Flights to Japan: Which Airport, Direct Routes, Prices and When to Book

lowest airline sale fare we found for a round trip from New York or Los Angeles to Tokyo, on January 2027 dates (checked 14 November 2026)

$877

typical nonstop flight time from London Heathrow to Tokyo Haneda, the only UK airport with direct flights

13 h 45

departure tax per person since 1 July 2026 (about $19), already included in the ticket price

3,000 yen

Most flights to Japan land in Tokyo, at Haneda (HND), the closer airport, or Narita (NRT), where many of the cheapest fares arrive. Fly into Kansai (KIX) if your trip starts in Osaka or Kyoto. From the US most round trips in economy cost $900 to $1,400, and February is usually the cheapest month (fares checked on 14 November 2026). From the UK, the only nonstop flights leave from London Heathrow. Routes below were checked against airline announcements and airport timetables for winter 2026-27 and summer 2027.

Which airport to fly into in Japan: Narita, Haneda, Kansai and the regional airports

Japan has seven airports that matter for an international trip. The choice comes down to where you sleep the first night and where you finish. Book the airport closest to your first and last stops, not just the cheapest ticket: a cheap fare into the wrong city can cost you a Shinkansen ride and half a day.

Narita or Haneda: which Tokyo airport is better?

Haneda wins on location. It sits on Tokyo Bay inside the city, and the Tokyo Monorail reaches Hamamatsucho in 13 minutes. That matters most on a late-evening arrival, when the last trains from Narita are already gone or a taxi into Tokyo costs a small fortune. Since 2020, JAL, ANA, United, American and Delta fly many of their long-haul routes to Haneda, and British Airways and Air France land only there.

Narita wins on price and choice of low-cost airlines. ZIPAIR, the low-cost arm of JAL, and Jetstar fly there, and their fares from the US usually sit well below those of the full-service airlines. The extra hour on the train costs about 2,580 to 3,140 yen per person (about $16 to $20). For a couple, a $150 saving on each ticket still leaves Narita well ahead. Narita is also more convenient if you stay in Asakusa or Ueno, which the Skyliner serves directly.

Kansai Airport for Osaka and Kyoto

Kansai International is built on an artificial island in Osaka Bay. There is no Kyoto airport, so Kansai is the airport for Kyoto too: the JR Haruka runs direct in about 75 minutes. Long-haul choice is thinner than in Tokyo. From North America, JAL flies Los Angeles to Kansai, and United adds a daily Los Angeles to Kansai flight from 27 March 2027. Air Canada flies Vancouver and Toronto to Kansai in summer, and from Europe the options are Finnair from Helsinki, KLM from Amsterdam, Lufthansa from Munich and Turkish Airlines from Istanbul. From Australia, Jetstar flies to Kansai from Brisbane, Cairns and Sydney.

Nagoya, Fukuoka, Sapporo and Okinawa airports

The regional airports mostly receive flights from Asia, which makes a connection in Seoul, Taipei or Hong Kong the usual way in. There are a few exceptions worth knowing for winter 2026-27 and 2027. Sapporo New Chitose gets Air Canada from Vancouver three times a week from 17 December 2026 to 25 March 2027 (about 9 hours 10 minutes), a seasonal United flight from San Francisco from 11 December 2026, and seasonal Qantas flights from Sydney for the ski season. Okinawa gets its first nonstop from the mainland US in decades: United San Francisco to Naha from 27 March 2027, three times a week. Nagoya Chubu has seasonal Finnair flights, Lufthansa resumes Frankfurt to Nagoya on 29 March 2027 and JAL flies there from Honolulu.

Direct flights to Japan from the US and Canada

North America has the widest choice of nonstop flights to Japan. The table lists the routes scheduled for winter 2026-27 and summer 2027, from the airline press releases, airport timetables and route trackers we checked on 14 November 2026. Schedules change twice a year, in late October and late March, so confirm the airline and the airport when you search.

Southwest does not fly to Japan, and neither do the other US low-cost airlines. Las Vegas, Portland and Salt Lake City have no nonstop flight either: from those cities, connect on the West Coast or in Vancouver. One change for 2027: at the end of March 2027, JAL hands its own Chicago to Narita flight over to American, which flies it with JAL selling seats as a codeshare, and JAL keeps flying Chicago to Haneda. Moving to Japan rather than visiting? Our guide to moving to Japan from the USA covers the one-way ticket, pets and extra baggage.

Direct flights to Japan from the UK and Europe

London Heathrow is the only UK airport with nonstop flights to Japan. British Airways, Japan Airlines and ANA all fly to Haneda. JAL runs two flights a day, both on its new A350-1000 from 1 October 2026 to 27 March 2027. From Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh or Belfast, you connect in London, Amsterdam, Paris, Frankfurt, Helsinki, Istanbul or the Gulf. Virgin Atlantic does not fly to Tokyo: since 29 March 2026 it flies London to Seoul and sells the last leg to Tokyo on Korean Air.

Why flights from Europe to Japan take longer since 2022

Russia closed its airspace to European, British, US and Canadian airlines in February 2022, and the shortest line from Europe to Japan crosses Siberia. Airlines now fly over the North Pole or south over Central Asia. Finnair, whose Helsinki hub was built on the Siberian shortcut, says its flights to Japan and Korea are 2 to 4 hours longer than before. Today Helsinki to Narita takes about 13 hours 25 minutes on Finnair, Paris to Haneda about 13 hours 30 minutes and Frankfurt to Haneda about 13 hours 10 minutes. JAL and ANA flights to Europe are just as long, so the Japanese carriers do not offer a faster way around the problem.

Finnair still sells Helsinki as a good connection from smaller UK and European cities, and it adds a second daily Helsinki to Narita flight from 12 May to 14 August 2027. The return leg from Japan to Europe is usually the longer one, around 14 hours 25 minutes from Haneda to London on JAL in winter.

Direct flights to Japan from Australia and New Zealand

Australia is the closest long-haul market, with about 9 hours 50 minutes from Sydney to Haneda and only one or two hours of time difference. Qantas runs two daily Sydney to Haneda flights. JAL and ANA also fly Sydney to Haneda, and Jetstar flies to Narita and Kansai, which is where the cheaper fares usually sit.

There is no nonstop from the Gold Coast or Adelaide. For a ski trip, the Qantas seasonal flight to Sapporo saves the domestic connection in Tokyo, and Niseko is about two hours from New Chitose by road.

How long is the flight to Japan? Flight times by city

Flights to Japan from North America are longer on the way out, against the jet stream, and one to two hours shorter on the way back. From Europe it is the other way round. The times below are typical nonstop block times on the airline schedules sampled on 14 November 2026.

Add 3 to 6 hours for a one-stop itinerary, depending on the connection. A flight from Denver via San Francisco, or from Manchester via Helsinki, typically lands 16 to 20 hours after take-off.

How much are flights to Japan? Round-trip prices by market and season

No two sites publish the same average, so we kept the fares that airlines publish themselves. On 14 November 2026, most US to Japan round trips we checked cost $900 to $1,400 in economy. Airline sale fares sit at the bottom of that range and almost all fall on January and February dates.

Expedia's booking data for January 2025 to April 2026 shows the same curve on one-way tickets from all origins: $456 in January, $473 in February, $643 in March and $665 in December, the dearest month. Treat all of these as a benchmark, then check live fares on your own dates.

Cheapest month to fly to Japan, and the most expensive

January and February are the cheapest months to fly to Japan from the US, the UK and Europe, once the New Year return is over. September to mid-November is the second-best window, with prices close to the yearly average and good weather from mid-October. Three periods push fares up everywhere:

• Cherry blossom, from late March to mid-April. Full bloom in Tokyo comes on 31 March on average, and fares and Kyoto hotels peak in the first ten days of April.
• Summer school holidays, from late June to August, with Obon (Friday 13 to Monday 16 August 2027) as the Japanese peak inside it.
• Christmas and New Year, with Japan closing from Wednesday 29 December 2027 to Monday 3 January 2028.

Golden Week (Thursday 29 April, then Saturday 1 to Wednesday 5 May 2027) mainly hits flights leaving Japan and domestic trains, but it still lifts inbound fares around those dates. Our guide to the best time to visit Japan sets these dates against the weather month by month, so you can trade a cheaper flight against rain or heat.

When to book flights to Japan

Fares tend to be lowest several months before departure and climb in the last few weeks, when the cheap seats are gone. In practice:

• For cherry blossom or the autumn leaves in November, book 5 to 6 months ahead. The cheap seats on nonstop flights go first.
• For January, February, June or September, 2 to 4 months ahead is usually enough.
• Set a fare alert on your route and on the whole month. Departures on a Tuesday or Wednesday are often cheaper than on a Friday or Sunday.
• Compare Haneda and Narita together, and a one-stop routing with a nonstop: the gap can reach several hundred dollars at peak times.

Last-minute deals to Japan are rare in spring and autumn. Once you have your dates, also check that you are covered for delays and missed connections: our page on travel insurance for Japan explains what the airline pays and what it does not.

Cheaper flights to Japan with a stopover: Seoul, Taipei, Hong Kong, Doha, Dubai and Helsinki

A one-stop ticket is often the cheapest flight to Japan from a secondary city, and sometimes from a big one. The hubs that work best:

• Seoul (Korean Air): connections to almost every Japanese airport, including Fukuoka, Sapporo and Okinawa, with Delta as the partner from the US. Asiana merges into Korean Air on 17 December 2026, so its flights to Japan move to the Korean Air brand.
• Taipei (EVA Air, China Airlines, Starlux): strong from the US West Coast and Canada, with flights on to Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka and Sapporo.
• Hong Kong (Cathay Pacific): Haneda, Narita, Kansai, Nagoya and Fukuoka, and a good option from Australia and the UK.
• Doha (Qatar Airways) and Dubai (Emirates): the usual choice from Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh and many European cities. Qatar resumed Doha to Haneda in July 2026 and has flown it daily since 1 August 2026. Emirates serves Haneda, Narita and Kansai. Check the airline notices before you book, because flights through the Gulf were disrupted in spring 2026.
• Helsinki (Finnair) and Istanbul (Turkish Airlines): the shortest connections from Northern and Eastern Europe, with Finnair also flying to Kansai and Nagoya.

Low-cost airlines to Japan: ZIPAIR and Jetstar

ZIPAIR is JAL's low-cost airline and flies to Narita from several North American cities. Jetstar does the same from Australia. The base fare covers a seat and a small cabin bag: checked bags, seat selection and meals are extra. Add them before comparing with a full-service fare, which usually includes at least one checked bag on long-haul flights to Japan.

Open jaw flights to Japan: land in Tokyo, fly home from Osaka

An open jaw ticket lands in one city and leaves from another, for example into Tokyo Haneda and home from Osaka Kansai. On many airlines it costs about the same as a round trip to Tokyo, because it is priced as two halves of a return. The saving is in time and trains. If your trip ends in Kyoto or Osaka and you fly home from Tokyo, you add a Shinkansen ride of 14,720 yen (about $92) and lose most of the last day. Our 10-day Japan itinerary is built on this pattern: Tokyo first, then Kyoto, Nara and Osaka, and a flight home from Kansai.

Search it as a multi-city trip on a comparison site or on the airline website. JAL, ANA, United, Air Canada, Finnair and KLM all sell Tokyo in, Osaka out on one ticket. An open jaw also changes the maths on a rail pass: with no return Shinkansen, the Japan Rail Pass is even harder to justify on a Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka trip.

Miles and points for flights to Japan

Japan is one of the best uses of airline miles, because both Japanese airlines belong to the big alliances. JAL is in oneworld, with American, British Airways, Qantas, Finnair, Iberia, Cathay Pacific and Qatar Airways. ANA is in Star Alliance, with United, Air Canada, Lufthansa, Turkish Airlines, Singapore Airlines and EVA Air. Delta works with Korean Air in SkyTeam, alongside Air France and KLM.

Two habits help. Search award seats as soon as the schedule opens, around 11 to 12 months before departure on most programmes, since cherry blossom dates go first. And look at the taxes and surcharges: some programmes add large fees to awards on British Airways or other European airlines, while awards on JAL or ANA usually carry lower ones.

Japan departure tax: 3,000 yen since July 2026

The international tourist tax, paid by everyone leaving Japan by air or sea, tripled from 1,000 to 3,000 yen (about $19) on 1 July 2026. It is included in the price of your ticket, so there is nothing to pay at the airport. Tickets issued before 1 July 2026 kept the old rate, according to travel industry sources. A family of four now pays 12,000 yen (about $75) on a return trip, against 4,000 yen before. Children under two and passengers in transit for less than 24 hours are exempt. Our guide to the Japan tourist visa and entry rules covers the other fees that rose this year.

Time difference and jet lag on flights to Japan

Japan runs on JST, UTC+9, with no daylight saving time, so the gap changes when your own country moves its clocks.

From the Americas and Europe, the body clock is badly off for the first days. Flights from the US often land in the afternoon or evening, which helps: stay up until a normal bedtime and get morning daylight the next day. Overnight flights from Europe often land in the morning or the afternoon, so sleep on the plane if you can and avoid a long nap on arrival. Plan an easy first day in Tokyo, with nothing booked before noon. From Australia, jet lag is close to zero, which makes even a long weekend in Tokyo realistic.

From Haneda, Narita and Kansai airports to Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto

From Narita, the Narita Express reaches Tokyo Station in about an hour for 3,140 yen ($20) and continues to Shibuya and Shinjuku. The Keisei Skyliner is faster to the north-east of the city: 41 minutes to Ueno for 2,580 yen ($16). Haneda is much closer: the monorail or the Keikyu line puts you in central Tokyo in under 30 minutes for about 500 yen ($3). A Suica on your phone, set up before you fly, pays for all of these. Our Suica card guide lists where to buy one at each airport.

From Kansai, the Nankai Rapi:t reaches Namba in 34 to 39 minutes for 1,520 yen ($10) with an e-ticket, and the JR Haruka goes direct to Kyoto in about 75 minutes. For what to do once you arrive, see our guides to Tokyo and Osaka. To stay online from the arrival hall, an eSIM for Japan installed at home is the simplest option.