Before you go: a word on flights

Probably one of the biggest expenditures of your trip will be paid out before you even get to Japan - your flight.

Tip No. 1: SHOP AROUND
I know that this sounds pretty obvious, but it really pays off in the long run. We looked around for a good while for flights to Japan and they all seemed way too expensive for us. We used all the usual search engines, Travelocity, Expedia etc. Then I just did a Google of flights going from Berlin (where we are based) to Osaka. I found out that Air France run flights out of Berlin, via Paris, to Osaka.

Tip No. 2: GO ONLINE
So when I went to the Air France website I found an amazing online deal of €452 return leaving the 31st of March and returning the 21st of April. Just in time for cherry blossom season! So for the two of us, with taxes etc, we paid €994. Note: this didn't come up on the Expedia or Travelocity searches!!!

Tip No. 3: FREQUENT FLYER MILES
Now we weren't looking for extra frequent flyer miles but it just so happens that Air France is a partner of Delta (with whom we collect frequent flyer miles). So we have the added bonus of extra miles from our flights with Air France.

As I said, I'm sure this is all common-sense stuff, but honestly if we hadn't found those cheap flights with Air France, we probably wouldn't have gone to Japan in the first place as all the other deals were at least double and in some cases triple in price.

Lastly, I was able to check out the seat layout for the flight with Seat Guru. I then pre-booked the seats by calling the Air France helpline. You can do this online also. On the way back we tried to chance our arm and asked for an upgrade. In fairness the stewardess looked for us but the plane was fully booked. However she did give us the bulkhead seats which made a big difference in terms of legroom, especially for Eric. Definitely ask for better seats when checking in. I think they do try and accommodate you if they can.