Skip to content
Go to Home Page
News

There's a workaround to getting cheap flights for the Tokyo Olympics

Samantha Rosen
Articles
Samantha Rosen was one of the first 20 employees at TPG. She started as the site's first full-time social media editor and also served as its lifestyle editor.
Dec. 06, 2019
•
3 min read
Teenager walking, Akihabara electric town, Tokyo, Japan
There's a workaround to getting cheap flights for the Tokyo Olympics
This post contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. For an explanation of our Advertising Policy, visit this page.

We know we don't have to tell you this, but attending the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo will cost you.

The Summer Olympics draws hundreds of thousands of spectators, competitors and support staff to one city, which means that everything from flights to hotels and event tickets can be hard to find (and afford). Japan is even building a temporary terminal at Narita International (NRT) to handle the surge of visitors.

For more TPG news delivered each morning to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.

"Global prices for flights rise by an average of 35% to the Olympic’s hosting country when compared [with] average costs," according to Quartz and a report from the farecasting app Hopper,

If you're traveling within Asia, flights are expected to be fairly reasonable, from $326 one-way. But travelers flying across the Pacific can expect to pay 20 to 25% more than usual.

The good news? There's a workaround. If you book a ticket a week after the Opening Ceremony — which takes place on Friday, July 24 — airfares are expected to drop 24%. Since the Olympics run until Aug. 9, you'd still have over a week to enjoy the games.

Sign up for our daily newsletter

Word to the wise: Stick around after the games and enjoy the city. From the food to the culture and everything in between, the city has so much to offer, and is preparing for the deluge of visitors with a number of new attractions and developments.

Train stations are being added and overhauled and the Meiji Jingu Museum just opened this fall next to Yoyogi Park — as did the Shibuya Scramble Square, a complex home to the nation's largest rooftop observation space, called Shibuya Sky.

And even if you're not planning on going to the Olympics, you should absolutely plan a trip to Tokyo this year. We know you have a lot to plan, so you'll want to check out our guide on how to get there on points and miles first. Hhint: Japan Airlines first class is a good place to start, and we've seen a solid amount of ANA first- and business-class award space from multiple U.S. gateways for August and September 2020. You'll have a ton of options for hotels, too, so do yourself a favor and check out our top picks on the best points hotels there, too.

Oh, and whatever you do, eat at a 7/11 while you're there. You'll thank us later.

Featured image by Getty Images