Unfortunately, $500 tickets to Japan don’t really exist anymore in this day and age of ridiculous oil prices… but the cheapest time to go is Jan-March (maybe even the beginning of April)...

I know b/c I’m hopefully going in March…

Mathurin5 is correct. The $500 deals to Japan no longer exist. The lowest possible is usually around $800. Aside from Jan-March, late September-November is also a cheaper time to go. Japan is quite nice in the early to mid fall. The plum blossoms are in bloom, and it’s beautiful (especially in the mountains around Kyoto).

not to down play STA (because they have great deals) but check out Japanese Travel Agencies…i believe the most popular is JTA....they have so pretty low prices…and maybe to Mathurin5 and krosenblum’s surprise the roundtrips from LA can be anywhere from $600 and up…and i know because I bought my ticket for this New Years from there for that price

I would say hit up Japan for sure in March. Its during Cherry Blossom and it’s beautiful, the weather is moderate, and the scenery will be amazing. Tickets at that time are usually around $500 or so plus taxes, however keep in mind there are specials that pop up all the time, so keep your eyes out. Right now Air Canada has one from LAX that is $450 plus taxes….other things will pop up all the time =) Hope this helps…
— Kara

It is very hard to find tickets cheaper than $500 the trend over he past two years has been pretty high. I still check and they seem to be on the rise. Someone told me to check around August to get some cheap prices with japanese airlines. But no matter when you go your spending close to $1000 with tax. Remember on here they show you $1000 cause thats the price WITH Tax. So be careful when looking. You may see $500 on other sites… but thats not with tax. You might also want to try last minute flights. Those sometimes are cheap… not by much.