Originally Posted by
G-CIVC
Interesting…MCT is 3h 30m. Why would they let you book this routing...
I'm on separate tickets. The ORD-NRT is an US award ticket and they didn't have any availability onward to UBJ or FUK.
Originally Posted by
joejones
If you don't have much more than a big suitcase on wheels, I would consider taking a train as the trains don't get stuck in traffic. (They are subject to delays but much more rarely than the bus.)
If you caught the 4:19pm NEX leaving NRT, you could connect to the Keikyu train at Shinagawa to arrive at HND at 5:55 pm. The next NEX at 4:44 pm would let you connect at Shinagawa to the Keikyu train that arrives at HND at 6:25 pm, a tight but doable check-in time by Japanese domestic flight standards.
(For domestic flights, JAL says to get through security no less than 15 minutes prior to departure, and to be at the gate no less than 10 minutes prior to departure. You can get away with such a tight lead time even at HND, although you will likely have to run from security to your gate. They will expedite you through security if you are close to the cut-off time.)
I will have a 100 liter backpack, which is a decent size. JL is recommending I check baggage at least 30 minutes before a domestic departure so I would need to be there by 6:25pm.
Based on everyone's comments, I think the best option would be to go with plan B and fly into FUK. The flight into UBJ sounds doable but everything needs to go right and any delay could cause it to fall apart.
I'm going to get the 19:50 flight from NRT to FUK and avoid the airport shuffle on the outbound. It's not the ideal, but I think it is the safest option.
On the return, I'll fly UBJ-HND. I have a day planned in Tokyo on the return so I won't be trying to push the limits of connecting between airports.
Thank you for all of your input, it definitely helped me figure out what to do.