Hi folks: I am thinking of redeeming an award ticket in J from the US west coast to Osaka Itami, via Haneda, for my partner. I did not choose the direct LAX-KIX flight because those J seats are terrible. The catch for this flight via Haneda, however, is that the connecting time is only 100 minutes. My partner isn't Japanese and therefore cannot go through expedited passport checks. According to the Haneda website, the minimum transfer time is 70 min, but I am guessing that even 100 min is very tight. The second segment to Osaka Itami is the last flight of the day and therefore there is no chance to mess up. This would be ticketed as one journey, and JAL should put him up to the next flight (next morning) if he can't make it. Yet, this would really suck because Osaka is not our destination (Kyoto is). We are traveling in early March, 2023. From Tripadvisor forums, it seems that many foreigners are interested in visiting Japan.

I myself will fly into Osaka from Singapore. My plan is to meet up with him in ITM that evening. My questions:
1. What do you think of the transit time? Is this realistically possible?
2. Will he have to go landside to change terminals? The Haneda airport website seems to suggest so, but it's not clear (an English translation problem?).
3. What if he misses the ITM flight? Would JAL put him up at a hotel at Haneda and pay for his dinner and breakfast?
4. One alternative to this is to take a connecting flight from Haneda to Kansai. The connecting time is 2.5 hours, but this flight lands at KIX at 10:15pm. So, we won't make the last direct bus or train to Kyoto and therefore will have to stay at a hotel near Kansai airport for one night. I will arrange for a flight from Singapore to KIX.


What is your advice? Thank you. I am posting this in the Japan board and the JAL board to seek more advice.