Are there specific PCR forms available in Japan (or online) for those headed to the US? Japan is very particular for inbound passengers, but it seems the US guidelines don't point to an actual form, just certain required information. It also seems that an all-Japanese form would be okay if departing from Japan.
One more question, when flying ITM-HND, HND-ORD, are your PCR documents checked first in ITM or HND?

The US is pretty lax on the requirements, basically anything goes as long as it is a test result as far as I understand. In a bit I will anyway be talking to someone who has been flying to the US twice with test requirements, let me pump him for further information. That was flying JAL.

I'd expect Itami to ask, and Haneda to ask again.

So no real requirement for the format, even antigen testing is accepted. The test result is reviewed for being allowed to check in and board the flight. But not actually checked arriving in the US.

I'd also expect Itami to ask, as they have a separate check-in counter for flights transferring to international in Tokyo. As I recall, they also check passport at Itami in that situation.

I wish I could rely on the antigen test which is 25% the cost of the PCR. Most services seem not to offer that, and instead only have PCR for ¥20,000 or more.

I made up my own form for my son, but then thought it might make more sense just to use the Japan Form (for arrivals), since that is already bilingual. That form says quantitative, but not qualitative, antigen is acceptable.

Son #2 made it home to KIX. Landed at 6:30pm and was out of baggage claim by 8:00pm. Airport wifi and COVID processors offering to tether to their personal phones is the solution for those arriving with phones but without Japanese SIM cards.


Flight turned out to be 1/3 full, so I am left wondering why it did not show up as selling seats the last few days.

There are caps on the number of inbound arrivals in Japan, or there was and while not much discussed I have not heard that the caps have been lifted.. So probably the airline was out of arriving passengers they could bring.

Good news! No long drive for you. :-)

I just heard from a friend yesterday who is scheduled to return with his family in early August. All flights to KIX that they are eligible for have been cancelled, so it looks like probably HND. He's also concerned that they will need to do a 3-day hotel quarantine upon landing. I've volunteered to drive there to pick them up, but we'll see if things change again.

The 3 day stay rule is constantly changing, but mostly increasing as states get more delta varient.
With a paid ticket it may be tough. Son #1 has gone from UA to LH to OZ now, but that is on an award flight so there are more options. Has your friend looked at Nagoya?

The whole pickup rule is pretty fuzzy. Supposedly you can only be picked up by people you live with, yet "private" taxis are there collecting people, and plenty of friends are doing pickups. In truth no one is following you out the door past baggage claim. Jumping on a train might get you busted, as the route on your phone might give you away.

My friend is a frequent trans-Pac flyer, well at least in normal times, and probably knows his options. In fact, he mentioned to me in an email the other day that he has spent 50+ hours on the phone arranging the flights for this trip since earlier in the year. He had reasons to go and some complicated routing, but man what a hassle.
I've done a pickup twice now, once last September at HND and once a couple of months ago at KIX. Both times my friends just walked out of customs like normal. Certainly in those days before the app, they could've jumped on public transportation from the airport. These days, who knows. I certainly wouldn't want to be the one to test the system.

Well, here is the exact answer. Due to the high number of inbound Olympic participants and officials, airlines were asked to stop selling inbound tickets to regular passengers from the 11th to 22nd of July.

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/ba...46f544ed0893c0

Mystery solved!
Although at KIX there are only around 4 inbound flights a day, so I doubt there was any need to "limit" the number of passengers.

Good thing I bought the ticket when I did. I noticed 13th and 20th were no longer for sale, which must have pushed up demand and so the 27th only had $5,000 business class seats left.

To confirm, is connecting between NH and JL on separate tickets at NRT allowed? Most of the discussion about connecting on separate tickets has been about connecting within *A, i.e., NH to NH or NH to UA/AC.

I am looking to fly MEX-NRT-KUL, with the first leg on NH arriving at 6:30am. The NH NRT-KUL flight doesn't depart until 5pm, whereas JL has an 11am departure, making for a much shorter connection. I will not have checked bags, so all I would need to do is to get a JL boarding pass via OLCI or at a transfer counter. I haven't seen any indications that the airside shuttle bus between T1 and T2 is not operating.

The airside bus is operating. And it is allowed, and people have done it.

Be sure to have prints of your E-ticket to be able to show the onward ticket at check in. Also be certain to leave plenty of time for check in, as there may be more checking of documents than usual, even more than covid-19 travel usual that is.

Does anyone know if there are layover restriction in Japan? I'm planning a trip to Indonesia next month but apparently Singapore doesn't allow transit if you've been in Indonesia (and a few other countries) in the past 14 days. So definitely SQ is out. Thinking of going with ANA if there aren't restrictions.