we are flying to Dublin from Itami via haneda and lhr. It is Japan airlines all the way except for lhr to Dublin on British airway says.

Will my bag be checked through from Itami and how easy is it to connect in haneda from domestic terminal to international

If on same ticket, it'll be checked all the way through. If not on same ticket, then ask the agent at ITM to check it all the way through.

HND domestic to international is not the most convenient, but it's not terribly difficult either. Take a free shuttle bus to international terminal, then up to the departure level to go through security and exit immigration. If you have time, you may want to spend a bit of time browsing the landside mall in the international terminal before rushing airside.

In lieu of the shuttle, you can also take either the Monorail or Keikyu train from domestic to international terminal for free. But apparently you have to get some type of voucher for the free ride from somewhere, and I've never done it.

At ITM there is a special check-in counter at JAL for domestic flights that connect to international flights. Look for the signs. Also, it's not a large airport, so you don't need to be there 2 hours ahead of time like KIX or other larger international airports, maybe 90 minutes ahead would be more than enough.

"Transfer Tickets for transportation between Keikyu Line and monorail stops for accessing domestic and international flights are distributed free of charge at information counters in the Domestic and International Terminals."

"Tickets are distributed at information counters on the arrival floor of Terminal 1 (four locations), Terminal 2 (four locations), and the International Terminal (one location)."

For purely domestic flights, check-in cut off is ~15 minutes.

For domestic flight connecting to an international flight, cut off is ~20 minutes.

And there's nothing much to do/see at ITM before or after check-in.

Thanks ahead of time to anyone who can help - can't find anything on this in the thread.

In june i am flying from HKG to OKA on CX (j award) which arrives at 3:45. The award wouldn't take me all the way to ISH, so i have to book a flight to Ishigaki to get to our destination. My two questions:

1) If I book on JAL, will they let me check bags all the way through to Ishigaki since its all one world?

2) Is there a minimum connection time? there are a ton of flights but trying to pick the right one where we won't be stressed, it is a vacation after all!

You will need to claim your luggage at Okinawa no matter what, and pass customs. You should then go to the JAL/JTA domestic counters to check in your luggage. So whether they check your luggage through or not is not that important.

I can't see a minimum time stated, but as you are on two tickets I would leave a fairly good amount time in between, as a missed connection is on your own responsibility. Even if your luggage is checked through. I would be in the 3 hour range for my time between two sperate tickets. The airport is small, but there needs to be room for a potential delay out of Hong Kong

Thanks for the insight - i guess i'll book the latest flight.

Looks like I will be pushing the boundaries.

I am arriving on QF at HND 0550 and am considering a CX flight from NRT at 0915.

I will be HLO, and separate PNRs. Is 3h25 too close for comfort? It will be a Monday if that makes a difference.

At 6:37 there is a through train from Haneda to Narita, getting you there at 8:30. At 6:30 You can take a Keikyu train to Shinagawa and change to the JR Narita Express and get to Narita at 8:08. At 6:25 there is a Limousine Bus arriving at 7:47.

If you know the flow fairly well, and the flight is not delayed, you should be able to catch the 6:25 bus. With the number of flights CX has I would go for a later departure for sure, though more importantly I would take one of the Haneda flights. Your room for delay will be zero on this connection.

Thanks for that. I am trying to get to HKG in time for a same day connection (yet to book) and am just trying to limit the number of travel days I need.

I might look at alternatives. ;)

With no checked bags and assuming you're towards the front of economy and minimal immigration queue, I'd say you have to figure out at least 35min from scheduled landing time till you're at the train platform. So based on that and based on what CPH-flyer says, you're in trouble if your plane's only 15min late.

I'd never risk that, especially on separate bookings.

Thanks for the confirmation. Plan B (or C) coming up ...

NRT to HND (3:40 layover)
 

Browsing through the forums the consensus is that the connection between NRT and HND in under four hours is tight.

Itinerary:

SIN (Depart 8:20A) - NRT (Arrive 4:05P)
HND (Depart 7:45P) - SFO (Arrive 12:05P)


Could someone please help me through the process of making the transfer? Do I need to take the limo bus or the train? What is the customs/immigration process like for a US citizen just making the transfer, no visa I'm assuming?
This is my first time in Tokyo.

Thanks for the help.

I like the train route from Narita to Haneda, but I really can't recommend it for a first time Tokyo visitor. Much too complicated. The Limousine Bus is much easier.

Here's a timetable for the Airport Limousine Bus service from Narita Airport to Haneda.

http://www.limousinebus.co.jp/en/pla...ches/index/2/7

Basically, buses depart Narita every 15 minutes and are scheduled to arrive at Haneda International Terminal about 1.5-2 hours later.

This is the Limousine Bus home page, where you can search in case Haneda International Terminal is not your destination.

http://www.limousinebus.co.jp/en/

There is a desk at NRT where you can purchase your bus ticket. They will tell you which bus stop your bus will depart from.

Hard to predict how long customs/immigration will take at NRT. In my experience, I typically wait 5-25 minutes in the immigration queue, while customs usually takes less than 5 minutes. For a US passport holder, no visa is needed for a tourist visit to Japan for less than 90 days.

This should be do-able, but it is tight.

If the connection doesn't work, the "Royal Park Hotel THE Haneda" is very nice and would be a great refuge if the connection doesn't work out and you are delayed by a day. The lobby of the hotel is on the left side of the Haneda International Terminal's Ticket Counter (departures) level - can't beat the convenience.

Is this under a single booking? And will you have checked bags? Those are the key questions.

Passport control is your biggest potential bottleneck, and the queue there is usually few minutes to 20 minutes. Total time from landing to arrival concourse (past immigration, bags, custom) will be 40-60min with bags (figure ~5min less without bags). Those would be the usual time frame, but sometimes the immigration line could be longer. Then you'll probably have to factor another 5min extra to find the Limo bus counter, buy tix, and head out to your bus on the outside curb.

Based on mnbp's link, you'll really need to catch the 5.10pm Limo bus from NRT-T1 (assuming you're arriving at T1, although I could be assuming wrong). If you have bags, assuming your flight is on time AND immigration queue is within normal range, you should be able to catch the 5.10pm bus. The Limo bus will almost always arrive early or on time in my experience.

If your flight is even 10min late, it will be very tight if you have checked bags. Later than that, and you could miss the bus. If your flights are on separate bookings, you will not be protected in that instance.