Ouch!

We have a 9.5 hour int'l flight from NRT to SFO that same afternoon, so convenience, duration and agony are my main concerns!

It sounds like NGS-HND is the answer... are ANA and JAL the only two operators?

If so, is there usually a preference in terms of cost, flight time, and comfort?

I was using amextravel.com to price tickets and was pulling up $500 per person fares with transfers in Osaka, which seemed a far more ambitious and costly itinerary than I'd initially planned.