The secret is to pass as many people as possible between the plane and immigration. Try to get off the plane fast, walk fast (sometimes it's fastest to bypass the moving walkways, sometimes you just ask people blocking you to move). That's the one area where speed makes a difference -- no queues of any length typically for most anything else.

Once I arrived at the JR East pass redemption place just after some sort of youth tour all wanting passes and that was a problem, but there is no way to predict that -- and it's rare.

I had a knee problem this time and was walking with a cane. The guy at the head of the line spotted me and waved me straight into the diplomatic line! So that's always a possibility....LOL