Business & First Class Flights to Osaka

United flies Kansai nonstop from San Francisco with Polaris; that is the only US nonstop with a lie-flat cabin, though Hawaiian connects via Honolulu. The routing most clients take is via Tokyo: ANA and Japan Airlines fly Haneda from twelve US cities with The Room, The Suite, the A350-1000 suites and First, then a one-hour domestic flight from Haneda to Osaka Itami — or the Shinkansen from Tokyo Station to Kyoto (2h15) or Shin-Osaka (2h30), which many prefer because it lands you in the center of Kyoto. Delta and American connect at Haneda to Japanese partners, and Korean Air via Seoul (two hours to Kansai) and Cathay Pacific via Hong Kong are good one-stops from cities the Japanese carriers do not serve.

The open-jaw is the itinerary: fly into Tokyo, take the Shinkansen down through Hakone or Nagoya to Kyoto, and fly home from Kansai — or the reverse — for the same fare as a round trip. Kansai is on an artificial island in Osaka Bay; the Haruka express reaches Kyoto Station in 75 minutes, Osaka's Tennoji in 35, and Kobe is under an hour by limousine bus. Kyoto has no airport of its own; Kansai and Itami are both closer to it than Tokyo is.

Kyoto's seasons are Japan's most extreme in demand: cherry blossom in the first two weeks of April and autumn foliage in mid-to-late November fill every hotel and premium seat months ahead. Golden Week (late April–early May), Obon (mid-August) and New Year are domestic peaks. May–June, September and early October are excellent and quieter; January and February are cold, clear and the cheapest time to fly, with business fares from Los Angeles via Tokyo at or near our $3,300 starting price.