We got our tickets!

Posted June 15th, 2011 in Japan 4 Comments »

We got out tickets… finally.

First, we were thinking to fly with Malaysian Air as I found a very good price at H.I.S. Travel.  It was $210~ + tax ($780) return!  Less than $1000 from Perth to Osaka is very very cheap.  Besides, Nov ~ Jan is high season.  I called them up to ask the details such as transit hours.  The flight time is good too – leave Perth afternoon, and arrive Osaka in the morning.  Transit hour was just 1~3 hours, so it’s good too.  But, the thing is that the ticket was open for only 35 days, which means we have to come back to Perth within 35 days.  I wanted to stay in Japan longer, so I didn’t take it.

Next, I again found a good deal at H.I.S Travel.  It’s JAL (Japan AirLine) flight, and is $235~ + tax ($804) return.  It’s just above $1000 so it’s not bad at all.  And, it’s JAL so I thought it flies direct to Osaka.  I called them up to check what the deal is.  Then, I found out that it wasn’t a direct flight – there’re actually 2 transits and we need to catch 4 planes…  Fly domestic from Perth to Sydney, then move to international terminal, fly from Sydney to Narita, then take domestic flight from Narita to Osaka.  Hmmm, even though Australia and Japan are familiar places for us and we won’t worry about what to do at the airport, but again, we have Hiro and I don’t think transiting 2 times is going to be a comfortable flight. So, I didn’t take it either.

And, as I said on earlier post, my sister-in-law offered her mileage at Garuda to us.  Why she doesn’t use the mileage is because she can’t use it for the flight from/to Australia (for some reason).  So, we can’t use the mileage for the flight from/to Australia either.  We could buy 2 tickets separately – a flight from Perth to Bali, and from Bali to Osaka, using the mileage on the flight between Bali and Osaka.  But, there’re some concerns…  Firstly, we don’t trust Garuda because it delays often.  Secondly, we didn’t really like Bali airport from our terrible experience (post), and I thought there’s no space to relax with Hiro.  Toilet was dirty too…  Thirdly, we will have to fly with Garuda between Perth and Bali too, otherwise our luggages won’t directly go to Osaka/Perth.  I checked Garuda flight details between Perth and Bali, and found out that the connection to the flight to and from Osaka is really bad.  We could pay and use the lounge at the airport, but we’re not sure if it’s really a good plan.  Sister-in-law asked us to fly from Perth to Jakarta, then stay at either airport hotel or her house, and on the next day we fly from Jakarta to Bali, then Bali to Osaka.  I didn’t like it because there’re so many flights, and we will need to buy 3 tickets!  And, I wasn’t 100% comfortable with using her mileage too. So, although it was a very generous offer, we didn’t take it.

Then, we thought why not buy that Malaysian Air cheap 35days open ticket from H.I.S for D (as he can only stay in Japan for 1 month anyway), and buy a standard fare tickets for me and Hiro. The standard ticket wasn’t so expensive considering it’s high season.  We called up H.I.S to reserve our seats first. Then we were really going to go with it.  But, D wasn’t actually 100% happy with the flight schedule… The cheap ticket only applies for the flight departing Perth before Nov 23 (or around there), which means D will have to head back here before his birthday (as this ticket is only open for 35 days). And, he will also miss spending Hiro’s first Christmas and New Year’s Day together.  Hmm… now what?

Then, D found that Cathay is not that expensive either. He checked the fare on the dates he wanted to fly, and it turned out that total for three of us is actually about same as the one with Malaysian Air. Most of all, with Cathay he gets to stay his birthday, Christmas, and New Year’s Day in Japan with us 🙂 . The flight time and transit are good too, arriving Osaka in early afternoon. Flight between Perth and HK is around 7.5 hours, and between HK and KIX is around 4 hours.  So, in the end, we decided to fly with Cathay and reserved our seats. 🙂

Now, thinking that we will be in Japan in 4 months, my head is busy planning our homecoming trip!

It’s winter, so seafood is its season!

And, I’m definitely eating one of my favorite food – Japanese omu-rice with demi glace sauce!

And, we will probably take break a lot at Misdo, McDonald’s, Mos Burger, and other fast food chains between shopping….  Can’t wait!


4 Comments on “We got our tickets!”

  1. 1 bona said at 3:53 pm on June 15th, 2011:

    If you are by yourself, you could get a very cheap ticket, but its very hard with little one especially from Perth.
    I havent gone back for 3 years.They must have changed a lot.

    Ive made your cup cake , and tasted great!
    My husband said “cup cake version of 白い恋人.”
    I will make it again when my sister-in-law comes over from Adelaide.

  2. 2 umepontarou said at 5:50 am on June 16th, 2011:

    Bona,

    3 years! I bet you miss them a lot.. I normally go back to Japan every year, but I still get surprised how much they changed in one year.

    白い恋人: is that the one from Hokkaido? The sweet cookie, right? I hope your in-law will like it too 🙂

  3. 3 Jacquelyn said at 5:28 pm on June 15th, 2011:

    exactly garuda is not bad at all .. service is good now .. i used garuda to travel to Narita .. w my daughter .. it was much more better than SQ and JAL… newer planes and very very good service .. my daughter enjoy her flight alot..hehehehe

    you should try Aus-world travel .. always got my ticket there when i was in Perth b4 . it was much more cheaper than in HIS ..

    anywhere enjoy ur trip 😛 am currently in Japan .. so hot and wet .. always rain all the time

  4. 4 umepontarou said at 5:52 am on June 16th, 2011:

    Jacquelyn,

    Aus-world travel… I will check it out next time! Thanks 🙂

    Yeah my bro told me it’s hot and humid too… I don’t like the climate, but do you?? I hope you won’t get sick by the weather and food!


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