Discount Air Tickets

While regular airfares by conventional airlines remain relatively high on domestic routes, the competition by discount airlines and a wide array of discount offers have made domestic air travel in Japan very economical and competitive in recent years. In fact, there are so many discount plans, that only very few travelers are ever paying regular fares.

Special fares for foreign visitors

JAL, ANA, Air Do and Solaseed offer special fares for exclusive use by foreign visitors to Japan. In past years there used to exist many good deals; but during the coronavirus pandemic many of them were discontinued, while the remaining ones are often not better than other discount fares available to the general public:

Low-cost airlines

Peach Aviation and Jetstar Japan are the leading genuine low-cost carriers in Japan, offering just the bare minimum of services and fares that fluctuate with demand and can be very low:

Peach Aviation

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Peach started operation in 2012 as Japan's first genuine low-cost carrier, introducing fare levels not seen in Japan before. The airline has its main bases at Osaka's Kansai Airport and Tokyo's Narita Airport and operates several domestic and international routes to nearby Asian destinations. It maintains a strict luggage policy and keeps services to a bare minimum, although paid drinks and snacks are available on board. Beware of hidden fees.

Jetstar Japan

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Jetstar Japan operates the largest domestic network among low-cost carriers. From Tokyo's Narita Airport, Osaka's Kansai Airport and Nagoya's Central Japan Airport it serves many domestic destinations and a small number of international destinations. Jetstar's luggage policy is strict, and services are limited, although paid drinks and snacks are available on board. Beware of hidden fees.

Spring Japan

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Spring Japan connects Narita Airport with Hiroshima and Sapporo.

Other cheaper airlines

There are a number of other airlines, which offer services and fare structures similar to JAL and ANA, but with prices that are typically at least 20 percent lower:

Skymark Airlines

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Skymark has one of the most extensive route networks among the discount airlines in Japan. It operates inexpensive flights from its main bases in Tokyo-Haneda and Kobe to destinations nationwide. The airline maintains a certain level of services at the airport as well as a quite moderate luggage policy, but reduces its on-board service to a minimum.

Air Do

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Air Do operates inexpensive flights from Tokyo's Haneda Airport to various destinations in Hokkaido, and from Sapporo to Osaka and multiple secondary airports across Honshu. A relatively generous baggage allowance and a certain service level are maintained, including complementary drinks.

Starflyer

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Starflyer offers inexpensive flights on its route network centered around Kitakyushu and nearby Fukuoka and Yamaguchi. Starflyer offers not only inexpensive fares, but also a comfort level that exceeds that of conventional airlines by offering spacious seats, complementary drinks and a generous baggage allowance.

Solaseed Air

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Solaseed Air operates inexpensive flights from Tokyo's Haneda Airport to various cities on Kyushu, and from these Kyushu airports, as well as from Tokyo, Nagoya and Kobe, to Okinawa. A relatively generous baggage allowance and a certain service level are maintained, including complementary drinks.

Advance purchase discounts

An effective way to get low rates on domestic flights in Japan is to purchase as early in advance as possible. Particularly large discounts are offered when booked at least a month in advance. Many airlines also offer discounts on bookings made seven, three or one day ahead of the travel date.

The biggest discounts are offered on popular routes on which competition is high. Most discounts are available for just a limited number of seats on each flight and may sell out quickly. They are often tied to higher handling fees for ticket modification and cancellation. Some of the discounts are reduced or unavailable during peak travel seasons. Online bookings are possible on each airline's website.

Avoiding peak travel periods

Many of the discount fares are less attractive or unavailable during peak travel periods such as the New Year holidays (late December to early January), the spring school holidays (second half of March and early April), Golden Week (late April to early May) and the summer holidays (mid July through August, especially Obon in mid August). Furthermore, fares on many routes are somewhat higher from Friday to Sunday than during the rest of the week.

Round-trip discounts

Domestic flights in Japan are priced and sold in one-way sectors rather than round-trips. Nevertheless, many airlines do offer small discounts on round trips. However, because only one type of discount can be applied per flight and other discounts are usually better priced, round-trip discounts are rarely the most attractive choice.

Early morning and late night flights

Some early morning and late night flights are typically around 10-20 percent cheaper.