Originally Posted by
bennos
The NRT hub is timed and operated for connecting traffic. Arguments like "I got lost in the airport" are unlikely to hold much weight, as (eg) there is staff on hand to direct you exactly where you need to go. If you're going to do this, be prepared to pay for a new ticket, though as usual YMMV according to the agent you get.
My recollection of deplaning at NRT (I was one of the last people off a 747 from LAX) was that after a relatively short distance, maybe a minute of walking, you were compelled to go one of two ways: to the left was the security clearance area to enter the concourse for the connecting flights; to the right was the way to immigration and customs and the airport exit. Interestingly out of 300+ pax, I was one of the few whose trip ended at NRT (almost everyone else was connecting on to somewhere else). Unlike, say, AMS, where you are not compelled to go through immigration right away and can actually access an airport lounge or the restaurant/shopping area, there is really no place to get lost in NRT upon deplaning.