One more tip. You would probably find AA miles to provide very good value for a CMH-TYO trip in Economy Class. AA does not charge extra for connecting segments, and does not collect any "carrier surcharges," except when traveling on BA or IB. So when low-tier award seats are available in Economy, you can get CMH-XXX-TYO for as low as 35K AA miles + $5.60. You would get to through-check your bag on such a ticket, and AA would protect you in the event of IROPS. Examples below for October travel: