Japan is a new hotspot for vacation and I'm not sure exactly how
Published on HivePostify by @trip-hop · Tue Aug 11 2026
Japan is a truly wonderful place to visit. I have been there 3 times in the past but I have been kind of ignoring anything that is on the "other" side of the Pacific ocean in recent years due to the high cost of going over there combined with the fact that I am older now and going on an adventure to the unknown appeals to me less than it used to.
Lately though, my friends have been going over there and have regaled me with stories about how it is one of the only places in the world that is both safe and the prices are actually going down instead of up like they seem to be doing almost anywhere else.
One thing I was completely aware of and is worth looking into if you are considering a trip over to Japan is that either the country or the individual airlines are offering wonderful travel incentives.
[src](https://www.futuretravelexperience.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/JALEconomyClass-web.jpg)
For one thing Japanese airlines including and especially Japan Airlines have wonderful cabins even in coach. They just seem to care a lot more about the customers in the way that the meals are better, the staff are kinder, and unlike some other airlines I have been on they actually stay up all night to tend to you. Other airlines ignore the call button after a certain time but JAL is there all night.
[src](https://cdn.luxurytravelmag.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/shutterstock1054084262.jpg)
ANA (All Nippon Airlines) is exactly the same and the two companies seem to compete with one another on who can offer the best experience.
This has been particularly evident when one of them offered this special package deal and the other immediately copied it.
For now and with no end date listed, if you book a long haul flight to Japan with either of these airlines you are entitled to up to two domestic flights with the airline to more than 60 airports in Japan completely free of charge.
Often these full-service airlines are ignored in lieu of budget airlines that dominate the online cheap searches but people are missing the point when it comes to that. Sure, you might save $200 on the trans-Pacific flight but when you factor in 2 free domestic flights that you will probably want to take once you are there it is no longer a savings now, is it?
For reasons that I definitely don't understand, the USD, Euro, and Pound are doing very well against the Yen at the moment and people can get wonderful exchange rates and their purchasing power thereby increased.
My friend was just there and he was staying in an AirBnB in Osaka that was very large considering that almost everything in Japan is small, and ate out for every meal and the total daily cost for him and his wife was less than $100 all in. Outside of backpacking countries such as the ones I tend to stay in this is practically unheard of. Sure, you can get tourism deals in places like Central America and even South America for less than this but there is no place that is quite like Japan.
The peace and quiet even in big populous areas including Tokyo, the general kindness of strangers, the order, the cleanliness. I honestly can't think of another place on Earth that does this all so well the way that Japan does. One day when I was there I witnessed the garbage trucks / sanitation vehicles being washed in a parking lot to the point where these trucks, that carry the worst things you can imagine, were cleaner than most people's regular vehicles are. Who does that?
People don't tend to view Japan as a skiing destination and they really should. I have had a great time at ski resorts in Hokkaido and there are many other locations that offer the same thing. All in all there are nearly 500 ski resorts in Japan and they come at a fraction of the cost of those in the US. It was a very long time ago so it is probably a lot more than this but a lift ticket at Breckenridge in Colorado cost me over $100. Since this was over 20 years ago we can assume it is a lot more than that. 4 years ago I went skiing in the Niseko United area and my daily lift ticket and accommodation at the resort was less than $500 all-in. Breakfast was included in this price as well.
[src](https://www.niseko.ne.jp/en/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/g000.jpg) There's a famous mountain there as well
I don't know what it costs now but a friend of mine went there last winter and said it was one of the most delightful and affordable experiences of his life.
Japan is aiming to get 60 million tourism visitors by 2030 and this is pretty evident by the things they are doing to try to lure tourists in. Many major country person needs only go to their website in order to obtain a visa entirely digitally for up to 90 days. Do yourself a favor and just put a range of days that is a day or two over your departure date though because another group of friends of mine had their airline change the date of the flight but they couldn't change the date of their visas. This didn't cost them anything but it was a bit of a hassle at the airport.
Right now might be the perfect time to visit Japan and I am kind of in awe that more people don't do it. It's just such a wonderful country to visit. It isn't exactly bottom of the barrel cheap, but it is admittedly significantly nicer than the cheap places.. .and a hell of a lot safer.
Tags: #travel#backpacking#budget-travel#flights#japan#tourism