+1 NRT has virtually no domestic connections -- will be interesting to see how much use the brand new terminal gets once normal travel resumes - -or if they just combine it into one larger terminal as is being considered now....

Had a successful, albeit short, visit into Tokyo during my layover. The flight into HND was delayed a couple hours, so I didn't have as much time as I wanted, but it was worth it to just be able to walk around a bit.

My advice to anyone on a tight schedule who wants to go into Tokyo on a layover from HND is to prepare your MySOS (I guess soon to be VJW) ahead of time. It took about 15-20 minutes to get through Immigration, which wasn't bad considering there were a couple planes that got in around the same time.

Also a good idea to know exactly where you're planning to go and how to get there. I already had a Suica card, so it was a breeze getting on the monorail.

Coming back into T3 was surprisingly fast. Long lines at passport control and security, but they went pretty fast. If you have at least an extra 2-3 hrs to get into town, HND is great for this.

Yes, I had ideas of doing something similar when I arrived at HND a few days ago, but the rigmarole with JAL and my tiredness decided the issue.

However, I did have a very nice time in the JAL FCL..

Hello so I have to book two separate tickets. 1 ticket with United to NRT, 7 hrs layover, then NRT to USA with Japan Airlines. Upon arrival in NRT, can I go get boarding pass airside without going through security and Japan immigration? I won’t be checking bags, just carry on.

Yes, it is possible to take the airside interterminal bus to T2 and get your boarding pass for JAL there. Bring a print of your e ticket, as it is easier to have it ready to show. They may also want to see it at check in with United, as a ticket out of Japan technically is a requirement.

Are there any hotels at Haneda that are open? I’m looking at an itinerary and it has a 12 hour layover arriving at Haneda around 9 PM and then connecting to a 9 AM flight the next morning.

The Royal Park land side section is open. I believe the Villa Fontaine that is connected via a covered walkway is now also open for booking. The airside wing of Royal Park remains closed.

Pardon my ignorance but if I chose to stay at the Royal Park landslide I assume I’d need to clear immigration right? Do I need to book a certain type of itinerary or notify ANA that I would need to leave the airport for an overnight stay?

You would need to go through the motions of the visit Japan website, upload a vaccine certificate with an initial vaccination and a booster to avoid a pre departure pcr test, but you don't need to notify ANA or book anything special.

Hi, will be transiting Narita end of January. Understood things may change between now and then... That said, have a twelve hour layover. All flights are JAL. Arrive at 6:40am from Hanoi, leave at 6:40pm to Vancouver. Enough time to take a ride on the bullet train? Can I even enter Japan briefly like that? Worth it? Airside lounges that are open in terminal 2? Flying business class.
Any advise appreciated...

If riding bullet train is the experience you're looking for, then yes, possible. But you will need to go a bit outside of Tokyo to get the full speed experience. Risky, in my opinion, to be that far away from departing airport. Other possibilities are Narita town, nearby the airport. Interesting places to visit and eat at. Plus, you don't have to always be looking at your watch to calculate how long it will be before you need to start heading back.
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6400.html

You could also go into Tokyo city area for lunch and walking around.

Thanks nishimark... I kinda thought it was pushing the envelope.

I'd actually go the other way.

If you land in Narita at 6:40, you can reasonably well be at Tokyo Station at 9am.

Tomorrow there is a Kodama that would go to Odawara departure 9:33, it will not reach full speed to Shinyokohama, but to Odawara it will get close.
If you buy a return ticket from Tokyo Station you could easily catch the 10:14 Kodama back to Tokyo Station at 10:48 bringing you back to Narita not much later than 12.

There could even be time to throw in a quick visit to Odawara Castle (not that exciting, modern reconstruction but makes for a few nice pictures) before catching an 11:44 Kodama with arrival in Tokyo at 12:18. Getting you back to Narita before 2pm.

It would set you back a bit less than 10,000 yen for the trains.

Can't disagree with CPH-Flyer in post above. Round trip, about one hour of actual train time, maybe 20 minutes of that at nearly full speed. Back to Tokyo in time for lunch. I'd still recommend Narita town and unagi for lunch instead, but it's not a bad idea.

With a 12-hour stop in Narita, I recommend a visit to a local onsen or super-sento:
yamatonoyu.com
ryusennoyu.com
hananoyu-narita.com

A better bang for your buck than the Shinkansen IMO, but YMMV.