How much does it cost to travel from Taiwan to Japan?

Getting from Taiwan to Japan the traveler is presented with a number of flight options and their respective costs. The most common routes for travel between Taiwan and Japan are those between the two capitals with plenty of daily flights to choose from, from Taipei to Tokyo. At a distance of around 2,200 km between the two, flight times from Taipei to Tokyo are a comfortable 3 - 4 hours. Flights tend to be shorter going out to Tokyo from Taipei. Perhaps the next most common route would be those flights from Taipei to Osaka, or more specifically, Kansai International Airport. Taking this route could shave an hour off the journey time between Taiwan and Japan. In attempting to answer the question, “How much does it cost to travel from Taiwan to Japan?” we’ve sifted through the myriad of flights available from flag carriers to budget airlines, from the most expensive, to the cheapest flights from Taiwan to Japan that we could find. All the costs listed below are based on making bookings directly with the airlines (online) around two months in advance.

NB* - In nearly all cases, the cost of flights were researched in the New Taiwan Dollar (NT$) and have also been converted to U.S. Dollars at the current exchange rate.

Direct flights from Taipei to Tokyo

The Taiwan capital is serviced by two international airport - Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) and the smaller Taipei Songshan Airport (TSA). The majority of flights from Taipei to Japan depart from the larger Taoyuan International Airport. Arrivals are much more evenly balanced between Narita International Airport (NRT) and Haneda International Airport (HND), so the traveler should consider which of the two Tokyo airports might be the most convenient for them.

Eva Airlines (EVA)

Taiwan's flag carrier offers around three departures daily from Taipei to Tokyo (Narita) some of which are a flight share with Japan flag carrier All Nippon Airways (ANA).  Flight depart from Taoyuan International.

Japan Airlines (JAL)

One of Japan's two flag carriers, JAL perhaps offer the most flights of any airline between Taipei and Tokyo with departures from both Taoyuan and Songshan and arrivals at either Narita or Haneda.

All Nippon Airways (ANA)

The other of Japan's flag carriers, ANA, at the time of our research, seemed to have more flights going from Tokyo to Taipei than the other way round.  Flights departing Taoyuan arrive at Narita.  Those from Songshan arrive at Haneda.

Cathay Pacific (CX)

The Hong Kong airline flies between Taipei and Tokyo using Taoyuan and Narita airports respectively.  

China Airlines (CI)

Along with JAL, China Airlines offer the largest number of fights from Taipei to Tokyo, making use of Taouyuan and Narita airports.

(Many flights from Taiwan will be arriving at Japan's main air hub, Narita International Airport)

How much does it cost to fly from Taipei to Tokyo with the flag carriers?

At the time of research then, there is little to separate the lower-end return fares from Taipei to Tokyo with the flag carriers - most of them seem to be offering flights that start from around 350 US Dollars.  It looks like Cathay Pacific might be offering the best one way deals through their Economy Save and Economy Flex tickets with fares going as lower than 300 US Dollars for the dates that we selected. 

International air travel has long been reluctant about, or suspicious of, the one-way ticket and so it is that we can find costs for returns being cheaper than those of one way, in some cases.

NB* - It used to be that America's Delta Airlines offered a number of direct flights between Taipei and Tokyo.  As of May 2017 however, these routes ended.

Cheap flights from Taipei to Tokyo - Budget airline flights

We found five budget airlines (or low cost airlines) taking travelers from Taiwan to Japan, plying the route between Taipei and Tokyo.  

Scoot (TZ)

Singaporean budget airline Scoot have departures from Taoyuan arriving at Tokyo's Narita International Airport.  Flight times are around three hours.

Vanilla Air (JW)

Japanese LCC Vanilla Air is owned by ANA.  The airline has around four departures daily from Taoyuan arriving at Narita, Tokyo.  

The prices in the table below are in Japanese Yen (U.S. Dollars).

Tigerair Taiwan

Part of the China Airlines group, Tigerair Taiwan flies to both Narita and Haneda in Tokyo.  When making bookings online, look closely that you haven't inadvertently selected flights from Kaohsiung rather than Taipei.  It's easily done.

Jetstar

Maintaining a long time presence on the Japanese LCC scene, Australian budget airline Jetstar offers its no-frills flights to those that want to travel from Taipei to Tokyo on the cheap.  Jetstar flies from Taoyuan to Narita.

Peach

Another of the longer-serving budget airlines in Japan, Japanese owned Peach has cheap flight from Taipei to Tokyo using Taoyuan and Haneda airports respectively.

Of the budget airlines operating between Taipei and Tokyo, at the time of research for the dates that we selected, Peach with their "Simple Peach" fares seem to be offering the cheapest return flights as well as the cheapest one way options.  Where it seems that the budget airlines differ from the flag carriers, apart from being cheaper of course, is that there is a clear gap between how much it costs to travel between Taiwan and Japan "return", and how much it costs "one way".  Typically around half the price.

Alternative routes between Taiwan and Japan

We mentioned at the top of this piece that flights between Taipai and Osaka are another frequent option for travel between Taiwan and Japan.

Most flights on this route arrive at Kansai International Airport (KIX)

Flag carriers and how much they cost

Eva Airlines

Japan Airlines

All Nippon Airways

Cathay Pacific

China Airlines

Budget airlines flying between Taipei and Osaka (Kansai International Airport)

Vanilla Air

Flying from Taoyuan to KIX.  Price in Japanese Yen (U.S. Dollars).

Tigerair Taiwan

Flying from Taoyuan.

Jetstar

Flying from Taoyuan.

Peach

Flying from Taoyuan to Haneda

Scoot Airlines, at the time of research, were not operating any flight from Taipei to Osaka.

As with the flights to Tokyo, it looks like Peach are offering the cheapest flights from Taipei to Osaka, going below 200 U.S. Dollars for their "Simple Peach" fares.

Flying from Kaohsiung to Japan

Many of the carriers mentioned above operate flights from Kaohsiung International Airport (KHH) to destinations in Japan.  These destinations include Tokyo and Osaka as well as from Sapporo in the north to Fukuoka and Okinawa in the south.  

Seasonal variations to watch out for when traveling from Taiwan to Japan

In terms of peak travel seasons in Japan that might effect travelers wanting to come to Japan from Taiwan, it will be the usual big three - New Year (around the 29th of Dec to the 3rd of Jan), Golden Week (end of April to the end of the first week in May), and Obon (not fixed on a company level, but somewhere in mid-August).  Coming from Taiwan, it will be the end of these holiday periods that the traveler needs to watch out for.  During these times, when Japanese holidaymakers are returning in time to start work (probably the next day), expect fares to double (if not more) and seats to have been booked out far in advance.  The same goes for those who are returning from Japan at the same time of Japanese holidaymakers are just setting out on their jaunt.  

The costs and flights listed above should be considered as a guide only.  A way to get started comparing what options are available and how much they cost.  It is by no mean definitive.  Prices can change easily depending on date and availability, not to mention the myriad of booking services that are out there.

Have you ever traveled from Taiwan to Japan?  How did it cost?  Got any recommendations on how to bag cheap flights from Taipei to Tokyo and beyond?  Let us know in the comments.

Arriving in Japan?  Further reading ... 

How much does it cost to travel from Narita Airport to Tokyo?

Getting To and From Kansai International Airport: Costs to / from Osaka, Kyoto, Nara

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