Travel Best flight option for Japan?

[Shinjitsu]

Hello,

So, I am moving alone to Japan to start a new job and am going to book a one-way flight later today (in about 6 hours). The first night I plan to stay in a hotel in Tokyo and I currently live in the San Francisco Bay Area. I want to leave on Sunday, 1/26/2014.
I rode on United Airlines and ANA for a round-trip to Japan once and have some miles.
I will likely have 2 checked bags.
I am sensitive to food/comfort and like more personal space and to move around.
I am not rich, but my budget is not tight.

I have narrowed down to these options:
1. $510 (17hr30min)
-9:15am-10:45am (SFO->LAX) American Airlines
-2:40pm-7:45pm (LAX->NRT) Malaysia Airlines
2. $600 (14hr40min)
-8:20am-9:50am (SFO->LAX) United Airlines
-11:05am-4:00pm (LAX->NRT) United Airlines
3. $800 (15hr5min)
-8:20am-9:50am (SFO->LAX) United Airlines
-11:30am-4:25pm (LAX->NRT) ANA
4. $940 (16hr)
-8:00am-11:35am (OAK->HNL) Alaska Airlines
-12:45pm-5:00pm (HNL->NRT) Japan Airlines

Which do you think is best and why?

 

[Majestic]

I assume on your option number 4 you mean HNL->NRT for the second leg of your trip, yes?

If so, then your choice is pretty simple;

Take one of the long haul flights from LAX to NRT (after a brief SFO > LAX flight) or transit through Honolulu to break up the flight into two (relatively) short flights. Everything else becomes secondary.

Since comfort has more of a priority than budget, I would break up the flight by going through Honolulu. OAK > HNL flight is, what, five hours? Then get off the plane in HNL, walk around the delightfully retro departure lounge in Honolulu, then get on another plane and continue another six or seven hours to Japan. Upside is that you can add your miles to your JAL membership, but I wouldn't get overly hung up on the miles at this point. JAL is pretty stingy with the membership benefits. Another slight benefit is that JAL will probably drop you off at a fairly convenient gate in Narita, so there will be a short walk to immigration. And most of the people on this flight will probably be Japanese people, and they will use a different queue at immigration, leaving the foreign passport queue relatively short - meaning the line for you to get into Japan will be slightly shorter than it would be if you were on a flight full of foreign-passport holding passengers. You've taken JAL before so you have an idea of what their economy class seats and meals are like. Regarding the meals, you would be taking two shortish flights if you go through Hawaii, so you aren't going to get fabulous meals. Probably one snack on the way to HNL, and then maybe a slightly more substantial meal on the way to Narita, but its all relative. It's all going to be slightly better than prison food no matter which flight you take. I mean, if you are sensitive to food and comfort, then any time spent in economy class will feel like time spent in an aluminum gulag.

As for details of seat pitch and legroom, etc... well, this is the sort of thing that Google-sensei can help you out with (Skytrax, etc...)

 

[Shinjitsu]

Thank you Majestic!

I found another option after searching in multi-city mode:
5. $700
-6:00am-7:28am (SFO->LAX) United Airlines
-8:40am-12:24pm (LAX->HNL) United Airlines
go out of airport, stretch, go to a high quality restaurant
-5:35pm-10:05pm (HNL->HND) Air Japan (subsidiary of All Nippon Airways?)

I already have miles with UNA and ANA.
I think option 5 is the best for me and plan to book in less than 1 hour!

What do you think?

 

[Majestic]

I'm not sure you can leave the airport in Honolulu, especially if your bags are checked all the way through to Haneda. So you are adding a level of complication (three flights instead of two, 5-hour stopover, landing at Haneda late at night) for little gain. Three flights means three opportunities for your bags to go AWOL. The five-hour stopover is about the limit of my level of boredom and tolerance. I'd rather be on my way than to wait 5 hours in an airport - even if it is Honolulu. And arriving at Haneda late at night has its own risks. Personally, Haneda is a great airport for me cause I live in Tokyo. If you aren't used to the train and monorail system, it could be daunting to get out of the airport area late at night through the fog of jet-lag. There are always taxis, but this would take a huge chunk of the money you saved by taking this fifth route.

 

[Shinjitsu]

Thank you for this insight. I called United and they say I can leave the Honolulu airport.

Haneda is closer to my new job also. I plan to book a hotel the first night. Are subways/trains open at 11PM Monday night?

 

[Shinjitsu]

Thank you again, I just booked option 5.
I have until around this time tomorrow to cancel for free, but don't think I will make any changes

 

[Glenski]

Are you sure you have enough time to get through immigration before leaving the U.S.? They generally advise arriving 2-3 hours before the flight.

 

[Shinjitsu]

Are you sure you have enough time to get through immigration before leaving the U.S.? They generally advise arriving 2-3 hours before the flight.

Hmm, if I get there at 3am I should be okay. Is 4am too late?

 

[Glenski]

Ask the airline.