Job Discussion Forums

[Yawarakaijin]

First a little prelude. About a week ago I popped into my local travel agency in small town Nagano to grab a ticket to Toronto and back. Well it turns out that it now costs about 2500$ for a one way ticket back home. Suffice to say I was not pleased.

So yesterday I decided on a whim to check out a few other possible destinations, I was thinking Thailand.

Suddenly my travel agents busts out all these unbelievable destinations like Tahiti, The Maldives, Bali and Fiji. I'm thinking she is nuts! I told her that last week I didn't really feel like paying 250,000 yen to fly to Toronto and now she is pulling out travel destinations like Tahiti on me?

I am SO amazingly glad that she did. I had always wanted to travel the south pacific and now I am about to make a dream come true. I just booked a trip to FIJI which includes airfare and 8 nights in a 5 star resort. Guess what I'm paying!? 250,000 yen. About the exact amount a mere ticket back to Toronto would have cost me. Included in that price is a 40,000 yen penalty fee because I am going alone, most resorts count on filling up a double room. If a girl or boyfriend comes along you can knock a substantial amount off your individual charge.

I was so blown away by some of the deals you can get here in Japan that I just wanted to share a bit of my joy. Japanese travel agencies and the package deals they can offer are simply amazing. The yen is kicking ass nowadays too boys. You can be sipping your pinacoladas by the beach listening to Americans, Canadians, Aussies and Kiwis bitch and moan about prices Couldn't get any better than that

My advice ladies and gentlemen. Get yourself down to your travel agency, you will thank yourself for it and possibly make a dream come true.

[Apsara]

The trip to Fiji sounds like a good deal.

Out of interest, did you ask how much a return ticket to Toronto would have cost you? It would probably have been cheaper than the one-way.

[Yawarakaijin]

That was a return ticket! 250,000 yen! Geesh. Well a good excuse to hit up Fiji

[gaijinalways]

Still sounds a tad expensive, but I suppose it depends on what you want.

When were you planning to fly to Toronto?
The time of year you fly makes a signifcant difference in the price

Also, was that a direct flight from Tokyo to Toronto?
If you're willing to put up with a little inconvenience, you can often get a cheaper flight that may include a stopover somewhere (though you have to pay if you wish to overnight for a few days somewhere for sightseeing).

[iverin]

Wow, 2,500 to get back to Toronto? That's ridiculous. I leave out of Toronto next Thursday on a one-way and with taxes, surcharges, and cancellation insurance it cost me $826 (the actual plane ticket itself was only $479). Buying Yen to bring with me was brutal (500,000 for $726 Canadian) but if the dollar stays low transferring money home will be amazing

[Glenski]

Some people have claimed (and proven) that some travel agents scam foreigners by giving them higher prices than Japanese. Heads up.

[Apsara]

iverin, you're either missing a zero or have added one there- �500,000 would be closer to $7,000 Canadian.

yawarakaijin's trip sounds reasonable for the New Year holiday period. Any other time of the year it would be expensive.

I have a flight to Australia just before Christmas for �155,000, but I have to go via Bangkok and Singapore, which will make it a very long trip. �50,000 of that is the fuel surcharge at the prices 4 months ago- and now oil prices are down Maybe next year's flights will be cheaper.

[iverin]

Yup, clearly added an extra zero

[azarashi sushi]

Apsara... I did hear that as of January, fuel surcharges are going down. Apparently the charges are set in three month blocks in advance, so everything is fixed till the end of the year.

Yawarakajin... I hope you have a great trip! I must say too, it does soound a bit pricey, but as you say, you have to pay the single supplement. I guess it depends how "gorgeous" the resort is.

It's funny, growing up and living in Sydney, I would have never considered for a second going to a place like Bali or Fiji ... But after 7 years in Tokyo, I'd go in a heartbeat!!

Enjoy the holiday and don't forget the omiyage!!

[Apsara]

I went to Bali earlier this month- it was fantastic. The true "anti-Japan".

[saloc]

I think it was Hit Travel that was found to be gouging foreigners, but I agree that great deals can be found at local travel agents, especially for weekend trips and the like. You can often get a couple of nights in a pretty fancy hotel and shinkansen tickets for what pretty much amounts to only the price of the train tickets - the hotel is for all intents and purposes free. At least, that has been my experience dealing with local travel agents for trips to Tokyo, Kyoto and Hiroshima. It's certainly worth just going in and asking!

[Apsara]

Definitely some good packages out there. A few years back a friend and I flew to Hiroshima and stayed 2 nights in a decent hotel for less than the shinkansen alone would have cost us.

[Lyrajean]

Somtimes you can get a better deal (I'm American, so don't know about going to Canada) if you buy your ticket for the leg of the trip out of Japan to the west coast and then go online to find a domestic flight in the USA...

Last summer I was quoted 220,000yen for round trip to my home in VT, and the agent even told me that I could do better if they sold me a flight to the west coast and a bought my own ticket for the US leg. It came to 190,000 or would have if HIT had not gome bankrupt!

I had to buy the China airlines portion twice for 140,000yen becuase of the bankruptcy...

Another travel agent gave me the same price as HIT did though!

[YAMARI]

2500 bucks fro a week in Fiji is quite a rip off. Most people spend a month somewhere hot for that. 2500 one way to canada is also a rip off.

[Apsara]

However, for a package/flight out of Japan over New Year, it is pretty standard.

Perhaps you could tell us where to find cheaper flights or packages out of Tokyo over New Year? I for one would be very happy to know.