Lotus wrote:Folks, what's the simplest way of booking this trip?
London > Tokyo
5 nights in Tokyo
Tokyo > Osaka
5 nights in Osaka
Osaka > London
Usually I use Expedia which I find tends to give me the best deal, and it works because I do straightforward trips, i.e. flying to a destination, staying in the same city and then just booking return flights. Flying to one destination and then leaving from another doesn't seem like an option though (on Expedia). I've had a quick look at booking each leg separately and it seems a lot more expensive than it otherwise might be. The odd multi-city flight finder I've found seem to be horrendous websites that just re-direct you to other sites and randomly change currencies and tell you the flight you're looking at is no longer available.
A little help?
From my experience, you're going to pay a lot more for booking separate journeys as airlines don't just halve the price if you only go one leg-they price discriminate against people not looking for return flights.
One thing to consider is the shinkansen from Osaka to Tokyo is only 2.5 hours and you can use the JR pass if you're planning on getting that.
I am actually flying from Tokyo to Hong Kong Sunday afternoon and am currently in Hiroshima-we'll be travelling to Tokyo the day of the flight.
Of course, if you're not getting the JR pass you'll have to factor in the train cost which will be £100 ish I believe.