Flights to Tokyo

As you might expect from such a busy, vibrant city, there is no shortage of flights to Tokyo . You have a choice of airlines, including overseas-based carriers such as All Nippon Airways, Asiana Airlines and Cathay Pacific. However, for the British traveller, the best airlines are usually Virgin Atlantic and British Airways. Virgin and BA both run direct flights from London Heathrow, and prices are usually a close-run thing thanks to competition between them. Expect to pay about £800 for an inclusive adult return. Of course, being inflexible about scheduling may bump up the price of your flight.

The overseas airlines mentioned above tend to be substantially more expensive than either BA or Virgin Airways, coming in around £1500 for a return, but it's always worth checking out their prices before you book, just in case there are any unexpected deals running when you want to travel.

Another way of getting a cheap flight to Tokyo is to travel indirectly, via another city. For example, Lufthansa often runs good deals for travellers going via Frankfurt . However, be warned that even a direct flight can take up to thirteen hours, so travelling indirectly may take you as long as sixteen hours. You have to decide whether the extra inconvenience is worth the saving.

Tokyo has two airports: Haneda and Narita. If you're coming from the UK , you'll probably end up at the latter. Narita International is a very clean, efficient airport, with an excellent range of shops and restaurants. The only drawback is its distance from Tokyo itself: more than forty miles away from the centre. This is because it wasn't physically possible to build such a big airport any closer to such a crowded city. However, transport to and from the airport is of a very high standard. The Narita Express train covers the distance in less than an hour and costs about £15.00. Taxis are often slower and near prohibitively expansive; expect to pay £120.00. Narita is well-served for car hire, too, so you should be able to rent a familiar Japanese brand of car such as Nissan or Toyota .