What dates for each segment are you looking for. Are you searching leg by leg because you want a stopover in TYO? If not did you try searching direct? There is some wonkyness in the last few days of the schedule for the inter-Asia segment. If you are looking at the last few days of the schedule I would book the TYO-JFK segment now to lock in the long-haul availability and add the HKG-TYO segment in a few days when it starts to show.

As mentioned, AS is wonky towards the very end of the schedule. You would have seen availability had you searched for an earlier date. Here's early March 2018.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...3f9b3efb12.png

The agents see the exact same availability you do on the website. You'll just end up paying an extra fee for the same thing you could do on the website (unless you're MVPG+).

No idea which side is doing it but some partners are being suppressed until 30-60 days after the window. Though I do see space on BOS-NRT on 4/2/18

You originally said you wanted to see flights in March but now you want April? When exactly did you want these flights?

You do not have to wait until 320 days. For you it is more complicated because the AS multi-city search seems completely broken for your itinerary ( HKG -TYO (preferably HND) - JFK/ ORD). On a direct HKG-NYC you can use the calendar trick to get closer, maybe 327 days. If agents cannot help with multi-city I would book the direct HKG-NYC using the calendar trick as soon as you can then use the change flight tool on the website a few days later (depending on your stopover length) to change the TYO-NYC segment to a new date.

I am having trouble with an intra Asia booking (SGN - TYO - HAN). When I search by segment, plenty of availability, when combined, it doesn't appear. I've also tried one other direct intra Asia (starting and ending in the same country) route (Shanghai - TYO - Beijing) and it produces the same lack of results. Intra Asia searches that begin and end in different countries such as KUL - TYO - SIN, SGN - TYO - TPE does work, however. Does anyone have any experience with this?

[I have screenshots but can't post them until I have 5 posts - it seems.]

First, the Alaska’s routing rules for stopovers (stays of more than 24 hours on an international itinerary) and open jaws (when you return from a city other than your destination or fly home to a city other than your origin) are clear (link)
two stopovers and two open jaws per round-trip international itinerary
one stopover per one-way international itinerary.

Assuming I understood you correctly,
basically, if you are looking to book business class at the one way rate of 25,000 miles,
Tokyo is simply a very very long stop over on your route from country A to country B.
So, you must return to a country different from where you departed from, for it to qualify as a "one way award".
HKG/Taiwan and China are treated as separate countries.
Best combos of origin/destinations that are very near and can be connected cheaply on a LCC to complete your "return trip" are CGK/SIN/KUL/BKK.

If you need to depart and return to the same country, simply book a return trip at 50,000 miles.
you can call Alaska, get charged double the miles.
or, just return to a country nearby and connect with a lcc, saving you 25000 miles for another trip!

If you actually have difficulty finding availability on a route from country A to country B via Tokyo, simply do the following steps.
1. use British airways website (or any other one world, non-JAL website) to confirm availability for the exact dates you are looking for.
2. multip-city award, and chose the exact dates and exact airports (HND or NRT, not TYO) for better results
3. barring any weird issues, the itinerary should show.
note that using the date changer/calendar slides BOTH the outbound and inbound, so you wont get availability unless both days before/after your outbound and inbound have award space.
4. if there are issues at 3 above, then switch to one way award, and search each leg of your flight individually, just to confirm Alaska website can actually see the individual legs. chose the exact dates and exact airports (HND or NRT, not TYO) for better results.
5. if you get availability, then repeat 2 above.
lastly, dont call about this. it is a sweet-spot that we shouldn't bring unnecessary attention to.

This is the crux of it. It's not just some AS award routing rule; it'd be illegal for AS/JL to sell you a single ticket for what is, in the end, a domestic Vietnamese trip.

Thank you both - and understood.

Another problem, following Tokyoite 4/5 steps to solve it...
Plenty of SGN-NRT (J and Y) availability in August, and BA is showing me one J seat on the JL18 flight from NRT to YVR on the 24th. Searching for the JL flight [separately] on AS yields:

Is this a known problem? I see some wonkyness for JL flight results on AS (and BA) a few posts up, though most seem resolved.

Thanks all!

QF is not showing any availability of JL J NRT-YVR the week of August 24th.

The NRT-YVR route as well as the NRT-SAN route are serviced with B787 which have angled lay-flat seats and no F.

I would recommend taking HND-LAX/SFO for a better J experience or opportunity for F and then --> SEA-YVR on AS on the same award. There is definitely availability HND-SFO that week of August. I haven't checked LAX.

There are at least 2 J seats Aug 23rd
There are at least 2 F seats Aug 26th
There is one J seat Aug 21st
There is one F seat Aug 24th.

James

Recently i try using alaska mile to redeem JL route KUL-NRT but it is only show the Y class, but no C class at all starting from February 2019, did any one know why? before that it is plenty a lot C class award seat available, and i find at BA website, it show the same thing also, only start June, 2019, it start to show got two C class award tickets.

Someone brought this up but nothing was concluded: is JAL doing married segments? Because I saw it, as in if you go from SIN through NRT you could get first on the TPAC, but from NRT directly there was none.