I'm going to be leaving Japan soon and I'm a little concerned about airport time issues. I've asked about this before, but things have changed a bit. Here are the conditions:

I'm currently staying in Kyoto and my flight leaves from Kansai International Airport at 8:45 AM on June 15.

The flight is first going to take me to Narita Airport (followed by a 7 hour wait) and I will then return to America from there. I had to take this route and these times due to the limits paying with my frequent flier miles imposed.

Anyway, I know that the earliest train from Kyoto to KIX would not get me to the airport the recommended 2 hours beforehand. Also, I cannot stay nearer to the airport the night before I leave due to certain commitments.

Okay, that's the back story. What I'm trying to figure out is if I have to even get to the airport that early. The KIX website says that for domestic flights I only need to arrive 15 minutes before departure, but for international flights, 2 hours is best. I don't know if it's considered a domestic flight or not since I will be stopping in Narita for 7 hours before continuing on to America.

The KIX website states that the 2 hours are recommended due to an extra step added before boarding in international flight situations (checking my passport, etc). Will they be doing that at KIX or Narita? Will arriving a little over an hour beforehand be a silly thing to do?

Sorry if this is confusing. I just don't really know what to do =/

How likely is it that I will be okay arriving to the airport at 7:11 AM? Oh, and how far away is the Kansai airport station from the actual airport? I need to take into consideration how long it will take me to get from there to the airport, which will no doubt be after 7:11.

Would it be a better idea to take a taxi over there at like 4 AM? It would be so expensive though.. But if I miss the flight I will be screwed since I can't take another one due to the usage of frequent flier miles.

I know it's not up to you by the way-- I'm just wondering your opinion and any experiences you may have had at KIX that could help with this.

200 meters (0.1 mile)
http://www.kansai-airport.or.jp/en/access/train/index.h...

Likewise, the flight network map shows Narita under international routes:
http://www.kansai-airport.or.jp/en/flight/flight_nw/ind...

On the Narita Airport website, the flight is explicitly labeled as international flight:
http://www.narita-airport.jp/en/

I think it means that you will have to go through immigration at Kansai Airport.