Persons planning to travel to Japan (or anywhere else) have to be watching the spiking oil prices with increasing alarm.
At this writing, gasoline in my neck-of-the-woods (Tarzana, California) is at $4.00/gallon for 87 octane at the lowest and $4.04/gallon for 87 octane at the highest. Relief is not in sight. Some oil market analysts think that oil will hit $150/barrel. It is currently around $105/barrel.
High oil and gasoline prices aren't the only things that should be of concern. As oil prices go up, so do airlines' fuel surcharges.
Right now, the lowest base airfare for Tokyo's Narita Airport from Los Angeles International Airport that I found for August was $880 on Korean Air. That is without adding in taxes, fees and the fuel surcharge.
Unless the oil market stablizes and fuel costs start dropping, the cost of air travel will force many would-be international travelers to spend their vacations at home or drive to someplace relatively nearby. Keep in mind that the base prices of airline tickets also rise as we get closer to the peak travel period of the year.
Thank goodness I went to Japan last December before the oil spikes began.
My best advice for potential travelers is to monitor the cost of airfares or, if you can, purchase your tickets now so you will lock in the price at today's amount.
Remember also, the dollar-yen exchange rate is at the worst it has been in years. It is currently anywhere between 81 to 83 yen per dollar exchanged.
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