£296+ Cheap flights to Tokyo

Tokyo climate

Winter is cold in Tokyo and the temperature occasionally drops below freezing. Spring has pleasant warm days. Summer is hot and muggy. It gets cool again in the autumn, with temperatures in the teens to 20s Celsius. August is the warmest month with high humidity and temperatures in the mid-20s, and January is the coldest with temperatures below zero. The monsoon season lasts about a month starting around mid-June. Typhoons are widespread in Japan in September.

Getting around Tokyo

Tokyo is known internationally for having great public transport. It’s clean, safe and efficient. Tourists usually stick to the subway or Japan Railways (JR). The subway has 13 different lines that run from early morning to late evening. Avoid the rush hours if possible as they can get extremely crowded. You can buy a Tokyo Combination Ticket which offers unlimited rides on the Tokyo trains, subway and bus lines for one day. Taxis are safe, clean and comfortable, but among the highest-priced in the world. Drivers might not speak English, so it’s a good idea to have your destinations written in Japanese before boarding.

Getting from the airport to the city

Tokyo has two major international airports, Tokyo Haneda airport (HND) and Narita International airport (NRT). The whizziest way of getting from the airport to the city is on the Keisei Skyliner, which takes 36 minutes to reach Nippori and 41 minutes to get to Ueno. It’s twice as expensive as the Express train, which takes 75 minutes to reach Keisei Ueno Station. Regular bus services operate from the airport but tend to be a slower (if less expensive) option than the trains.There are taxis available at the airport but are the most expensive option.

What is good to know if travelling to Tokyo?

• Tokyo is made up of a series of small towns and neighbourhoods, each with its own history, flavour, and atmosphere, organized into 23 wards. Given the city’s size, it might be a good idea to decide what you want to see before booking your cheap flights to Tokyo and plan well ahead.
• Experiencing the best of what Tokyo has to offer is inexpensive and often free, such as a walk through Shitamachi around Asakusa, the Buddhist temple Sensoji, the Meiji-jingu Shinto shrine, the Harajuku shopping area, and the Tsukiji fish market. Get a good guide book to both check out which sites are free and to plan your visit to Tokyo.
• In Tokyo it’s very easy to eat on a budget. Two options are a set lunch and obento. A set lunch is a fixed-price meal that usually includes an appetiser or soup, main dish with one or two side dishes, and sometimes dessert. Set lunches are called teishoku,seto coursu, or coursu in Japanese. Some restaurants also offer set dinners although they cost a bit more than a set lunch. Getting an obento (box lunch) is a “must do.” A typical obento contains fish or chicken, side dishes, rice, and pickled vegetables. But the best part is the presentation — it should be beautiful enough to “eat with the eyes”.
• For nightlife and entertainment, Tokyo has Kabuki, No, Bunraku puppet drama, music, dance, classical and popular music, strip joints, massage parlours, peep shows, bars, restaurants, and so on. But even as the night wears on and the revellers become more and more inebriated, the city remains fairly safe.
• You will get lost in Tokyo — everyone does, even Tokyo cab drivers. Always go out armed with street and subway maps. They are readily available in Tokyo, and the Tokyo Convention and Visitors Bureau gives out free maps. When you do get lost, ask for help and directions. Don’t be shy about asking again as you’re following the directions. Unless you’re fluent in Japanese or the person you asked is fluent in English, misinterpretation of the directions is a possibility. You may also want to buy a phrase book that has English transliterations of Japanese (romaji), and Japanese characters (kanji and kana). Then you can also point to the Japanese words to get help.