In case you wanted to ask how to travel to Japan, here is the answer.
Depending on your starting point and how much time you have the travel may vary, however, I will base this tip on my personal experience.
Plan ahead to get the best prices!
In general, if only possible, I always try to plan and book well ahead. The longer and more complicated travel, the sooner I start. Travel to Japan may seem like a long and quite complicated journey, but it is not that bad if you know how to travel to Japan!
Flights:
If you live in Europe, as I do, you will be looking at a long flight. I mean a 14-hour flight.
Flights should be bought early. August may be late for the main ski resorts.
I have booked time off work well in advance and in August I did not have many options to choose from.
As a general rule, book your flights as soon as possible. I am not a frequent flier with millions of miles/points to use. I use skyscanner.com or kayak.com. These tools are great to find cheap flights.
Accommodation:
Again, accommodation should be planned in advance if you want to travel to Japan. Sooner you start, the more options you will have to choose from. Keep in mind that there are countries who consider Japan as a go-to skiing and snowboarding destination! Australia is one of them and most likely you will find Aussies everywhere in Japan.
Look at hotels.com, booking.com or expedia.com. The booking search tool can be found on adventureclinic.com main website! Using these tools is easy as long as you remember to line up flights with check-in and check-out dates.
Moreover, you can even search for flights plus accommodation packages. Double-check as sometimes it is cheaper to book flight and accommodation separately and sometimes as a package.
I would highly recommend booking at least one night in a traditional Japanese style accommodation with an onsen. I wrote more about onsens and true Japanese adventure experience in Snowboarding in Japan post.
Food and drink:
Personally I prefer to book accommodation without meals. It opens so many options every single day. If I would book HB or b&b included, first of all, I would be restricted to a specific time for meals, and secondly limited to what would be served.
Without meals, I had a chance to eat whatever I fancied each day. From cheap pot noodles to fabulous and mouth-watering shabu-shabu or wagyu beef. Each time in a different place and with a different menu. Get outside your comfort zone and decide what and where you want to eat and drink each day!
Is it really that straightforward to travel to Japan? How to travel to Japan without much experience? Learn from others. I have learned from my parents who flew to Japan a year before me. They have travelled strictly to experience Japanese culture. I, on the other hand, wanted to experience JaPow by Snowboarding in Japan with cultural experience on a side.
Be ready to change your plans on how to travel to Japan
Knowing how to travel to Japan is one thing but actual travel may be different from what has been planned!
I had to adjust my plans on the first day. I have not managed to leave my house and had to change plans already. Air France kindly informed us that our flight has been cancelled. And that was the end of their communication with us. Luckily thanks to my friend’s prompt actions we have managed to fly as planned from London to Paris.
Because the flight from Paris to Tokyo has been cancelled we have stayed overnight in Paris. Suburbs of Paris with no pub or any other entertainment around our hotel. Very disappointing.
The following day we had a replacement flight to Korea and from Seoul to Sapporo, Japan.
Luckily we did not book anything in Tokyo, as we would simply miss it. I had high hopes with Tokyo and Shibuya by night, but as you can see, travelling is not always easy and not always goes as planned!
