Cheap int’l flight? Austin TX to Japan

Our trip isn't until next summer (the month of July) but I'm hoping to gain some insight into what would be the most economical means of getting to Japan. We'd like a median of comfort and price. We're in Austin, Texas USA and are flexible flying out of anywhere in America to anywhere in Japan. Our trip will be about a month long so it doesn't particularly matter where we start and end. I've heard it could be cheaper to fly to another country in Asia with a connection in Japan and just not get on the connecting flight to the ticket destination. Would this work and would it be cheaper? We're college students if there are any discounts we could apply. Thanks!

Summer flights are often cheapest out of your area on AA, going either from DFW to Narita or DFW to Osaka. I've often taken this route when I go lowest fare as AA also has add-on connections for $50 or less to other cities. You might have an Austin-DFW connection for just a few $ extra.

I've priced out flights to places like Vancouver, where there are sometimes some really cheap flights (that book out fast), but the cost of the connection to Vancouver puts the total over the top of a basic US-Japan flight. It turns out it's only the cheapest if you're already in Canada or close.

One place I check online that consistently lists the lowest fares is at
http://www.travel-depart.com

Thanks for your help! Glad to know the best way is direct! Has anyone heard of buying airline tickets to cheaper destinations in asia with transfers in japan and not getting on the connecting flight out of japan? I seem to have heard of doing that a lot but not from anyone who's actually done it.

It only works if you are going on a a 1-way ticket. You can buy a ticket say to Singapore and just get off in Tokyo with no problem except your checked luggage. If you have a flight transfer, you might be able to pick up your luggage. Otherwise, you'd have to schedule a layover break to get it.

However, with a RT ticket, on your return, you have to start your flight at the endpoint, in this example, Singapore. You wouldn't be able to get back on in Narita if your ticket says you're boarding in Singapore. A friend who tried had to purchase a new ticket, but I'm sure every airline handles it differently.

okay great info! I didn't even think about round trip ticket. We're hoping to only have backpacks, but we won't know for sure how much luggage we'll have until we get closer to the departure date, but thats a good thing to think about.

Glad you guys are here!

Not sure if you've tried already but checkout farecast.com

Obviously since you're not purchasing for a while, prices are going to be a bit more expensive but you can get a general idea of which routes are cheapest, which ones are the better deals, etc.

Continental Airlines flies daily from Houston (IAH) to Tokyo (Narita), nonstop. Last time I checked it was about $900 round trip (unrestricted fare).