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I'm leaving JET this summer. How is my return flight arranged?
This is a recap of what we discussed in the regional meetings.
First of all you need to talk to your school/BOE/CO about this and you need to do it NOW. The most important thing in making the whole return airfare process run smoothly is communication, so make sure that you and your school are on the same page about this to avoid any misunderstandings and you potentially ending up out of pocket.
Your place of work may have a different way of doing this, so please don't go by what your friend told you happened with them - this may not be the case with you.
You are entitled to a one-way economy class ticket back to the international airport that you departed from. Therefore if you had to travel within your home country to get to your departure airport, this is your responsibility to pay for on the way home. Your CO is only responsible for getting you back to Narita and then to the airport that you departed from. The General Information Handbook states that "in principle, the ticket should be for a direct flight unless there is no direct flight, and then a ticket with the least number of connections should be booked". You should also note that the flight has to be within one month of the end of your contract and you must not enter into employment with another company within a month of the end of your contract, or you will forfeight the flight.
The easy part is getting to Narita. Your CO will pay for a one-way reserved seat train ticket. Not a flight this time, unfortunately. They shouldn't ask you to book this in advance and provide proof, they will probably just deposit the amount into your bank account shortly before you leave.
The complicated part is how your flight will be booked and how it will be paid for. These are some of the ways that it can happen.
1. Your CO will do everything for you. They will ask you to choose your dates, and then book the ticket for you. You don't have to pay anything, and will be given a ticket.
2. Your CO will give you a fixed amount of money, and leave it up to you how and when you book your ticket home.
3. Your CO will ask that you book the ticket and then reimburse you at a later date. This is the most complicated situation and unfortunately is the policy of prefectural high schools. The most important thing here is communication. If they tell you that you are to book your ticket yourself then you need to ask them what the maximum amount they are prepared to pay is. When you have this you can look for quotes - either online or with local travel agencies. Don't book anything though - take them the quote and show them it, and make sure that they have definitely agreed to the amount before going ahead and booking.
If they tell you that the quotes you have found are too expensive then ask them to find something cheaper. Whatever happens, make sure that they have agreed to the cost of the ticket that you intend to book to ensure that you don't end up paying more than you get back.
The final sting in the tail is that your school may insist that you book your ticket early - probably in May, however you won't get your money back until shortly before you leave Japan. Therefore you need to be prepared for paying for your ticket out of your April/May salary. If you book through Japanese travel agencies you can usually reserve your ticket and pay the balance at a later date allowing you to split the cost over two paydays.
One final note: Please don't try to take advantage of the situation. The flight home is simply that - a means of getting you back to your home country. It's not here to pay the key money for your new apartment, or to fly you to Thailand. People trying to take advantage in previous years have caused COs in the prefecture to impose more restrictions and keep a closer eye on the whole process. Please don't make it worse for those who come after you by messing your CO around!