Visiting my little brother in Japan...

Hi! My name is Mary. My husband and I have chance to visit my little brother in Japan in January 2015. My little brother is in the Navy and is currently stationed in Japan on the SS George Washington. In January he will be back in port and he will be able to take leave for us to visit him. Unfortunately it is very expensive. I have not seen him since he was last home January 2013. If we can’t go this January we will not be able to see each other until he is out in July of 2016. I estimated it will cost almost $8,000 with airline and hotel. I started a campaign on Fundrazr.com https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/9rQ6a but I was wonder if anyone had any other ideas, like how to keep the cost down. The biggest expense is airline tickets, is there a certain we can book to get the best deal? Thanks so much for reading any ideas would be really appreciated!