When I visited Japan last year the line for using QR code for custom declaration was a mile long while those who use paper form just walked through and be gone in 5s. Is it still the case?

Seems to vary. Last time the QR code line was about 1 minute. Very badly designed system.

I've only experienced HND since they started with the QR codes. I've alway used the code since it lets you use the kiosk and then the e-gates after you scan you code and passport and then take a picture. The paper forms still need to talk to somebody (even if it's just to have them say thank you). My experience is that since the bags take a while I can scan everything and head staright to the e-gates. Even when I got in at 0500, just as the e-gates were coming on line I got waved through the normal one when my face was recognized by the system.

NRT customs a couple of weeks ago was 5s via QR code. There is an army of staff assisting with the process, checking people's codes before letting them join the line etc to avoid traffic jams.

It's been totally hit or miss with us -- so we usually do both.

We do this monthly and I can state that it has improved dramatically since they implemented the new system -- but still has a way to go.... I arrived into HND last week at the QR line was empty -- I used the kiosk while waiting for my luggage and then just walked out via the egate once my bag appeared...

Hunh. I used the QR code 4 times since July in both HND and NRT. No significant delay.

i�m guessing it to totally depends on when you arrive - two or three trips back it was a nightmare of people that didn�t do things properly and machines not working - but mostly lately it�s been fine - and WAY better than last year as it seems staffing has finally come back up�.

A couple of weeks ago at KIX, huge queues for the paper form and no one using the QR code. From landing off JQ through to landside was under 15mins including the train.

Exactly my experience at NRT in October. The regular line was quite long, filled by a flight from Vietnam.

Relatively recently going through HND, the manual line which I had gone through wasn't short. I'd imagine the QR code with the machines would've been quicker, which I probably should try next time.

I totally don't get the point of the e-kiosk. Complete duplication and waste of time. System was designed by an engineer (aka idiot.)

I use the app, and have skipped doing the paper form all together by now. The Haneda setup is better than Narita, as you can use the kiosk while waiting for luggage. Narita you can only get to the kiosk after getting your luggage. But apart from the initial teething problems, which was basically too few kiosks, and people not being used to the flow, it has become very smooth to use.

I wonder though, does people ever get selected for check of their baggage. There used to be a sure fire way to ensure you'd be stopped for more questioning, I'll have to try that next time I come back home. It will also tell me if there is a visual judgement aspect

Honestly, the airlines don't explain the system well to passengers, and the guidance in the baggage area is also unclear. On my last inbound JAL flight a couple of days ago, they gave the usual cryptic explanation with broken English translation, and many people around me obviously couldn't figure out whether they needed forms or what they should be filling out. Then when you actually get to customs at HND, they have a number of lanes prominently marked "PAPER/QR" which suggests that everyone should be in those lanes, even though QR users are able to use the faster electronic gates (which are for some reason not marked with "QR").

Aside: I also saw a bunch of people, after disembarking from this JAL flight, waiting outside the doors for international connections to T2, which was almost certainly not where they needed to go.

Yeah, I have been wondering what the paper/QR sign meant for the old fashioned line. I guess it is for people not going to the kiosks first? Or is it a delayed kneejerk reaction to the initial period of chaos at the e-gates?

I find in most countries I fly in to where there are forms to be filled in that the airline explanations are pretty poor. Maybe one exception, the overly protracted explanation of customs and bio hazards played before landing in PPT and being played in French, English, and Tahitian.

Was at KIX a month ago. There was no line for QR code and literally took less than 1 min to go through. There were a bunch of staff willing to help you navigate their kiosks.