I had a four-day 'long weekend' in Japan for just $980

Four nights in Japan for $980 included flights, baggage allowance, and a hotel for four nights with breakfast included. Here's what it was really like.

For years my friend and I have been meeting up for a girls’ long weekend.

We live in different states so we buy flights, hire a car, book an Airbnb and meet up for a few nights of cocktails, good food and idle gossip.

This year, we did things a little differently when I discovered a Jetstar package deal that offered return flights (including seat selection, 20kg of checked luggage, 7kg carry on), and four night’s accommodation at Noku Hotel in Osaka.

The package included return flights, seat selection, 20kg checked baggage and four nights accommodation with breakfast included. Picture: Simone Mitchell

It was the first time I’d ever considered a package deal. But it was insanely good value - it worked out to be $980 per person, twin share. Which wasn't much more than what we would usually spend on our girl's long weekend here in Australia.

Four nights / five days might seem like a bonkers amount of time to travel to another country for, but it was actually a revelation.

Here’s why ...

When it’s just four nights, you don’t feel like you need to run around to different cities

This is a trap many Australian travellers fall into. Because we’re so geographically isolated, it takes ages to get anywhere. So when we do go, we feel like we have to cram in as much as humanly possible. And you wind up constantly on the move, packing and unpacking your suitcase, and running yourself ragged as you see as many cities as possible.

Not so when it’s just four days.

You can simply unpack, stay in the one spot, and properly explore the new neighbourhood you’ve parachuted into. It made for a much more chilled trip.

The yen is weak, so you get incredible bang for your buck in Japan right now

It’s hard to get dinner and drinks in Sydney at the moment for under $100 per head.

In Osaka we had some truly incredible meals that included multiple courses and ample beer and sake. Amazingly, the bill came to a total of around $52 for two people on each occasion. Sensational value.

You can also eat exceptionally well from the convenience stores too (hello, 7-Eleven egg sandwich).

The set menu lunches in Osaka are delicious (and cheap). Picture: Simone Mitchell

Another lunch on the go ... a 7-Eleven egg sandwich. Picture: Simone Mitchell

There’s only a two hour time difference with Japan

So you don’t really have to factor in jetlag. You can just hit the ground running after the flight (which is a little over 9 hours).

You don’t have to take much annual leave

We flew on Thursday and arrived back home on Tuesday morning. So, as previously mentioned, it’s essentially a long weekend. This length of time was also good for my friend who has kids - it wasn’t too much of an ask to get her partner to hold the fort for a few days.

What the flight experience was like

I’ve had many frustrating experiences with Jetstar over the years, from cancelled and delayed flights, damaged luggage and woeful customer service. So I went into the flight to Osaka with a healthy amount of trepidation.

Things did not begin well when I arrived at the airport and saw the queue for bag drop:

The queue for bag drop at Sydney Airport. Picture: Simone Mitchell

At both the Sydney and Osaka side, it took an hour in a queue to drop our bags (we had checked in online earlier). The incredibly slow bag drop process was the worst part of the flying experience.

But the rest was … pretty good. We arrived pretty close to the scheduled arrival time on each leg.

You just have to remember Jetstar is a no frills airline, and come prepared

• There was no entertainment included in our deal, so we downloaded Netflix content to watch on our phones. There were USB ports in the seats, which was handy for keeping devices charged.
• The Jetstar food you can purchase on the flight has never really jazzed me, so I made our own lunches to take on the plane. On the way back we had a very good ramen at Osaka airport, and that saw us through.

I made us a lunch to take on the flight, with snow pea chips, carrot sticks with hummus and chilli crisp, protein balls, blueberries and a bulgar wheat salad with cucumber, herbs, chickpeas, feta and pistachios. Picture: Simone Mitchell

• The flight home was a red-eye flight, departing after 10pm and landing at 9.45am in Sydney. Arm yourself with all the things you need to make a red-eye flight in economy bearable, including a travel blanket, eye mask, good quality Cabeau neck pillow and good earplugs (the links go to the items I have found to be the best after extensive testing).

I played seat selection roulette, where I booked a window seat and aisle for my friend and I, in a row of three seats. In case you’re not familiar with it, the idea is nobody wants to take a middle seat, so you might strike gold and get a whole row to yourselves. In my experience this has worked about 80 per cent of the time.

It worked on the flight to Osaka, but didn’t on the return flight. So I swapped seats with the fellow in the middle who was thrilled to get the window, and I did the red-eye flight in the dreaded middle seat.

You win some, you lose some.

What the hotel was like

Noku Hotel, Osaka. Image: Supplied

I’ve been to Japan three times now, and stayed at around 12 different hotels, many of them on the budget side. In my experience, the hotels in Japan – even the ones on the cheaper side - are generally very clean, very safe and the service is fabulous. The rooms might be the size of a shoebox in the bigger cities, but when it’s just four nights, you’ll probably be spending very little time in your hotel room, so size isn’t much of an issue. It’s just somewhere to keep your stuff, have a shower and rest your head.

The twin rooms at Noku Hotel, Osaka. Image: Supplied

The hotel that was included in this package was Noku Osaka.

The location was good, a 10-minute walk from a train station and in a quieter street, so there was no noise at night. There was a great little restaurant precinct right around the corner, and a convenience store for those all important gin and soda cans to sip while getting ready for dinner.

As we checked in, the friendly receptionist invited us to select some skincare products from cult Japanese brand DHC. Great start!

A gin and soda can costs you $2.50 from the convenience store around the corner. Perfect for sipping in your hotel room as you get ready. Picture: Simone Mitchell

The DHC skincare products you can choose at check in. Picture: Simone Mitchell

The room was predictably small, but sparkling clean. It had an ensuite with one of those fun Japanese toilets with all the buttons, and heavenly smelling Aromad’or bath products.

There was even a cute pair of Japanese-style pyjamas supplied each day on our bed.

The bathroom products were way nicer than expected ... Picture: Simone Mitchell

A fresh pair of pyjamas were left on the bed each day by housekeeping. Picture: Simone Mitchell

There was an excellent buffet breakfast included and we loved loading up our little bento-style trays with Asian treats like udon noodles and dumplings each morning.

Breakfast at the hotel was included. Picture: Simone Mitchell

Pro tip? When the rooms in Japan hotels are this small, it’s a good idea to have a suitcase that opens at the top, as floor space is minimal.

This trunk by July is a good example.

One of the best things we did in Osaka ... 

Was a three-hour private tour of Osaka on day one, to get our bearings. We booked it here, through Klook.

The way it works is when you book, you're given a questionnaire to fill out, outlining your areas of interest (such as art, music, food, shopping, etc). They then match you with a local guide who shares your interests and is a bit of an expert in those areas, and they create a curated itinerary for you. That local knowledge is so handy and was great to do on day one, as it helped inform the areas we wanted to explore further for the remainder of our stay.

Would I recommend the Jetstar package deal to Osaka?

For $980 it was fabulous. Worth every penny. We took advantage of the conversion rate, and did all our Christmas shopping. We ate incredible meals, explored neighbourhoods and soaked in an onsen.

But the undeniable downside is the carbon footprint.

18 hours of jet fuel for four nights is becoming harder and harder to justify. This was a one-off splurge.

Next year you’ll find us back spending our girls long weekend in regional Australia, plugging money into communities that need our support.

But for anyone who is desperate to see Japan, and is short on time, you should jump on it next time Jetstar offers a deal like this.

Originally published as I had a four-day 'long weekend' in Japan for just $980