J Class isn't a deal breaker for me as the flights are short- only originally inquired in case it allowed extra baggage weight.

The problem with Yokoso or any visit Japan fares allowing international baggage rules is that they are not available on one of the flights I need- a morning NGO-HND departure. I absolutely have to take the morning flight due to scheduling constraints. There is one Sakitoku fare that opens up occasionally on that flight but currently not two- since I'll be traveling with a colleague on that flight alone who as no status, I'd prefer to book him on my PNR so he at least inherits my OWE status for extra allowance...if it indeed exists. In any case I hope the OWE +20kg rule is accepted- as I'd much rather travel with one piece of luggage that weighs 30kg than two pieces to be checked.

I inquired with JAL about the availability of the morning NGO-HND flight (200) we need- it sometimes shows one seat available then other times doesn't appear anywhere on JAL.com to book in any fare class, or when calling the US or Japan number phone agents tell me it's sold out. A JAL agent said it's a bug that often does this with certain flights and to just wait a couple months to see if it is actually sold out or if there is still availbility.

I need to confirm travel plans for my colleagues there- can't afford to wait until two months out to find out if we can fly when needed or not. In our case the train would be a much less attractive option given the amount of times we'd need to connect to from where we start in NGO and where we need to be in Tokyo.

So, in the end I booked the flights I needed on Orbitz -where I can cancel for free up until departure. They were more expensive ($209 as opposed to about $110), but at least we have confirmed seats on the flight we need, and in J Class which was only ~$8 extra per person.