Flying to Japan without return ticket?
Replies: 9 - Last Post: Aug 6, 2012 9:40 PM Last Post By: Regulus
jump to
Flying to Japan without return ticket?
I plan to visit Osaka and maybe Kyoto pretty soon. I am a US citizen and plan to stay in Japan for 3 weeks at most. Since I'm not sure when I'll leave, I don't want to buy a return ticket yet. But I've heard they will be checked by the AIRLINES before they let me board the plane to Japan.If I don't have one, would it suffice if I just TELL THEM that I plan to take the ferry from Fukuoka to Busan? Or do I have to show them the printed out ticket of it? Anyone know of any websites where I can purchase the refundable ferry tickets from Japan to Korea?
1
are you flying from/to the same city? (e.g. LAX-TYO-LAX or BKK-KIX-BKK) If so, a round trip ticket will be cheaper than two one-way tickets; you should choose a date and buy a return ticket.if you're planning other travel but eventually returning to departure city (e.g. JFK-KIX-BKK-NRT-JFK) it's still going to be cheaper to buy one ticket.
2
I am in Hong Kong now. I want to fly to Japan and then Korea and then back home to the USA. I'm also thinking about just flying to Korea and then Japan instead since I don't think I would be required to have a return ticket in order to enter Korea. To enter Japan this way, would just showing them my online itinerary for a flight from Japan to the USA suffice? Or do they need to see the actual flight ticket?3
Have you priced one way tickets from Japan and Korea to the US respectively?One way flights from Japan to the US are likely to be quite expensive.
If you have a flight back to the US booked from Korea, it should sufficient for proving exit from Japan. Ferries for Pusan depart from Fukuoka and Shimonoseki.
A friend recently flew SYD-NRT exited from Osaka by ferry - had a booking but had not paid for the ticket - but had a ticket from Shanghai to BKK and BKK to SYD and had no problem. He was flying Jetstar from Aus which has a fierce reputation as a rule enforcer.
4
And what makes you think that Japanese Immigration will believe you? According to Japanese law, you need a return/onward ticket to enter without a visa. The airlines will not let you fly unless they see you have satisfied those conditions.It is far better to get a ticket with an open date, or cheap date change penalty. Also you say you will go "pretty soon" - if around August, that is peak travel season and it may be very hard to get any date out of Japan. Tokyo_girl girl is correct in that one-way tickets from Japan are high - wildly high in fact. There is a fair chance that all the cheaper seats will be gone and you have to fly full Y-class airfare - that means no discounts and several thousand bucks.
5
I agree with the others that you need to think very hard about this plan.......because of Japanese regulatory restrictions, it is very expensive to buy one-way tickets out of Japan to almost anywhere.6
A one way FULL economy with a seat booked well ahead, will be fully refundable when you don't use it. Pay for it on your credit card, get the print out, then apply for the refund within the same month, so you might get the credit before having to pay. Can anyone think of a reason why this does not work??9
Yes, in theory it will work. Of course, nobody can guarantee what Japanese Immigration will do.This happens from time to time. You fly into Japan with a one way, then have an onward one way beyond Japan (NRT-ICN, for example) that is fully refundable. However, the airline may not refund the one way for the return unless you show them a Japanese visa or apply for the refund from your home country. That lets the airline off the legal hook.
