Japan in December

Hi
My boyfriend and I are planning on going to Japan in late December (from 12/25 to1/4) but we will be going to Malaysia first than make a stop over in Japan. We were thinking of booking a package but that will be too expensive. So we were thinking of staying in a Ryokan (Tama Ryokan). Does anyone know when is the best time to purchase plane ticket? Which is the best site for tickets only? Does anyone has any suggestion on what is a must see during this period? Are most stores going to be closed? We are planning on going to Hiroshima, Kyoto and Tokyo. Does anyone know in Tokyo is the best department store that sales affordable clothing and gears for babies? I know there is a Babies R Us and Ikea in Tokyo. Does anyone know how I can get there? Anyway respond will be greatly appreciated.

Jennifer note that you will be traveling right in the middle of one of the busiest travel seasons in Japan (New Years). Expect transportation between cities to be full on certain days and times, and hotels in certain places to be fully booked.

Usually I just book my airline tickets directly from the airline, but depending on where you are you might want to consider a travel agent.

Hi John
Isn't purchasing tickets directly from the airline costs more than from traveler agent?

Regarding airline tickets direct from the airlines, they are no longer more expensive compared to travel agencies unless you are looking for highly discounted ones which tend to be limited and have plenty of restrictions and requires lot of flexibility since they often entail connections rather than direct flights. One time I got a really attractive quote from IACE Travel to Tokyo for $425 but I found out it required taking several connecting flights via China Airline to Nagoya, 1.5 hour layover in Nagoya, JAS to Haneda.

For my November trip, I bought my roundtrip tickets directly from JAL for $825 (which includes landing fees, taxes, fuel surcharges, etc). ANA was just slightly more expensive. One caveat though. The prices on the airline sights can fluctuate (ticket prices may show higher if you try on the weekend as opposed to the middle of the week; for JAL, there was sometimes a $200 increase when I tried booking on a weekend). I believe airline tickets are also higher during the Xmas/New Years period to/from Japan.

Note that during New Years, some smaller businesses close down completely for several days starting from 12/31. Larger places (and touristy hotspots) however are either open or may close on 12/31-1/1 but get back to business on the 2nd.