How to get to Japan: airports, flights and border crossings

Japan has two Tokyo airports and a ring of regional ones. Which you pick changes your transfer time and often your fare more than the airline does. The table below is a planning guide, not a booking rule: fares move with season, how far ahead you book and whether you take a nonstop or a one-stop routing.

Peak fares land in late March to early April (cherry blossom), Golden Week (late April to early May), Obon (mid-August) and New Year. The cheapest months are usually mid-January to February and June, outside the ski season and before the summer holidays. Check the best time to visit before you lock dates.

Start with the shape of the trip, not the fare. A loop that starts and ends in Tokyo is simplest. A one-way route from Tokyo to Osaka, Hiroshima or Fukuoka is better as an open-jaw ticket: fly into HND or NRT and home from KIX, FUK or NGO. Open-jaw fares are often close to a return to Tokyo and save you a long backtrack by rail.

Then compare airports honestly. HND is the fastest into the city and the most expensive to reach from most long-haul origins. NRT is further out but often cheaper by enough to cover the transfer. For Kansai, Kyoto and Osaka are both easy from KIX, so the airport rarely decides the itinerary.

Book 2–4 months ahead for spring and autumn, earlier for cherry blossom week and New Year. Set a fare alert rather than checking daily. If your dates are flexible, midweek departures and a Tuesday or Wednesday arrival usually cost less.

Before you pay, check two things that catch people out: baggage rules on the cheapest fares, and whether your connection is a legal one. A one-stop through Seoul, Taipei, Hong Kong or Singapore can be cheaper than a nonstop and adds a few hours, not a day.

On arrival, immigration and customs at HND, NRT and KIX are usually quick outside peak hours. Have your accommodation address ready, and set up mobile data before you land: an eSIM is the fastest option. Carry some yen for the first train or bus, since not every ticket machine takes foreign cards.

Entry rules depend on your passport, not on your ticket. Many nationalities get a visa-free short stay, but the length and the conditions differ, and rules change. Confirm your own status on the official source before booking anything non-refundable, and check the visa requirements page for the current position.

Land and sea entry is technically possible but not a realistic route for most travellers. Japan has no scheduled international passenger ferry service, and the only land border is with Russia, which is not usable for ordinary tourism. In practice, everyone arrives by air.

Travel insurance is worth arranging at the same time as the flight, especially for winter sports in Hokkaido and for typhoon season in late summer and early autumn, when flights and trains can be cancelled at short notice.

If you are continuing to South Korea, the Busan–Fukuoka ferry is the one sea crossing travellers actually use, and it runs from Fukuoka, not from Tokyo. Check schedules and current operating status before planning around it.