I have a stopover question, hopefully its allowed in this thread. I am flying business from ORD NRT to BOM and have a 20 hr layover in NRT on April 7th. What are my options since things are still so fluid due to Covid. Are lounges open ? Would I able to use them in the night or do I have to book a hotel ? Can I step out of the airport or I have to spend those 20 hrs in the airport? Any directions would be greatly appreciated.

That sounds like an impossible connection currently, unless you are allowed to enter Japan (citizen or resident basically). Currently, overnight connections are not allowed in Narita, as the terminals and airport close for the night. What are your exact flights?

Thank you seigex and CPH-Flyer for the responses and insight.

Regarding the schedule for May flights between Tokyo and Seoul (and the possibility of a HND-GMP flight being operated), is there somewhere I can keep an eye on to watch for it to be finalized? Couldn't find anything in my Googling about the airport restrictions, perhaps because I'm searching in English.

Airport restrictions towards the end of the document below
https://www.mofa.go.jp/ca/fna/page4e_001053.html
​​​​
Watch JAL's homepage for Gimpo announcements.

Assuming Japan doesn't reopen to tourists by June, is an overnight transit at Haneda still allowed? If so, any visa requirements (don't believe so but wanted to double check)? Thinking about booking a JL-JL ticket.

Is the airside hotel still closed? What time does the JAL lounge close?

Thanks!

Overnight transit on Haneda is allowed. No further requirements, than having a ticket and any documents required by your destination country.

The airside hotel is currently still closed.

The lounge hours depends on the flights operating that day. Some days around 6pm some days past midnight.

For fully vaccinated travelers I think this is now moot. If I read the announcement correctly:

"Fully vaccinated and boosted (received a 3rd dose): no self-quarantine required"

https://www.ana.co.jp/asw/topinfo/in..._en_2022032110

Yeah, but you still need to be resident or citizen. As there is still a denial of landing in place for 159 countries, and most visa waivers are suspended.

I don't think so. It says 'travelers'. Not residents or citizens.

https://www.mofa.go.jp/ca/fna/page4e_001053.html

​​​​​Of course you could get a Japanese company to invite you so a business visa can be issued. But for a simple transit you would need to be a citizen or resident.

Read below your quoted section. "Home quarantine and other measures are not required"

Ease of Japan Entry Restrictions (effective March 1, 2022)

>>> For a list of countries/regions that require stay at the accommodation facility, click here (Japanese page)
(*) Starting March 1 (00:00 am, Japan time), the U.S. is no longer a designated country

①　 Self-quarantine period upon arrival to Japan

>>>> Travelers entering Japan from countries/regions that are not subject to the measures and do not require stay at the accommodation facility

●　Fully vaccinated and boosted (received a 3rd dose): no self-quarantine required

Seems pretty clear. No?

Yes, but there is still the question of what travelers are eligible to enter Japan. If you are not eligible to enter Japan, the quarantine requirements are neither here nor there. Most visa waivers are suspended, and there is a denial of landing in place for people who have been in one of 159 countries 14 days before arriving in Japan.

So in order to enter Japan, you would need to be citizen, resident, on the new business visa flow, on the new student visa flow, SOFA, diplomatic, or any of the special case visas. So for a simple transit between airports, or staying in a land side hotel overnight, it is still an accurate point that you have to be citizen or resident to make it work.

Border measures to prevent the spread of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) | Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (mofa.go.jp)

50m connection time Narita?
 

I’m trying to put together an admittedly tight itinerary:
ANA - LAX-NRT arriving 4:30p
KE - NRT-ICN leaving 5:20p

Where it gets a bit more complicated is that the Korean air flight only runs at that time once a week, which means that if I am denied boarding at LAX due to a delay, there are no easy options for me getting to Seoul without gate agents pulling strings that I don’t think they either can or will pull.
I’d be flying in first, if that helps, but booked with virgin miles if that hurts.

I read in this thread that there are numerous reports of flights being held, but I wouldn’t imagine that would happen in my situation unless there’s a way that I’m not aware of to connect to these PNR‘s in someway? I know I can’t combine them, or but is there some way of letting Korean air know my deal?

If anyone has any insight on how to make this happen or any other risks/hiccups I’m not aware of, I would appreciate it very much!

If you are on separate tickets, I would almost say forget it. KE will not know you are coming off another flight, and will just see you as a late originating passenger.

If on one ticket, yes they would probably hold the flight for you.

In practical flow terms, arriving from the US does not require transit security check in Japan so it is quite quick to get off the plane. However, the walk from T1 south to T1 north can be quite long, so again you'd definitely want to be on one ticket so that KE knows about what level of a trek you are on.

Personally, I would find an earlier flight out of Los Angeles. Even if it was a single ticket.