I'm also curious if that
#6 above would work -- i.e., swap the origin/destination after booking in order to book the
intended first segment as early as possible (meaning that is the return segment when first booked). Thanks.
When the NYC-Tokyo opened up I could book a return flight too (same day) so I just changed the Tokyo-NYC flight up when it opened up again (not every day just for the first day I was willing to fly back to the optimal date). I could even chose between the Narita/Haneda flights for a few days afterwards (wasn't sure which one would work better). So if you check often (can't remember at which time of the day they opened up) you should be golden.