There are also a few cities (e.g., New York and London) where you can use your iPhone to pay for transit just by having a credit card in your iPhone Wallet. A local transit card such as Suica is not needed.

Visa recharge for Suica/PASMO has been broken since early August. Mastercard/Amex should be fine. iPhone wallet Suica is handy to have especially if you are trying to get around and do things quickly. If you do end up doing Narita Express note that IME those particular ticket machines fail with US credit cards but the cards work fine at the manned stations just beyond the machines.

How strict is Japan with food items?

I'm planning on visiting some friends in SE Asia, but will be spending about two nights in TYO, hence I will need to take all of my luggage through customs. I plan on bringing them some chocolates, nuts and specialty dried fruit. Is this doable?

as long as those items are commercially packaged and unopened you will be fine

Strictly speaking from the Ministry of Agriculture of Japan rule, dried fruit inspected by the proper authority with proper documentation or a seal is allowed into Japan. In Hawaii, there is a lot of dried fruit available and Japanese tourists in Hawaii often buy those for gifts back home. Only dried fruit with a proper inspection sticker or proper documentation is allowed into Japan, but how many Japanese tourists bring back dried fruit without documentation or a seal to Japan every day is another question...

The only realistic possibility is that there are agriculture inspection dogs sniffing bags and luggage, just like international arrival at U.S. airports. If those dogs happen to sniff stuff out of your luggage, then there is not much you can do.

It's actually going to be items from Costco! LOL

I normally wouldn't bother bringing any of them, but Costco lately has been selling no-sugar-added dried fruits! Many of my relatives/ friends are diabetic and not many in Asia have products similar to those. The other thing is no-sugar-added 'jam' (which here in the USA can only be called 'fruit spread'). Add to that, I doubt anyone outside the USA, let alone the Pacific Northwest has marionberries.

Hi,

I got a desperate and urgent question after browsing so many threads and online information.

I'm flying from Toronto next week, and having 3 legs :
- Toronto - San Francisco, 4h flight , transit 5h, operated by Air Canada. Depart day 1 Tuesday, 4pm, arrive SF 7pm, depart 12:10 am day 2 Wednesday.
- SF - Haneda, 10h flight, transit 36h , operated by Air Nippon Airways code share with United. Arrived 4AM day 3 Thursday at HND (local Tokyo time), departing 4PM day 4 Friday.
- Haneda - Ho Chi Minh, ANA again

The whole thing was booked with United, same confirmation number. Initial flights had normal transit hour, but was canceled and rebooked by United.
The trip includes 2 transit, at SF 5h and at Haneda more than one-day.

Can I ask : Do I need to collect the luggage at Haneda and re-checkin ? It is a long layover more than 1 day. I wish for the luggage to stay in the airport and checked through.
I have a bunch of medication, and picked olive from France as gift. I don't want to take out checked bags and pass through plant, health, custom control which will throw away my gifts unless I have a myriad of proofs, permits.

Checked with all 3 airlines and noone can give an certain answer :
United : Likely have to take baggage out
Air Canada : Likely can check through. "You can only tell at check in with Air Can"
ANA : Normally can check through if with ANA alone. ANA international to international actually allow check through for connection time of max 72 hours .
@ CPH-Flyer I read many of your comments saying limit is 24h. The support girl actually said 72h, written in her system (but not available online). However she does not know my exact case since it's handled by Air Can at checkin. Again, "you have to ask Air Can". If Air Can say yes I'm good.

Also, I'd like to go out and visit Tokyo. I'd rather just wait inside the airport for 36h and forfeit the hotel booking, rather than lose the luggage to custom
Wondering about 2 scenarios :
1. Baggage checked through and I also got the boarding pass at first check in with Air Can. Can I go out of the airport, and just come back to board ?
2. Baggage checked through but I DON' T got the boarding pass at first check in with Air Can. Happened all the time when I need to get the boarding pass at later leg, but those were without going out of the airport. Afraid this may happen this time due to boarding pass cannot issued too early in advance. Can this happen ? If that's the case, I go out of airport, go back to check in last leg WITH MYSELF ALONE, no luggage. If this happens, can they link the baggage already checked through to my current boarding pass.

Any experience ?

Thank you.

As far as I am aware, for a stop of more than 24 hours you will need to collect luggage at HND, go through customs, and check in the luggage again before your onward flight. I am surprised that ANA told you they could hold checked luggage for 72 hours. I haven't heard that before.
Before bringing any medicine across the border, you should verify that it is allowed in Japan. Drugs that are legal in your home country may be illegal in Japan:
https://jp.usembassy.gov/services/importing-medication/
I believe that olives may be classified as processed and canned (or bottled) and should not be subject to import inspection. (But unprocessed olives, off the tree are prohibited).
You will not be allowed to stay airside for more than 24 hours.

You'll have to get your bags and clear customs. There is luggage storage available at Haneda, so just pay that and go into the city with a carry-on with whatever you need for the hotel and to explore. Come back early enough to get your luggage (it doesn't take long) and check in and clear security.

Just a quick update on immigration -- we arrived at HND tonight after a really long flight from EWR -- including a diversion to SEA to drop off an ill passenger when we were nearly to Alaska.... The hallways were full of people checking for the Visit Japan Web app / barcodes -- and at multiple locations -- along the way to Immigration. Immigration was much smoother this month than last -- and in baggage claim they have installed way more kiosks to scan the barcode and verify your customs declaration -- and out the door we went. I waited in line about 20 minutes at immigration -- my (Japanese) wife of course was through in under a minute and got our bags....

Overall a much smoother process -- and quicker...

One odd thing I noticed -- Somehow a plane load of people from the Philippines made it to immigration without and Visit Japan Web usage at all -- there were probably 60 people filling out forms in immigration -- how did these people get on a plane to Japan without VJW?

Thanks for your input.
The whole experience has been a mess.

I called Air Canada again, and they said they only see part of the trip Toronto - SF - HND. I did notice before that due to the previous cancellation and rebook of United, the trip is split into 2 : TO - SF - HND and Newyork - HND - Ho Chi Minh. The New york - HND is supposed to be cancelled, as seen on United. The trip is supposed to be TO - SF - HND - HCM.
But Air Can does not see that. Because of that they will only check me in through HND, making ~100% that I need to do a separate trip HND - HCM and take the bags out.

Called United for another 2.5 hours. They decided to book another flight : TO - Chicago ORD (5h transit) - HND (23h50 transit) - HCM. Not much option left.

I accepted, hopefully this time HND transit <24h will solve all the hiccup.
I only see real people experience with max transit 20h, never with 24h.

On United check-in I still see only check-in until HND although flight has 1/2/3 of 3 legs. Asked the United agent (supervisor , who changed the ticket for me) multiple times. She checked and said yes, ANA allows extension from normal 12h transit to 24h for check-through.
Still stressed about this trip until I actually take it.

Will my case of 23h50 transit pass for bag check-through ? Can I still go out of the airport ? What should I ask if my bags are checked through but I'm not issued boarding pass for last leg yet ?
Thanks

Timatic doesn't show vjm as mandatory, just vaccine/test/other exception.
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/covid-19/bordercontrol.html
Not mandatory. I guess this makes sense for some non-technical Japanese , and might as well allow non Japanese too (for tourism)

​​​​​​It is not mandatory, just makes your life so much easier.

Can I leave HND (Terminal 3/International) Once I Clear Security?
 

So if I land in HND after an international flight I am in terminal 3 and say I have an upcoming flight also in terminal 3 -- am I allowed to use the lounge area airside, then leave the area (go through immigration and explore Tokyo), then re-clear security/immigration and come back to the lounge if I have a long layover?

If I recall in HKG, they did not allow this at all. Once you clear security at HKG you are pretty much stuck there (which is very different from US airports in which you can leave anytime).

Departures and arrivals are separated in Japan like they are in Hong Kong Airport, not the US layout.