I've just put in a request to the moderator for that to be done.

Please continue to follow this discussion in the FT Japan Forum.
Thanks...
Obscure2k
TravelBuzz Moderator

LH has Y+, LX doesn't as you probably know.

Sun Express? Where did you see it? LX sometimes flies Edelweiss to NRT but I've never known LH flying anything other than their own metal and I have flown to Tokyo from Europe on LH/LX/NH (mostly to NRT and more recently to HND) 4 or 5 times a year.

HND is indeed closer to the city centre but by the time you take the monorail to Hamamatsucho and change once or twice to your destination it does take much longer than you might think especially with luggage. As others have said I'd choose HND or NRT depending on the schedule and the fare if that's important.

Hmm, cannot reproduce. Might be my memories tricked me here over too many search results over the days.:rolleyes:

Also as said, I've some wiggle or slack time around the event and wont return to Tokyo any time soon. I'll ony have a (checked) carry-on and a laptop bag for these few days - so for now this leans towards HND.

Acknowlegment should be here by the weekend, then I can go into detailled planning.

Finally the invitation is in - let's get into details after I've returned from GIB coming weekend.
Default cover for the trip is March, 8th out and 13th r/t.

I use HND whenever possible, not as much because of its location vs NRT, but because of the ease of getting in and out of the terminal.

HND's international terminal is much smaller than NRT's terminals, and has far less long-haul / huge jet traffic. This can translate into HOURS saved waiting in line at HND arrivals immigration instead of NRT immigration.

Departure immigration inspection is less of an issue, but even there HND saves time.

Confirmed booking:
March, 6th(+1) LH716 to HND, 13th return LH717 in PE/N for 1206 EUR :-) (Y was around 950)

Several of the US carriers shifted their West coast to HND flights to daytime arrival slots at HND.

JAL moved SFO-HND arrivals to ~ 7:20 pm, which used to arrive ~ 5 AM. I personally like early morning arrivals at HND but would need to go to LAX for NH105 flight as the others have changed their slots.

As someone who has flown in and out of HND/NRT around 1000 times, I would offer the following.

1. Getting in and and out of the airport is about the same for either airport.

2. Travel time to Tokyo by train will be about 30 minutes longer for NRT.

3. I typically use Haneda when I can primarily because I use taxi/hire and HND is a lot cheaper.

4. If I were you I would consider the limo bus to the Tokyo Dome Hotel and then a shortish walk or taxi your hotel.

5. Second choice would probably be train to Tokyo station and then Chuo/Sobu Line to Iidabashi (need to walk across platform and change trains at Iidabashi.) From Narita some people will probably suggest Keisei line over Tokyo Express, which is also a good route.

Buses to Tokyo Dome are infrequent. When I lived in the area I most frequently took Keisei Skyliner to Keisei Ueno and then taxi to my home. Yeah, it's lazy and not the most cost effective approach. But it worked for me.

Like I said, I am not in a rush. The LH716 comes in at 13:05 and I'll have nothing else to meet in time than check-in into the hotel for the night. Alas I can find my war around in HND (and to the monorail..) without stressing myself.

Which brings me to the point, that I need to book the first night for myself. As an IT nerd and given it's not that far from Iidabashi, my current fav would be the Granbell in Shinjuku - hopefully with good weather to enjoy their terrace bar.

before anyone screaming about love-hotels and the district, I am "trained" to walk through such areas as I am coming from Hamburg and cross Reeperbahn/St.Pauli often

Ok, I dont like to relay too much on "tech", but since this isnt a leisure trip, I've identified some useful things I tend to book:
- pupuru.com: wifi/lte router, slim 400Y/day removing the need to deal with foreign SIMs
- suica: to pay underground
- maps.me: loaded prefecture of tokyo and put in place my needed hotels/venue/stations

Unsure about a reading-kinja app.

Google translate app works pretty well for translating Kanji.

Free WiFi is fairly prevalent. Particularly is you use the Japan Wi-Fi app and register online before you go. Given that many of the pocket WiFis throttle your speed after a certain amount of data, I hae tended to switch between the two.

I use the Tokyo + Rail Map app to help work out metro routes. It's not always perfect (as you get more familiar, you may figure out a "better" route for you, but it is at least a good start

My 2 cents

Or you could use throwaway sim cards. They are easy to get and you don't have to bother sending them back at the end of your trip. I usually pick mine up at the airport post office and the staff working there know the drill (lots of foreigners queuing there in the morning after the post office opens).

I prefer Google Maps and they offer offline maps as well. The maps are quite compact (in terms of data usage).

Edit: Turns out that Google Offline maps is not available in Japan.

Seconding the recommendation for Google Maps offline mode. Maps.me is based on OpenStreetMap data, which has very poor coverage of Tokyo (or at least it did the last time I looked).