Queensland prepares for an influx of visitors from Japan ahead of the southern summer holidays with the resumption of Qantas flights between the Japanese capital and Australia’s Sunshine State.
The service, which has just been launched, will create the first direct connection between Brisbane and Tokyo Haneda airports by the airline, replacing pre-Covid Qantas flights to Narita and shortening commute times to downtown Tokyo by over an hour. Arrivals on this route will connect to the rest of Qantas‘ Australian domestic network, including popular destinations in Queensland.
John Simeone, Qantas’ regional general manager for Asia, said in a statement that Japan was one of the top destinations for Australian travellers before the pandemic, and the airline had already seen demand for travel to Tokyo.
“In fact, Qantas will celebrate the 75th anniversary of its Australia-Japan flights later this month. The airline has a long history of serving the Japanese market,” he added.
Brisbane to Tokyo
The flight to Haneda will start next year. On its latest Brisbane-Tokyo Haneda route, the Australian airline will operate Airbus A330s three times a week on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, featuring business suites and flatbeds and offering more than 1,700 seats each week on the route.
Qantas Group currently operates more than 20 flights per week to and from Australia to Japan, including Brisbane–Tokyo Haneda and Sydney–Tokyo Haneda. Flights between Melbourne and Tokyo Haneda are expected to resume in March 2023.
What is it about Japan that Australians adore?
Japan is the most searched travel destination for Australians and has always been a popular destination for everything from ski holidays to cherry blossom viewing, and as pandemic restrictions ease, Australians are eager to return home.
Bookings from Australia to Japan surged last month after Japan announced border restrictions would be eased on October 11, allowing visa-free individual travel to resume.
In 2019, Japan was the 7th most popular outbound travel destination for Australians. Over 500,000 Australians then visit the country for an average of two weeks.
The truth is that there is no place like Japan and nowhere else can offer Australians everything Japan has to offer. With each city subtly different, with its own micro-culture, cuisine, festivals, and traditions, there’s so much to discover that it’s hard to believe this obsession will end any time soon.
Japan, or the Land of the Rising Sun, is not only home to some of the cleanest and most advanced cities in the world, but it is also home to stunning landscapes that include Mt. Fuji. In the months of March through May, Japan is known to transform into a pink wonderland as the cherry blossoms come alive, and as autumn creeps up, the colours will change to oranges and yellows.
Most people agree that the Japanese people have some of the greatest living levels in the world. This is partly a result of the respect and cleanliness that permeate every aspect of their life.
Japan also has some of the best public transportation systems in the world, including bullet trains that can transport you in under 3 hours from Tokyo to Kyoto on one side of the nation. Japanese cuisine is excellent and diverse, with ingredients and delicacies varying from city to city.
This new route is just the latest in a post-covid recovery. It’ll be exciting to see what is next on the Qantas agenda.
Are you planning on travelling the new Brisbane to Tokyo route? Let us know in the comments!
