July 2010), Kagoshima (from September 2010), Kumamoto (from October 2010) and Nagasaki (from December 2010)
A particularly good offer is the "Skymark Sky Bargain", a one way ticket on any Skymark Airlines route for around 10,000 Yen, if reserved at least 35 days in advance. Only available on specified dates.
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Air Do
From Tokyo to Sapporo, Asahikawa, Hakodate and Memanbetsu
From Sapporo to Sendai, Niigata, Fukushima, Toyama and Komatsu
A particularly good offer is the "Air Do Special", a one way ticket on any Air Do route for around 10,000 Yen, if reserved at least 45 days in advance. Not available during peak travel seasons.
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Skynet Asia Airways
From Tokyo to Miyazaki, Kumamoto, Nagasaki and Kagoshima
From Okinawa to Kagoshima, Nagasaki, Miyazaki and Kumamoto
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Starflyer
From Tokyo to Osaka's Kansai Airport and Kitakyushu
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Roundtrip Fare
Around 10 percent off domestic flights
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On domestic routes, roundtrip tickets are typically around ten percent cheaper than two one way tickets. Note, however, that the return trip has to be made within a certain time frame, usually within 90 days following the outward journey.
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Early morning and late night flights
Around 10-20 percent off domestic flights
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Some early morning and late night flights are discounted by around 10-20 percent.
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Typical one way fares for selected routes:
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Route
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Airline
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Approx. Regular
One Way Fare
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Typical Discounted
One Way Fare
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Tokyo - Sapporo
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JAL/ANA
Air Do
Skymark
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30,000 Yen
25,000 Yen
19,000 Yen
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12,000 - 21,000 Yen
10,000 - 18,000 Yen
10,000 - 18,000 Yen
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Tokyo - Fukuoka
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JAL/ANA
Skymark
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33,000 Yen
20,000 Yen
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13,000 - 22,000 Yen
10,000 - 19,000 Yen
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Tokyo - Osaka/Kobe
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JAL/ANA
Skymark
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20,000 Yen
10,000 Yen
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10,000 - 12,000 Yen
5,000 - 7,000 Yen
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Tokyo - Okinawa
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JAL/ANA
Skymark
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37,000 Yen
24,000 Yen
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13,000 - 32,000 Yen
10,000 - 20,000 Yen
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Osaka - Sapporo
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JAL/ANA
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37,000 Yen
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13,000 - 33,000 Yen
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Osaka - Fukuoka
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JAL/ANA
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20,000 Yen
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11,000 - 15,000 Yen
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Osaka - Okinawa
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JAL/ANA
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30,000 Yen
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11,000 - 27,000 Yen
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Nagoya - Sapporo
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JAL/ANA
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33,000 Yen
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14,000 - 30,000 Yen
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Nagoya - Fukuoka
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JAL/ANA
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23,000 Yen
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11,000 - 15,000 Yen
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Nagoya - Okinawa
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JAL/ANA
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35,000 Yen
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14,000 - 30,000 Yen
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