MODO AVIÓN

London to Tokyo flight path

LHR → HNDLHRHND
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 London to Tokyo covers 5,960 miles (9,590 km) — about 11 h 30 min with no wind. It passes over or close to the United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, People's Republic of China and Japan. It crosses the North Sea, the Barents Sea and the Kara Sea: 28% of the route is over water. Today you leave on UTC+1 and land on UTC+9.

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From London Heathrow Airport (LHR) to Tokyo Haneda International Airport (HND) · LHR · HND

LHRLondon
HNDTokyo
Great-circle distance
9,590 km
Duration, no wind
11 h 30 min
Over water
28 %
Time difference today
+8 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 London to Tokyo?

  • United Kingdom
  • Norway
  • Sweden
  • Finland
  • Russia
  • People's Republic of China
  • Japan
  • North Sea
  • Barents Sea
  • Kara Sea
  • Sea of Japan

Which side of the plane to sit on to see Mount Fuji

To see Mount Fuji (3,776 m), sit on the right: it lies about 96 km from the route, ≈ 11 h 15 min into the flight.

Left window
  • Leicester ≈ 20 min
  • Murmansk ≈ 3 h 15 min
  • Mount Kamen (1,701 m) ≈ 6 h 00 min
  • Niigata ≈ 11 h 00 min
  • Nagaoka ≈ 11 h 00 min
  • Utsunomiya ≈ 11 h 10 min
Right window
  • Oslo ≈ 1 h 35 min
  • Shuangyashan ≈ 9 h 40 min
  • Nagano ≈ 11 h 05 min
  • Maebashi ≈ 11 h 10 min
  • Takasaki ≈ 11 h 10 min
  • Mount Fuji (3,776 m) ≈ 11 h 15 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+2UTC+3UTC+5UTC+7UTC+9UTC+8UTC+9UTC+10UTC+8UTC+10UTC+9UTC+1North SeaBarents SeaSea of JapanScandinaviaYamal PeninsulaYablonoi MountainsMount Fuji 3,776 m 96 kmMount Kamen 1,701 m 92 kmOslo 17 kmNiigata 45 kmShuangyashan 101 kmUtsunomiya 53 kmTakasaki 28 kmNagano 82 kmMaebashi 20 kmMurmansk 76 kmNagaoka 9 kmLHRHND▲ Left window▼ Right window◀ Left windowRight window ▶2 h4 h6 h8 h10 hUTC+2UTC+3UTC+5UTC+7UTC+9UTC+8UTC+9UTC+10UTC+8UTC+10UTC+9North SeaBarents SeaSea of JapanScandinaviaYamal PeninsulaYablonoi MountainsLeicester106 km off routeMurmansk76 km off routeMount Kamen1,701 m · 92 kmNiigata45 km off routeNagaoka9 km off routeOslo17 km off routeShuangyashan101 km off routeNagano82 km off routeLHRHNDUTC+1

LandWaterCity, with its distance from the routePeakClock change

See the full list, leg by leg
  1. Take-off from London Heathrow Airport
  2. Below: Great Britain0 km · ≈ 15 min into the flight
  3. Leicester, United Kingdom — on the left, 106 km away87 km · ≈ 20 min into the flight
  4. North Sea — 671 km without land224 km · ≈ 30 min into the flight
  5. Below: British Isles224 km · ≈ 30 min into the flight
  6. Local time below changes: UTC+1 to UTC+2863 km · ≈ 1 h 15 min into the flight
  7. Below: Scandinavia895 km · ≈ 1 h 15 min into the flight
  8. Land again895 km · ≈ 1 h 15 min into the flight
  9. Oslo, Norway — on the right, 17 km away1,170 km · ≈ 1 h 35 min into the flight
  10. Local time below changes: UTC+2 to UTC+32,140 km · ≈ 2 h 45 min into the flight
  11. Below: Kola2,590 km · ≈ 3 h 15 min into the flight
  12. Murmansk, Russia — on the left, 76 km away2,620 km · ≈ 3 h 15 min into the flight
  13. Barents Sea — 671 km without land2,780 km · ≈ 3 h 25 min into the flight
  14. Below: Novaya Zemlya3,390 km · ≈ 4 h 10 min into the flight
  15. Land again3,450 km · ≈ 4 h 15 min into the flight
  16. Water starts: Kara Sea3,550 km · ≈ 4 h 20 min into the flight
  17. Local time below changes: UTC+3 to UTC+53,900 km · ≈ 4 h 45 min into the flight
  18. Below: Yamal Peninsula3,930 km · ≈ 4 h 45 min into the flight
  19. Land again3,930 km · ≈ 4 h 45 min into the flight
  20. Below: Gyda Peninsula4,190 km · ≈ 5 h 05 min into the flight
  21. Local time below changes: UTC+5 to UTC+74,410 km · ≈ 5 h 20 min into the flight
  22. Below: West Siberian Plain4,600 km · ≈ 5 h 35 min into the flight
  23. Below: Central Siberian Plateau4,760 km · ≈ 5 h 45 min into the flight
  24. Mount Kamen, 1,701 m — on the left, 92 km away4,980 km · ≈ 6 h 00 min into the flight
  25. Local time below changes: UTC+7 to UTC+95,630 km · ≈ 6 h 45 min into the flight
  26. Local time below changes: UTC+9 to UTC+86,520 km · ≈ 7 h 45 min into the flight
  27. Local time below changes: UTC+8 to UTC+96,550 km · ≈ 7 h 45 min into the flight
  28. Below: Yablonoi Mountains6,710 km · ≈ 8 h 00 min into the flight
  29. Below: Stanovoy Range7,030 km · ≈ 8 h 20 min into the flight
  30. Local time below changes: UTC+9 to UTC+107,930 km · ≈ 9 h 20 min into the flight
  31. Local time below changes: UTC+10 to UTC+88,120 km · ≈ 9 h 35 min into the flight
  32. Shuangyashan, People's Republic of China — on the right, 101 km away8,160 km · ≈ 9 h 40 min into the flight
  33. Local time below changes: UTC+8 to UTC+108,380 km · ≈ 9 h 55 min into the flight
  34. Below: Sikhote-Alin8,440 km · ≈ 9 h 55 min into the flight
  35. Sea of Japan — 735 km without land8,630 km · ≈ 10 h 10 min into the flight
  36. Below: Japan9,240 km · ≈ 10 h 50 min into the flight
  37. Local time below changes: UTC+10 to UTC+99,270 km · ≈ 10 h 55 min into the flight
  38. Niigata, Japan — on the left, 45 km away9,320 km · ≈ 11 h 00 min into the flight
  39. Nagaoka, Japan — on the left, 9 km away9,360 km · ≈ 11 h 00 min into the flight
  40. Below: Honshu9,370 km · ≈ 11 h 00 min into the flight
  41. Land again9,370 km · ≈ 11 h 00 min into the flight
  42. Nagano, Japan — on the right, 82 km away9,420 km · ≈ 11 h 05 min into the flight
  43. Maebashi, Japan — on the right, 20 km away9,480 km · ≈ 11 h 10 min into the flight
  44. Takasaki, Japan — on the right, 28 km away9,480 km · ≈ 11 h 10 min into the flight
  45. Utsunomiya, Japan — on the left, 53 km away9,490 km · ≈ 11 h 10 min into the flight
  46. Mount Fuji, 3,776 m — on the right, 96 km away9,570 km · ≈ 11 h 15 min into the flight
  47. Landing at Tokyo Haneda International Airport9,590 km · ≈ 11 h 15 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 11 h 30 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.

5,960 miles (9,590 km, 5,180 nautical miles) along the great circle. The real flight covers a little more because it follows airways.

Time zones you cross

kmTimeZone
0 kmUTC+1London
863 kmUTC+2Oslo
2,140 kmUTC+3Helsinki
3,900 kmUTC+5Yekaterinburg
4,410 kmUTC+7Krasnoyarsk
5,630 kmUTC+9Yakutsk
6,520 kmUTC+8Irkutsk
6,550 kmUTC+9Yakutsk
7,930 kmUTC+10Vladivostok
8,120 kmUTC+8Shanghai
8,380 kmUTC+10Vladivostok
9,270 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.

  • London
  • Scottish
  • Kobenhavn
  • Polaris
  • Sweden
  • Helsinki
  • Peterburg
  • Tyumen
  • Krasnoyarsk
  • Yakutsk
  • Khabarovsk
  • Harbin
  • Khabarovsk
  • Fukuoka

FAQ

Where does the plane fly from London to Tokyo?

Along the shortest route, the flight from London to Tokyo covers 5,960 miles (9,590 km) — about 11 h 30 min with no wind. It passes over or close to the United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, People's Republic of China and Japan. It crosses the North Sea, the Barents Sea and the Kara Sea: 28% of the route is over water. Today you leave on UTC+1 and land on UTC+9.

What countries do you fly over from London to Tokyo?

It passes over or close to the United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, People's Republic of China and Japan, and crosses the North Sea, the Barents Sea and the Kara Sea. This is the theoretical route: the aircraft may deviate for wind or closed airspace.

How long is the flight from London to Tokyo?

About 11 h 30 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 London from Tokyo by plane?

5,960 miles (9,590 km, 5,180 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?

28% of the route, about 2,690 km. The longest stretch without land is 735 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 → London

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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