Auckland to Osaka, Japan from $723 Return (Combining Airlines) Feb-Mar @ Beat That Flight

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  prat33k on 24/01/2025 - 16:09

  oh this is goood.. but is only Feb-March.. and I just came back from holidays haha.. would look forward to plan if something shows up for end of year :)

  • 

    scott on 24/01/2025 - 16:24

    What do you mean, you aren't ready for another holiday yet?

    ---

    Generally now that the holiday period has passed, it is the winter, off peak time for Japan tourism (other than snowsport area's of course). Meaning lower prices and less crowding in tourist area's

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      danvelopment on 24/01/2025 - 16:52

      +2

      I find March/April the best time of the year to go, and have been going annually. Just before it gets too hot, just after it's too cold, cheap flights and fewer tourists around.

      Not this year, though, having my first kid in the next few weeks and he's already ruining my life.

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  scott on 24/01/2025 - 16:20

  +3

  Osaka is awesome.

  Went to Japan last Jan (ex a country in Asia).

  Only really wanted to visit Tokyo, but on the dates we wanted it worked out quite a bit cheaper to fly into Osaka and out of Tokyo so I thought why not and added another city.

  Osaka turned out to be the highlight of the trip. We stayed in the heart of the dotonbori area, which is the tourist heart of Osaka. I would say dotonbori is the best tourism place I have ever visited, and I have done a heap of travel.

  On top of cheaper flights Accom is a lot cheaper in Osaka (we ended up spending the same as Tokyo, but that got us a much nicer location).

  As OP says, it is also in easy day trip range to a bunch of other tourism spots. Kyoto is only 24 mins away on the high speed train.

  Accommodation was quite expensive for our trip dates, but everything else (food, activities, shopping, transport) was cheap to reasonable in NZD terms. Yen is still fairly weak.

  ---

  Of course, be aware of the risk of separately ticketed flights. Obviously you need to claim & recheck your luggage, & If you don't make the connection it is neither airlines problem. Some of the online travel agents will help you, but I don't trust them much.

  Also the $722.5 options I saw, have a two stop overs each way, and one of the outbound stopovers involves an airport change (just over an hour away by train or taxi).

  And your baggage allowance may not match between legs.

  As a final note, it is generally a good idea to check transit visa requirements (but I think NZ passport holder's can now enter China visa free).

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  Slogan on 24/01/2025 - 16:57

  +1

  Great prices, but pretty much all of these are two-stopper 24hr combos, or worse. Back in my 20s I would have gone for it, these days I know I'd arrive all grumpy.

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  Fox419 on 24/01/2025 - 17:46

  Darn that is cheap, I am heading over on the 12th Feb to early March, I suppose the bonus I get is only 13 hour flight direct from Auckland.
  Heading to Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, and a few smaller places in between.
  Attempting to One Bag the trip with carry-on and a sling.

  • 

    scott on 24/01/2025 - 18:39

    It's cheap, but for most people the $723 fair isn't useable. Carry on only (in destination winter), two stop each way trip on separate tickets (and an airport change on one of the outbounds.

    Enjoy your trip.

    Fairly keen doing carry on only, given it is winter in Japan. I think we brought more than 7kg (around 3 of us) of stuff at Uniqlo alone lol.

    • 

      Fox419 on 24/01/2025 - 20:02

      Thank you.

      True the stop overs and travel time can be brutal, I think my flights were about $1500ish in the end (Wellington>Auckland>Narita and return).

      I am hoping I have prepped for winter, I figure I can buy anything I need in Japan and don't mind bringing back a cheap suitcase.
      I have carry-on and luggage with my flights, I am just heading over with the basics.
      I am spending the last couple of days in Tokyo, so shopping might occur.

      If you have a recommendation on e-sim provider, I would be all ears.

      • 

        scott on 24/01/2025 - 20:59

        +1

        Yip. Have just had a succession of fairly tight transits (first flights being delayed). And a perk is there is it means there is no opportunity for my spouse to shop in the airport…

        We brought physical sims at the airport on arrival, can't comment on e-sims.

        Cheap suitcases are abundant, and shopping is brilliant value. (That said, my feet are size 13 and I have given up trying to buy shoes in Asia).

        I assume you have done it before, but for rail travel, a single bag is ideal, but it doesn't need to carry on size, as medium (and often large) suitcases fit fine in the overhead racks. The whole airline thing of a a little suitcase plus a medium or large one is a bit of a chore on the train (but workable).

  • 

    ChoiceChips on 27/01/2025 - 15:59

    Do you know how much will it cost to go to Japan for 2 weeks for 2 people? Just trying to get some ideas…. Thanks

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      Fox419 on 27/01/2025 - 17:01

      I have no clue, I have a large amount saved for Japan, so I haven't budgeted the cost.
      There are a lot of factors that come into play, i.e Flights, travel insurance, which city or cities, transportation, food, events, shopping etc etc.

      Here is a resource that may help.

      https://www.budgetyourtrip.com/japan/trip-cost-JP#twoweek

      • 

        ChoiceChips on 28/01/2025 - 00:12

        Thank you so much for that!

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      danvelopment on 28/01/2025 - 09:57

      +3

      Food ~$6-16 per person per meal [fancy meal ~$30-60, very fancy meal in the hundreds)
      eg
      - sushi train ~$18 [can be cheaper but you always end up buying more exotic stuff just to try it]
      - ramen/udon ~$6-9
      - curry ~$12
      - good tonkatsu ~$20
      - kaisendon ~$30-50

      Accomodation ~$80-150 per night for both
      Travel
      - if JR Pass - almost nothing, you could get away with just using the JR pass and walking the rest
      - if no JR Pass - maybe $10-15 per day per person using local trains, $30-50 if taxis, and $30-$200 for intercity
      Activities ~$50/day, normal activities are MUCH cheaper than NZ, what would be like $30 entry in NZ would be like $6 in Japan, but they also have a much larger variety (eg DisneyLand).

      There are tonnes of places you can spend a lot more, but that becomes a choice. It's much cheaper to explore Japan than NZ.

      For me and my partner, travelling up and down Japan (as high as Sapporo, as low as Hiroshima using JR Pass) for 1 month, we budgeted 8k each and spent around 5k each including flights and bringing back tonnes of secondhand shopping in a cardboard box (we flew China Eastern which allowed for 2x 23KG bags, went there with one, and came back with one plus a large box).

      I'd recommend ApartHotels for accommodation (Randor in Sapporo and Kyoto top of the list) and you can save heaps and get a great experience shopping at the local supermarkets and cooking at home (eg "cheap" A5 for ~$150/kg fried with tallow and trumpet mushrooms plus a salad/yakisoba kit), which doubles as a benefit when you've been walking all day and CBF going out.

      Also if you have a JR Pass and are exploring areas with shinkansen service, stay somewhere in the middle for longer and just take a shinkansen in the morning. EG we stayed in Kyoto (Randor) for 8 nights and every morning just hopped on a shinkansen up to Nagoya and down to Hiroshima. Osaka is 12 minutes by shinkansen, Hiroshima is like 90 minutes, Nagoya is like 30.

      Still get to explore the whole country whilst not having to check out in the morning and haul luggage.

      • 

        justaddwater on 28/01/2025 - 10:41

        where did you get the box from?

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          danvelopment on 28/01/2025 - 12:15

          +1

          @justaddwater: Hardware shop, places like Hands or DCM.

          Suitcase limits are usually like 160cm total dimensions added (eg L+W+H), so you want as cubic as possible under those dimensions for maximum volume (although they're always rectangular).

          Can also buy tape and rope there, I found DCM was better, but [Tokyu] Hands was more available in bigger cities.

          Search for "Home Improvement Store" on Google Maps.

          • 

            justaddwater on 28/01/2025 - 14:21

            @danvelopment: fantastic, thank you.

            first i thought you got them at convenient store

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  AClubPenguinUser on 24/01/2025 - 22:32

  +1

  What a bargain. Is there a reason Trip.com doesn't show these cheaper options when searching manually for these dates?

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  Latex Fist on 25/01/2025 - 10:26

  Any decent dates flying back on the 30th/31st or later? Been fishing around but it's tedious. Have a wedding on the 28th in Kanagawa.

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  SteveW275 on 25/01/2025 - 18:43

  +1

  Living in Kyoto now. Hit me up if you wanna get a beer!

  • 

    Latex Fist on 25/01/2025 - 23:01

    Might have to take you up on that!

    • 

      SteveW275 on 28/01/2025 - 13:09

      +1

      Can't wait Latex Fist!

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    ChoiceChips on 27/01/2025 - 15:58

    Do you know how much will it cost to go to Japan for 2 weeks for 2 people? Just trying to get some ideas…. Thanks

    • 

      SteveW275 on 28/01/2025 - 13:08

      Really depends on what you want to do and where you want to go!

      Food is about half the price of NZ. Trains can get pricey if you travel around a lot. Booking.com will show you accomodation options.

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  ChoiceChips on 27/01/2025 - 15:58

  Anyone know how much will it cost to go to Japan for 2 weeks for 2 people? Just trying to get some ideas…. Thanks

  • 

    Superpower21 on 28/01/2025 - 12:24

    I usually budget 10000 yen per day per person. This includes the accommodation, transportation and meals in Tokyo. Personally shopping and sightseeing on top of that. If you want to travel in high speed trains to other areas, then obviously will cost more.