When tickets go on sale
Airline tickets for the two major domestic operators, JAL and ANA, go on sale about a year before the flight date (360 days before for JAL, 355 days before for ANA).
Both JAL and ANA also offer advance purchase discount fares, which must be booked a set number of days before departure (for example, 28 to 75 days before for JAL’s Special Saver). Some fares and codeshare flights go on sale only after the seasonal flight schedule is issued, in late January (for flights from late March to late October) and late August (for flights from late October to late March).
Discounted seats are limited, and the cheapest fares for popular periods like Golden Week, summer vacation and New Year tend to sell out early. Therefore, if you have a travel plan in advance, it’s a good idea to book flights as soon as they go on sale.
Pricing
As with flights anywhere else in the world, domestic ticket prices in Japan vary by date, time of day, and how far in advance you book. Both JAL and ANA offer discounted fares for advance booking, and the cheapest fares are generally available when you book early.
In JAL’s case, the main discount fare is Special Saver, which must be booked 28 to 75 days in advance, depending on the fare level available at the time. ANA’s Simple and Standard fares, introduced in May 2026, must be booked 28 to 45 days in advance, depending on the fare level. Limited numbers of discount tickets are available for each flight, and the fare shown changes depending on how many seats remain and how close the flight date is. For this reason, if you know your travel plans in advance, it is worth booking as early as possible.
JAL has recently added a page to their website where you can find out the cheapest dates for advance purchase fares by choosing your desired route.
Additionally, JAL offers last-minute “Tokubin” rates on some flights, available 1, 3 and 7 days in advance. You may be able to snag a late deal, so it’s worth running a search for flights on JAL’s site just in case.
Cancellation:
While advance tickets are great value, bear in mind that the cancellation charges tend to be significantly higher than for standard tickets. JAL charges 50% for all Sakitoku cancellations, including after the flight date, while ANA allows for cancellations for discount tickets up to 55 days in advance for only a small refund charge, but has a cancellation fee ranging from 30% to 100% thereafter.
LCCs
The number of LCCs (low-cost carriers) operating in Japan has increased in recent years, with Jetstar, Peach, Solaseed and Vanilla Air among the largest of these airlines. In Tokyo, all of these companies are based at Narita Airport and Haneda Airport. LCC tickets go on sale around the same time as JAL and ANA’s discount fares (late January and late August), offering cheap travel, though with limited onboard services, baggage allowance, etc. compared to the major airlines. While dates, times and routes will all play a factor, you will often find that advance fares on JAL/ANA are cheaper than LCCs, while LCCs may be cheaper when booking closer to the travel date. LCCs are likely to have more strict cancellation policies, so be sure to check the operator’s terms before booking.
