Have you ordered your award request, yet? I'm interested to know how you make out with your award request since we're planning a trip with multiple airlines: MH, KL and CO.
As you say, KIX is heaven for availability both C and Y, but I've noticed C is getting busier. They are selling group seats in C quite cheaply. I don't seem to be able to score a last minute upgrade even with an S fare ticket these days.