All Nippon Airways (ANA), one of the largest airlines in Japan, is conducting a giveaway sweepstakes this spring as part of D.C.’s National Cherry Blossom Festival!
The giveaway will send one lucky Washingtonian and a companion of their choice to Tokyo on a free round-trip flight from the ANA U.S. gateway airport of their choice.
Currently, the sweepstakes are open for entry, having opened on February 13th, and are going to be closing on March 27th.
How to enter the sweepstakes for two free tickets to Japan
The competition is only eligible for entry for those 18 years of age or older, you can submit a registration for yourself on the National Cherry Blossom Festival ANA Sweepstakes site.
You are only allowed to submit one entry for yourself.
The entry form must be completed in full and have all required information sufficiently included to ensure you properly qualify to win.
Once the entry form is submitted it cannot be modified or altered in any way, so it’ll be wise to ensure you take the time to fill out the sweepstakes entry form carefully!
How will the winner be selected?
The winner of the National Cherry Blossom Festival ANA Sweepstakes will not be publicly announced, but according to the sweepstakes entry rules and regulations, All Nippon Airways will reach out to the giveaway winner on, or before, April 5th by email.
The letter notifying the contest winner will likely have a subject containing the phrase “Award Letter”, but you’ll want to monitor your email closely around the time the winner is selected should that not be the case.
If you are selected as the winner, you must reply within five calendar days otherwise they will redraw and select someone else as the sweepstake winner.
The winner of the sweepstakes will need to sign several legal documents promptly and send them to ANA to ensure they receive their prize including:
- An official affidavit of eligibility.
- A liability/publicity release form.
- Another liability/publicity release form signed by the winner’s travel guest (whoever will use the second ticket).
- A valid and properly completed IRS Form W-9 signed by the winner.
Timeline for the free flights to Tokyo
The flights will need to be ticketed at least 14 days before departure, which means that you will not be able to book the trip less than two weeks of advance notice.
The free round-trip tickets must be used by March 31, 2026, giving the winner roughly a full year to take their trip to Tokyo!
Additionally, worth noting is that the round-trip does have a minimum duration of 3 days but a maximum duration of 1 month.
What is the winner responsible for?
The winner (and the guest they choose to travel with them) are responsible for ensuring that they meet all Japan entry requirements upon arrival, including visa, immigration & customs forms being completed.
The giveaway is also explicitly related to the cost of the round-trip tickets only from the U.S. to Tokyo – the winner will be responsible for any costs associated with getting to/from the airports as well as all travel and lodging once inside of Japan.