MODO AVIÓN

Chicago to Tokyo flight path

ORD → HNDORDHND
The shortest path on the sphere. On a flat map it looks curved; on the globe it is a straight line.

Along the shortest route, the flight from Chicago to Tokyo covers 6,290 miles (10,120 km) — about 12 h 10 min with no wind. It passes over or close to the United States, Canada and Japan. It crosses the Bering Sea, the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk: 46% of the route is over water. Today you leave on UTC−5 and land on UTC+9.

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From Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) to Tokyo Haneda International Airport (HND) · ORD · HND

ORDChicago
HNDTokyo
Great-circle distance
10,120 km
Duration, no wind
12 h 10 min
Over water
46 %
Time difference today
+14 h

The route drawn is the theoretical one — the shortest path on the sphere. The real aircraft follows airways, avoids storms and closed airspace, and rides the wind: it can be hundreds of kilometres off.

What countries do you fly over from Chicago to Tokyo?

  • United States
  • Canada
  • Japan
  • Bering Sea
  • Pacific Ocean
  • Sea of Okhotsk

Which side of the plane to sit on to see Denali

To see Denali (6,194 m), sit on the left: it lies about 40 km from the route, ≈ 5 h 35 min into the flight.

Left window
  • Madison ≈ 25 min
  • Fox Mountain (2,404 m) ≈ 4 h 30 min
  • Denali (6,194 m) ≈ 5 h 35 min
  • Mito ≈ 11 h 45 min
Right window
  • Milwaukee ≈ 20 min
  • Winnipeg ≈ 1 h 35 min
  • Mount Nirvana (2,773 m) ≈ 4 h 10 min
  • Koryaksky (3,456 m) ≈ 9 h 05 min
  • Sendai ≈ 11 h 30 min
  • Fukushima ≈ 11 h 35 min
  • Kōriyama ≈ 11 h 40 min
  • Iwaki ≈ 11 h 40 min
  • Utsunomiya ≈ 11 h 45 min
  • Suginami ≈ 11 h 45 min
  • Mount Fuji (3,776 m) ≈ 11 h 55 min

Left and right facing forward, on the theoretical route. Times are from take-off, with no wind.

Leg by leg

2 h4 h6 h8 h10 hUTC−6UTC−7UTC−6UTC−7UTC−6UTC−7UTC−8UTC+12UTC+11UTC+9UTC−5Bering SeaCentral LowlandsBirch MountainsCassiar MountainsParamushirJapanDenali 6,194 m 40 kmMount Fuji 3,776 m 69 kmKoryaksky 3,456 m 105 kmMount Nirvana 2,773 m 49 kmFox Mountain 2,404 m 39 kmSendai 88 kmWinnipeg 22 kmSuginami 3 kmUtsunomiya 55 kmMito 1 kmORDHND▲ Left window▼ Right window◀ Left windowRight window ▶2 h4 h6 h8 h10 hUTC−6UTC−7UTC−6UTC−7UTC−6UTC−7UTC−8UTC+12UTC+11UTC+9Bering SeaCentral LowlandsBirch MountainsMackenzie MountainsParamushirJapanMadison23 km off routeFox Mountain2,404 m · 39 kmDenali6,194 m · 40 kmMito1 km off routeMilwaukee71 km off routeWinnipeg22 km off routeMount Nirvana2,773 m · 49 kmKoryaksky3,456 m · 105 kmSendai88 km off routeFukushima85 km off routeORDHNDUTC−5

LandWaterCity, with its distance from the routePeakClock change

See the full list, leg by leg
  1. Take-off from Chicago O'Hare International Airport
  2. Below: Central Lowlands0 km · ≈ 15 min into the flight
  3. Milwaukee, United States — on the right, 71 km away94 km · ≈ 20 min into the flight
  4. Madison, United States — on the left, 23 km away171 km · ≈ 25 min into the flight
  5. Below: Laurentian Upland439 km · ≈ 45 min into the flight
  6. Winnipeg, Canada — on the right, 22 km away1,130 km · ≈ 1 h 35 min into the flight
  7. Local time below changes: UTC−5 to UTC−61,550 km · ≈ 2 h 00 min into the flight
  8. Below: Birch Mountains2,430 km · ≈ 3 h 05 min into the flight
  9. Below: Caribou Mountains2,670 km · ≈ 3 h 20 min into the flight
  10. Local time below changes: UTC−6 to UTC−72,970 km · ≈ 3 h 40 min into the flight
  11. Local time below changes: UTC−7 to UTC−63,040 km · ≈ 3 h 45 min into the flight
  12. Below: Selwyn Mountains3,170 km · ≈ 3 h 55 min into the flight
  13. Local time below changes: UTC−6 to UTC−73,240 km · ≈ 4 h 00 min into the flight
  14. Local time below changes: UTC−7 to UTC−63,270 km · ≈ 4 h 00 min into the flight
  15. Local time below changes: UTC−6 to UTC−73,370 km · ≈ 4 h 10 min into the flight
  16. Mount Nirvana, 2,773 m — on the right, 49 km away3,420 km · ≈ 4 h 10 min into the flight
  17. Below: Mackenzie Mountains3,510 km · ≈ 4 h 15 min into the flight
  18. Below: Cassiar Mountains3,540 km · ≈ 4 h 20 min into the flight
  19. Fox Mountain, 2,404 m — on the left, 39 km away3,710 km · ≈ 4 h 30 min into the flight
  20. Below: Yukon Plateau3,750 km · ≈ 4 h 35 min into the flight
  21. Local time below changes: UTC−7 to UTC−84,120 km · ≈ 5 h 00 min into the flight
  22. Below: Wrangell Mountains4,180 km · ≈ 5 h 05 min into the flight
  23. Below: Alaska Range4,220 km · ≈ 5 h 05 min into the flight
  24. Denali, 6,194 m — on the left, 40 km away4,620 km · ≈ 5 h 35 min into the flight
  25. Bering Sea and Pacific Ocean — 4,660 km without land5,330 km · ≈ 6 h 25 min into the flight
  26. Koryaksky, 3,456 m — on the right, 105 km away7,660 km · ≈ 9 h 05 min into the flight
  27. Local time below changes: UTC−8 to UTC+127,800 km · ≈ 9 h 15 min into the flight
  28. Below: Kuril Islands7,960 km · ≈ 9 h 25 min into the flight
  29. Local time below changes: UTC+12 to UTC+117,960 km · ≈ 9 h 25 min into the flight
  30. Below: Paramushir8,030 km · ≈ 9 h 30 min into the flight
  31. Below: Urup8,670 km · ≈ 10 h 15 min into the flight
  32. Below: Japan9,380 km · ≈ 11 h 00 min into the flight
  33. Sendai, Japan — on the right, 88 km away9,820 km · ≈ 11 h 30 min into the flight
  34. Fukushima, Japan — on the right, 85 km away9,890 km · ≈ 11 h 35 min into the flight
  35. Local time below changes: UTC+11 to UTC+99,890 km · ≈ 11 h 35 min into the flight
  36. Kōriyama, Japan — on the right, 69 km away9,920 km · ≈ 11 h 40 min into the flight
  37. Iwaki, Japan — on the right, 11 km away9,930 km · ≈ 11 h 40 min into the flight
  38. Below: Honshu9,990 km · ≈ 11 h 45 min into the flight
  39. Land again9,990 km · ≈ 11 h 45 min into the flight
  40. Mito, Japan — on the left, 1 km away10,020 km · ≈ 11 h 45 min into the flight
  41. Utsunomiya, Japan — on the right, 55 km away10,020 km · ≈ 11 h 45 min into the flight
  42. Suginami, Japan — on the right, 3 km away10,040 km · ≈ 11 h 45 min into the flight
  43. Landing at Tokyo Haneda International Airport10,120 km · ≈ 11 h 55 min into the flight
  44. Mount Fuji, 3,776 m — on the right, 69 km away10,120 km · ≈ 11 h 55 min into the flight

Times assume a typical jet speed, no wind and an on-time departure. Good for orientation, not for your watch.

Which side the sun, sunrise or sunset will be on

Enter the day and take-off time. Your phone does the maths: the sun's position on every leg of the route, relative to the nose of the aircraft.

Take-offLanding

Sky: light is daytime, amber is sunrise or sunset, dark is night. Left and Right show which side the sun is on for each leg.

Follow the route offline in airplane mode

All of this on board and with no signal: with your phone in airplane mode, Modo Avión shows where you are, what's below and how long is left. GPS still works, because it only listens to satellites.

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Arriving in Tokyo

Tokyo
Tokyo · Photo: Morio · CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Flight time and distance

About 12 h 10 min with no wind, including half an hour of taxi, climb and descent. On a long flight the wind aloft can change that by more than an hour, differently each way.

6,290 miles (10,120 km, 5,470 nautical miles) along the great circle. The real flight covers a little more because it follows airways.

Time zones you cross

kmTimeZone
0 kmUTC−5Chicago
1,550 kmUTC−6Regina
2,970 kmUTC−7Fort Nelson
3,040 kmUTC−6Inuvik
3,240 kmUTC−7Whitehorse
3,270 kmUTC−6Inuvik
3,370 kmUTC−7Whitehorse
4,120 kmUTC−8Anchorage
7,800 kmUTC+12Kamchatka
7,960 kmUTC+11Srednekolymsk
9,890 kmUTC+9Tokyo

Airspace (FIRs) along the route

Each is a control region: when the aircraft crosses the boundary, the centre talking to the pilot changes. Boundaries are approximate, from the VATSIM data set, not the official ICAO chart.

  • Chicago
  • Minneapolis
  • Winnipeg
  • Edmonton
  • Anchorage
  • Magadan
  • Khabarovsk
  • Tokyo Oceanic
  • Fukuoka

FAQ

Where does the plane fly from Chicago to Tokyo?

Along the shortest route, the flight from Chicago to Tokyo covers 6,290 miles (10,120 km) — about 12 h 10 min with no wind. It passes over or close to the United States, Canada and Japan. It crosses the Bering Sea, the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk: 46% of the route is over water. Today you leave on UTC−5 and land on UTC+9.

What countries do you fly over from Chicago to Tokyo?

It passes over or close to the United States, Canada and Japan, and crosses the Bering Sea, the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk. This is the theoretical route: the aircraft may deviate for wind or closed airspace.

How long is the flight from Chicago to Tokyo?

About 12 h 10 min with no wind, including half an hour of taxi, climb and descent. On a long flight the wind aloft can change that by more than an hour, differently each way.

How far is Chicago from Tokyo by plane?

6,290 miles (10,120 km, 5,470 nautical miles) along the great circle. The real flight covers a little more because it follows airways.

How much of the flight is over water?

46% of the route, about 4,690 km. The longest stretch without land is 4,660 km.

Why doesn't the plane fly in a straight line on the map?

It does fly straight — on a sphere. On a flat map the shortest path looks curved; on the globe on this page it looks like what it is.

Does GPS work in airplane mode?

Yes. GPS is a receiver: it listens to satellites and transmits nothing, so it keeps working in airplane mode. What you won't have is a map unless you downloaded it; Modo Avión carries its own.

More routes

The way back: Tokyo → Chicago

Look up another route

How this was calculated

The route is the great-circle arc between both airports, split into 300 points. At each point a point-in-polygon test runs against 1,102 airspace regions, 418 time zones and 1,338 physical geography regions. Countries are those with a town within 25 km of the route: in empty areas one may be missing. Cities named have over 250,000 people and lie within 110 km.

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