Airport limousine bus to HND is most convenient, especially if you have luggage.

I can't be the only one this happens to and yet I haven't seen this mentioned during my research:

I recently booked the Royal Park Haneda Transit for a family member trying to keep an overnight layover super simple. Only that I booked the landside one instead. This seems to happen often enough that they have a process to escort visitors past security without VJW which is what happened in this case (including a second unrelated guest).

So my mistake appears to be that the booking function for Royal Park Haneda Transit is tucked away at the very bottom of the Transit Area page. The transit booking process includes a transit area disclaimer and the only plans are 6 and 12 hours. The other standout feature is it's very booked.

Everything else will book the landside part.

Do I have this right this time around?

There has certainly been a fair amount of people booking the landside thinking they had the airside during the time when it was closed, and while it was not possible to enter. It has been a while since I looked at the booking flow so can't remember if it is particularly opaque.

VJW is strictly speaking not a necessity, it just speeds up the process. I am sure anyone brought in, would overall fulfil the requirements.

Yes, the whole process added around an hour but was otherwise routine.

Probably not even trying to stay airside next time. Plenty of good options in this thread. Very helpful.

I had a question of VJW. In the past, when travelling to Japan as a family, one paper form for the customs declaration was needed. VJW is somewhat confusing as it asks how many family members are travelling with you but it only shows a QR code for me. Do all family members need to complete the customs form on VJW or is my QR code enough.

From the FAQ

Q. If I am entering the country as a family, do I have to create an account with a different email address for each family member?
A. In order to use the Service, one account is required for each person, so in principle, please create an account with a different email address for each person. However, infants and other children who cannot complete the procedures by themselves can use the Service without creating an account by registering as an “family member traveling with you”.

Refer to notes in the PDF manual (Section 3-2)
https://www.vjw.digital.go.jp/manual..._manual_en.pdf

Pretty sure this would've been answered, but I couldn't come up with the right answer by searching this thread...

I see multiple itineraries where you land in HND or NRT but depart from the other airport. How is baggage handled in these cases? Do you claim your bags, and then drop it off at the other airport? Or airlines handle this on their own?

You claim your bags, take them through customs, and transport them yourself to the other airport, then check them at the other airport.

That's disappointing. I was thinking I could turn this into a day trip into Tokyo if I didn't have to deal with checked baggage

If you arrive at NRT and depart from HND doubling back from HND into Tokyo once you’ve offloaded your baggage by checking it in (or storing) is actually straightforward, quick and not very expensive.

Very different to arriving at HND and departing from NRT which would be much more of a hassle.

They also have coin lockers at most of the major stations, which can be a viable way to see the city on layover if you plan your itinerary around a station between HND and NRT (e.g. Ueno, Tokyo, Shinagawa, basically any of the stations on the Asakusa Line).

Which airport do you land at and which depart from? What are departure and landing times? With that info, we might be able to give you some ideas. For example, if departing from NRT, you could go there first and drop off your bags, then spend some time in the nearby town for Narita. Interesting things to see and do there. So, please give more details.

Is the locker situation better now? My own working assumption is that I will likely find free small pay lockers at major rail stations whilst the larger ones suitable for hold luggage are not always available. But that’s from direct experience which might be outlier data.

If they are actually easily available then this is an ideal Plan A with the return trip to Haneda a stalwart Plan B back up.

And the nipping back from Haneda could, depending on the times involved, save one from attempting to board a train to Haneda from central Tokyo in the rush hour with a full set of baggage.

the really major stations might have manned counters for luggage storage, though it may not be in a convenient location or require waiting in line.

if you have coins or suica, and you're willing to believe the live locker availability of this page for Tokyo metro stations

https://metro.akilocker.biz/index.html?lgId=tokyometro

There used to be a page for Tokyo JR stations , but it's gone?

http://www.coinlocker-navi.com/aream...-tokyostation/

Thanks! Looks like things haven’t changed that much; relatively easy to find small lockers, with large and extra large lockers being more elusive.
What does seem to have changed is that there are apps and ventures that offer alternatives and solutions. I guess it just needs some head space. Not one of my strengths!