Japan travel: Jetstar relaunches popular Cairns to Tokyo route

As of October 11, the popular tourist destination reinstated visa-free travel to dozens of countries, including Australia, ending some of world’s strictest border controls amid the pandemic.

And due to high demand, airlines such as Jetstar and Qantas have wasted no time relaunching their direct flights to the country’s capital and largest city — Tokyo and of course Sapporo where you will find its famous ski fields.

“Pre-Covid, Japan was one of the most popular destinations in our international network and so, like our customers, we were very excited to see border restrictions ease on October 11,” Jetstar’s Chief Customer and Commercial Officer, Alan McIntyre told news.com.au.

The airline, which is the only low-cost carrier that operates direct flights between Australia and Japan, transported around 21.6 million people from Australia and New Zealand to Japan every year before Covid.

And in July, it relaunched its direct routes, but it was mainly for those flying out of Japan and into Australia, or for tour group travel to the country.

But since borders opened for independent travel, Jetstar’s Cairns to Narita (Tokyo) route has regained popularity as Aussies look to head over to the thriving tourist destination which is just seven hours direct.

It is also flying from the Gold Coast to Narita which like the Cairns route is offered three times a week.

“Jetstar’s low-cost flights have a strong influence on setting tourism trends. Prior to the pandemic, the number of Australian visitors to Japan doubled after we launched flights in 2007,” Mr McIntrye said.

There’s also two weekly flights to Japan between Cairns and Osaka with current fares from $389 if leaving from Cairns to Narita and respectively from Cairns to Osaka and from $429 if flying out from the Gold Coast to Narita.

If you’re wondering why there is no direct flight from Sydney to Tokyo, or even Brisbane, it’s because Qantas (which owns Jetstar) is now flying daily from Sydney to Haneda with the Brisbane route launching on December 1.

What’s it like flying business class on Jetstar

What a lot of people may not realise is that Jetstar has business class. And while it might not be what you would expect on major carriers — it still does the trick especially when there is a relatively long flight ahead — in this case it was seven hours from Cairns to Narita, Tokyo.

For someone who has never flown business class (not even premium economy) I had no idea what to expect. But, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little sceptical as to how the experience was going to be considering I was on a low-budget carrier.

Let’s just say I didn’t have the highest of expectations, but I was pleasantly surprised by the service, menu and of course comfy seats.

As soon as you board the aircraft, you’re greeted with your choice of non-alcoholic or alcoholic beverage — of course I opted for the latter.

The flight attendant then took my order for the main — I had the choice of lamb shanks, shiitake glazed salmon, or ravioli with spinach, pumpkin and…