I have a 5 hour international connection at NRT and was thinking of going outside security to meet a friend and have lunch at one of the restaurants on the non-secure side. It looks like this is legally (?) possible during a connection judging by the number of threads here about connections, but is clearing immigration in and out in a short amount of time considered a red flag? That is, will they question me about why I'm entering Japan when I go outside and question me about why I was there for a such a short time when I go back in again?

Assuming you hold an US passport (inferred from your location), you should not have any problem at all, or if you hold a passport from any other country with visa waiver agreement with Japan.

I did this last month over a 4 hour connection and it was a breeze entering and exiting Japan.

Upon entering, declare "1 day" as your intended length of stay and be prepared to show your onward ticket or boarding pass.

They never ask any questions upon leaving. They just check to make sure your passport is valid, that you haven't overstayed, and that you have no arrest warrants active.

Yes, I have a US passport.

What do I put for purpose of visit? Just "leisure" or some such?

I'm happy to hear it won't be a big deal. 4-5 hours inside security is just too long there, even at the AC.

Why don't you just say you are meeting a friend for lunch? No need to make up a story.

Because in my experience, they don't speak English well enough to ask what I'm doing there, so they go off what's written on the landing card. And I've certainly never written anything more than "business" on those.

But I suppose I'm overthinking this. Worst they can do is refuse me entry, in which case I head over to the lounge and sit.

One of the options on the landing card is "Transit" which is exactly what you'll be doing. They obviously expect some transit passengers to enter the country. It's necessary if they are transferring between NRT and HND, but there's nothing to suggest you must leave the airport.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bloompy...14840/sizes/l/

I ticked Transit and still got a full 90-day temporary visitor sticker in my US passport.

The immigration did ask me where I was going in English. I replied "I want to go to the restaurant" and that was it.

I was trying to find a copy of the landing card and couldn't. Thanks!

That's the standard deal -- sneak out and buy a JR East pass.

They never ask for onward ticket. There is no requirement for onward ticket if you are a visa waiver citizen.

I have been asked to show proof of a ticket out of Japan. Circumstances were a little "special" but the immigration officer certainly seemed to think he could deport me if I didn't have one. (Yes. Deport.)

I have been asked to show proof of a ticket out of Japan when checking in for a flight to Japan on a one-way award ticket.

Don't know where I could go in 4 hours with that pass.

Yes, they do. It happened to me once, and apparently another poster as well. In my situation, I had an overnight int'l-int'l connection, so my intended length of stay was something like 18 hours. And I was at FUK. An American making an overnight int'l-int'l connection at FUK was an unusual-enough situation that they wanted to see documentation to back up my story.

That's true, but there is a requirement that you answer their questions truthfully. If they have reason to suspect that your stated intentions are not your actual intentions, they may request and require whatever they feel is necessary to satisfy their doubt. In the case of a short or otherwise unusual transit situation, the onward ticket may be just what they want to see to make the situation believable.