I posted on this thread during the week and got some good info, so I just want to post our final plan for a return trip to ICN via NRT to see if anyone spots anything that I've missed or haven't considered. Myself and my partner will be travelling with our 6-month old. We'll be travelling with carry-on only and gate checking a stroller and car seat.

We'll be flying ORD-NRT on JL, 12:40 - 15:35 and then NRT-ICN on ET, 21:10 - 23:50. We'll do a PCR test in Chicago, either the morning we're due to travel or the evening before (PCR is probably safer as it only needs to be done 48 hours in advance compared to 24 hours for antigen / rapid). ET have routes to ORD, so when we get to ORD we'll go to the ET desk and see if they can check us in and issue our boarding passses for NRT-ICN. In the event that they cannot issue our boarding passes, we'll just look for an NH connections / transfer desk in NRT and go there (I'm assuming there won't be an ET connections / transfer desk). If that doesn't work, we'll have to try and check-in at the gate.

For the return, we'll be flying ICN-NRT on Jin Air, 10:10 - 12:35 and then NRT-SFO on NH, 17:00 - 10:30. I'm not sure if there is an NH desk at ICN, but we'll try the OZ desk to see if they can check us in and issue our boarding passses for NRT-SFO. Failing that, we'll head to the NH connections / transfer desk in NRT.

We'll definetly be asking at ORD if they can check our bags through to ICN, but we can just bring them on the plane if they say no, which I suspect they will. There's no interline between Jin Air and NH, so it's a definite no for the return.

Is there that I haven't considered here?

There is no NH desk in Incheon, as ANA does not actually have any routes to the airport. There is no point in going to the Asiana desk, they will not be issuing a boarding pass for an ANA flight where you have no Asiana flights at all. Save yourself the trek.

Ethiopian departs from T1, and JAL from T3 in Chicago. I am not sure what the trek is to get around ORD, but you might want to contact the airport office before and see if this is something they can and will do. Running around an airport with a toddler is not the most fun thing, so you'd probably want to avoid unnecessary excursions.

While having a separate ticket connection in Japan is generally fine, I am not sure I would dare include a low cost carrier in the process. You are asking the check-in staff to validate that you have a valid ticket for the second flight, basically performing a non standard procedure. LCCs generally don't like to do that. Their standard operating procedures are usually very strongly ingrained in everything.

Adding to the above, there is no ET transfer desk at NRT, so don’t go looking for one.

Flying ICN-NRT-SEA in a few weeks with a 5-6 hour layover. Anyone been inside NRT recently? Are a lot of restaurants still closed? And does anyone have any recommendations to eat?

​​​​​​Which terminal, Team Blue or Team Red?

That's a good point regarding the location of the ET and JL check-in desks at ORD, I'll have to take a look into that and see if I can get an answer on the phone before hand and how easy it is to get from T1 to T3. Even if a bit of extra time is involved, I'd feel a lot happier having the NRT-ICN boarding pass in our hands departing ORD.

OK I can quite easily eliminate the LCC from the equation, there is an OZ flight departing ICN at 09:30 which is only 50 minutes earlier than the Jin Air flight, it's more expensive but is probably the safer option. It may also have the added benefit of allowing us to check a bag right through to SFO.

Thanks for the input.

I think team blue? flying OZ on the icn-nrt route and NH from nrt-sea. My ticket says terminal 1.

Both T1/T2 felt the same to me when i transited a few weeks ago. Shops/duty free are on an odd schedule and open late or at staggered/inconsistent times. I mostly did lounges for food, but i do know that the 7-11 at T2 was hopping!

NRT posts the hours of shops on their website, but YMMV as per usual https://www.narita-airport.jp/en/news/coronavirus_shops

Indeed Team Blue (ANA) and terminal 1.
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The website is usually up to date. Which means not many options, and not any great options. For a country that is as conscious about food as Japan is, it is surprising that there never were better options available in Narita. Landside at Haneda has better options, but airside is also pretty abysmal.

Ippudo has quite a following for their ramen, and while there are better options out there as a chain store they do pretty well.

Where would the demand for good food airside be at an international focused airport like Narita?

Premium passengers have lounges, so the food would have to be markedly better to get these passengers to leave their lounges and decent free food (and the ANA Suite lounges have been stepping up their game).

We’re left with economy passengers then, who are more price conscious (which correlates to lower quality of food). Japanese citizens and residents can just eat before going to the airport, which will both be cheaper and better tasting, so we really only have international economy passengers.

That, combined with the fact that Narita is so far away from most people would live, doesn’t make for a compelling business case.

​​​​​​I disagree, I think there is a market, and I think there is a great market in the connecting international passengers. Also originating Y passengers, once you have spent a couple of hours getting to the airport, or a domestic connecting flight, and know they are up for 12 hours of United style gourmet, I am sure there is a market for better food.

Both the ANA Suite Lounges and the JAL F lounges have OK food, but mainly the benefit that it is free and there are no decent alternatives in the airport. I certainly would not pay more than convenience store prices for most of it. The period with the breakfast galettes from the teppan grill in the JAL F lounge in Haneda are missed though. The sushi bar in the JAL lounge is a good champagne snack, but there is the question would people with F access pay for an actual quality sushi selection? Probably not. But we still have to remember, the majority of passengers don't have lounge access, and certainly not F lounge access.
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I just flew ICN-NRT on Asiana and NRT-LAX on ANA. Two separate tickets. The Asiana agent was able to check my bag all the way to LAX and issued a boarding pass for the second flight with no problem at all. Just make sure to have a print out of your e-ticket to make things easier for them.

FWIW, ET uses T5, not T1, at ORD. T5 is in a completely different part of the airport than T3. I'd say it's not worth the trek, especially with a toddler and at an outstation where the contract staff may not know what you're trying to do.

​​​​​​​This is a big plus for flying with Asiana as opposed to Jin Air, the higher fare on Asiana will be worth it for the convenience of getting our bags checking though on separate tickets.

So little new at this, I have a Qantas award reservation through AA from HND-SYD in business. Im trying to book JFK-HND with JAL in business hopefully on a different award ticket, using Alaska Miles. Question is will JAL transfer my bags through to Qantas, even though am on separate PNRs book through AA.