Japan Airlines: Free Domestic Flights

Japan Airlines is offering free domestic flights to passengers who purchase an international JAL flight. It's part of a growing trend to encourage travelers to explore less visited places. Here are the details of JAL's offer:

To qualify for the complimentary domestic ticket, passengers must reserve a JAL international flight and domestic flight as part of the same reservation. Separate bookings for domestic flights aren't eligible.
Travelers flying from the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and China whose first destination stay in Japan exceeds 24 hours will be charged a stopover fee of USD $100/CNY 300. No additional charges apply for travelers from other countries for the domestic segments.
Offer is for travelers departing from:
- U.S., Canada, Mexico
- Thailand
- Singapore
- Australia, New Zealand
- Vietnam, Philippines (starts 9/25/24)
- Indonesia, India, China, Taiwan (starts 9/27/24)

See the JAL announcement.

We've enjoyed JAL Business Class and JAL First Class several times; JAL Business Class Sky Suite on the 777-300ER (in a window seat) remains our favorite business class product. We've also had a good experience flying JAL economy domestically from Tokyo to Sapporo CTS.

Where to Go and Stay

Many first-time or even repeat visitors will want to visit Kyoto, which is closest to Osaka Itami Airport (ITM), about a 45 minute drive. If traveling as a family consider staying at the Four Seasons Kyoto or the new Six Senses Kyoto, while couples may want to choose the Park Hyatt Kyoto, which tends to see fewer families and is in the heart of the picturesque Higashiyama district, near Kiyomizu-dera, Kodaiji, and the pedestrian Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka streets.

Returning visitors interesting in exploring Japan's third largest city may want to get their free domestic flight into Osaka Kansai (KIX) and base themselves at the new Four Seasons Osaka. Osaka is only 30 minutes away by train from Kyoto.

Other possible domestic destinations include Hiroshima Airport (HIJ), to see the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and visit Miyajima Island, Takamatsu Airport (TAK) to visit the Naoshima and Teshima art islands, or Kyushu, starting in Fukuoka (FUK), home to the Ritz-Carlton Fukuoka, which opened in 2023.

Venture up to Sapporo with a flight to New Chitose Airport (CTS) and stay in Niseko, either at Zaborin Ryokan or the Park Hyatt Niseko. The latter is a true ski-in, ski-out property, but beyond ski season, the area is popular in the summer with hiking, biking, ziplining, rafting, and golf. After a busy day, soak in the onsen (natural hot spring) water, either in the resort's public onsen, or in your private onsen if you've reserved a room or suite with its own onsen.