This was our first time to try this.  The boys flew to Japan alone!  Well, they had each other, but no parents!  To make the process as smooth as possible, we flew with them to San Diego and put them on a JAL flight.  JAL has awesome customer service and will help with the transit in Narita so that the boys can go all the way to Fukuoka.  Now their adventure begins!  One whole summer in Japan...