Job Discussion Forums

[Angelfish]

I've been looking through the JAL and ANA webpages to try and find flights to Hawaii but none of them seem forthcoming on the actual cost.

How does one go about booking a holiday to Hawaii in Japan? I'm not there yet (May 9th) but wanted to start thinking about this as I'd like to go around Xmas time. Does everyone book holidays through a travel agent in Japan? I'm more of a "do-it-yourself" holiday booker and tend to do everything online, but I'm guessing that's gonna be pretty difficult whilst in Japan.

Thanks for your help.

[PAULH]

[Angelfish]

Thanks. I'm so used to, in the UK, just going to the easyJet website or wherever and booking all the parts separately (and generally cheaper). It'll be nice to actually deal with people again to book a holiday, rather than a computer

[ava77]

I booked a trip to Hawaii for this July and I am paying about $950 by the time all the taxes were added. I found the cheapest ticket through Number 1 travel. If you want to go at Christmas you need to book in July or August usually anywhere is more expensive if you depart after December 17th from my experience.

[Angelfish]

No 1 Travel seems to be the best bet. I should be able to get it booked pretty soon after I get there. Even $950 (if it's US$) is a pretty good deal to this Brit.

[earthmonkey]

Might try Hit Travel too. Just booked a ticket to the U.S. for May. Saved 13,000 over No. 1's quote. Perhaps I was just lucky, but it's worth a shot.

Good Luck.

[Tiger Beer]

look at northwest airlines.

here in Seoul.. i can book a ticket for 550,000+won plus tax.. (thats around 55,000 yen i believe). Tax in Korea can be as much as 180,000 additional for flights to the U.S. but it varies). So maybe US$730 total after taxes at the maximum?

northwest goes from Seoul to Narita to Honolulu.. seems like it would be even lower or at least the same price in Japan.

[johanne]

I went to hawaii last Christmas and was able to get a ticket for 90,000 yen (about $750 American) at a place called IACE. We could have gone for 70,000 on China Airlines, but it wasn't direct and with a 4 year-old it was worth it to pay the extra 20,000. IACE has brances all over Japan, but the staff doesn't usually speak much English, but with a calendar it's not that difficult to explain a basic return flight in Japanese. The staff in Yokohama, anyway, are very helpful.

[Gordon]

I was in Christmas in 2004 from the 23rd-30th. I went with HIS and it was 40,000 yen non-stop from Kansai, less than the shinkansen from my house to Tokyo (and more enjoyable too I'm sure). What a deal!

[azarashi sushi]

Hi Angelfish... I often use STA travel. Their prices are pretty good, not necessarily the cheapest, but their service is excellent. I've always found them to be extremely helpful. You can arrange everything on line if you want and pay them by bank transfer. On their web site is a calendar with all the prices, so it's easy to check what day the price goes up or down.

Their web site is: http://www.statravel.co.jp/english/travel/air/index.html

This time we booked our tickets through a place called Seichi Travel. We found really cheap tickets through them and they were really helpful. The only downside is that it's all in Japanese. Anyway, their website is:

http://www.seichi.gr.jp/tokyo/

Earthmonkey - Did you go into the HIT office at Shinjuku? Did you find them helpful? I went into their office in Nishi Shinjuku and was served by this woman who truly must be the world's biggest moron. I was so frustrated at having to deal with this brainless wonder that I gave up on them and walked out.

[tripper]

Just been looking on the STA website and wondered if the price they quote includes tax, fuel surcharges etc. I checked the site but couldn`t find it written anywhere. I don`t imagine it is included in the ticket price but does anybody know??

Thanks!

[Gordon]

[azarashi sushi]

Yeah... It definitely doesn't include any taxes or extra charges. Depending on where you go and the airline, the extra charges can be quite steep. I recently enquired about a fare on Emirates (with no stop overs) and the tax, fuel charge etc came to an additional 40,000 yen!!!!!

[gaijinalways]

My wife and I just went this last March. I think we paid 75K yen per ticket, all charges included (the fuel charges and airport tax do add quite a bit, sometimes prices are listed w/o them). Hawaii tends to have a long high season, from approx. Nov- June (depending on the hotel). If you're staying long enough, rent a condo, it's about the same price as an average hotel, and you can get one with a kitchenette so you can cook some meals at home (meals are not overly expensive in Hawaii, but like anywhere else, they'll be more expensive, remember tipping is expected).

Gordon wrote

[Gordon]