MODO AVIÓN

New York to Tokyo flight path

JFK → HNDJFKHND
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 New York to Tokyo covers 6,760 miles (10,880 km) — about 13 h 00 min with no wind. It passes over or close to the United States, Canada and Japan. It crosses the Hudson Bay, the Beaufort Sea and the Mackenzie Bay: 31% of the route is over water. Today you leave on UTC−4 and land on UTC+9.

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From John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Tokyo Haneda International Airport (HND) · JFK · HND

JFKNew York
HNDTokyo
Great-circle distance
10,880 km
Duration, no wind
13 h 00 min
Over water
31 %
Time difference today
+13 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 New York to Tokyo?

  • United States
  • Canada
  • Japan
  • Hudson Bay
  • Beaufort Sea
  • Mackenzie Bay
  • Chukchi Sea
  • Sea of Okhotsk
  • Pacific Ocean

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 78 km from the route, ≈ 12 h 45 min into the flight.

Left window
  • Mount Chamberlin (2,749 m) ≈ 6 h 05 min
  • Gora Ledyanaya (2,453 m) ≈ 8 h 35 min
  • Khuvkhoitun (2,616 m) ≈ 9 h 25 min
  • Iwaki ≈ 12 h 30 min
  • Mito ≈ 12 h 40 min
  • Suginami ≈ 12 h 40 min
Right window
  • Ottawa ≈ 50 min
  • Mount Iwate (2,038 m) ≈ 12 h 10 min
  • Morioka ≈ 12 h 15 min
  • Sendai ≈ 12 h 25 min
  • Fukushima ≈ 12 h 30 min
  • Kōriyama ≈ 12 h 30 min
  • Utsunomiya ≈ 12 h 40 min
  • Mount Fuji (3,776 m) ≈ 12 h 45 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 h12 hUTC−5UTC−6UTC−7UTC−8UTC+12UTC+9UTC−4Hudson BaySea of OkhotskPacific OceanLong IslandBrooks RangeChukchi PeninsulaMount Fuji 3,776 m 78 kmMount Chamberlin 2,749 m 63 kmKhuvkhoitun 2,616 m 12 kmGora Ledyanaya 2,453 m 111 kmMount Iwate 2,038 m 110 kmSendai 43 kmSuginami 10 kmUtsunomiya 40 kmIwaki 17 kmJFKHND▲ Left window▼ Right window◀ Left windowRight window ▶2 h4 h6 h8 h10 h12 hUTC−5UTC−6UTC−7UTC−8UTC+12UTC+9Sea of OkhotskPacific OceanLong IslandLaurentidesBarren GroundsBrooks RangeChukchi PeninsulaSredinny RangeMount Chamberlin2,749 m · 63 kmGora Ledyanaya2,453 m · 111 kmKhuvkhoitun2,616 m · 12 kmIwaki17 km off routeMito16 km off routeOttawa108 km off routeMount Iwate2,038 m · 110 kmMorioka90 km off routeJFKHNDUTC−4

LandWaterCity, with its distance from the routePeakClock change

See the full list, leg by leg
  1. Take-off from John F. Kennedy International Airport
  2. Below: Long Island0 km · ≈ 15 min into the flight
  3. Below: Appalachian Mountains73 km · ≈ 20 min into the flight
  4. Below: Allegheny Plateau254 km · ≈ 35 min into the flight
  5. Below: Canadian Shield326 km · ≈ 40 min into the flight
  6. Below: Central Lowlands471 km · ≈ 50 min into the flight
  7. Ottawa, Canada — on the right, 108 km away542 km · ≈ 50 min into the flight
  8. Below: Laurentides725 km · ≈ 1 h 05 min into the flight
  9. Local time below changes: UTC−4 to UTC−52,140 km · ≈ 2 h 45 min into the flight
  10. Water starts: Hudson Bay2,180 km · ≈ 2 h 45 min into the flight
  11. Below: Barren Grounds2,610 km · ≈ 3 h 15 min into the flight
  12. Land again2,610 km · ≈ 3 h 15 min into the flight
  13. Local time below changes: UTC−5 to UTC−63,120 km · ≈ 3 h 50 min into the flight
  14. Water starts: Beaufort Sea and Mackenzie Bay4,680 km · ≈ 5 h 40 min into the flight
  15. Local time below changes: UTC−6 to UTC−74,860 km · ≈ 5 h 50 min into the flight
  16. Local time below changes: UTC−7 to UTC−84,970 km · ≈ 6 h 00 min into the flight
  17. Below: Brooks Range5,000 km · ≈ 6 h 00 min into the flight
  18. Land again5,000 km · ≈ 6 h 00 min into the flight
  19. Mount Chamberlin, 2,749 m — on the left, 63 km away5,100 km · ≈ 6 h 05 min into the flight
  20. Below: Alaska North Slope5,150 km · ≈ 6 h 10 min into the flight
  21. Water starts: Chukchi Sea5,980 km · ≈ 7 h 10 min into the flight
  22. Local time below changes: UTC−8 to UTC+126,310 km · ≈ 7 h 30 min into the flight
  23. Below: Chukchi Peninsula6,380 km · ≈ 7 h 35 min into the flight
  24. Land again6,380 km · ≈ 7 h 35 min into the flight
  25. Below: Koryak Mountains7,140 km · ≈ 8 h 30 min into the flight
  26. Gora Ledyanaya, 2,453 m — on the left, 111 km away7,220 km · ≈ 8 h 35 min into the flight
  27. Below: Kamchatka Peninsula7,540 km · ≈ 8 h 55 min into the flight
  28. Below: Sredinny Range7,790 km · ≈ 9 h 15 min into the flight
  29. Khuvkhoitun, 2,616 m — on the left, 12 km away7,950 km · ≈ 9 h 25 min into the flight
  30. Sea of Okhotsk — 1,410 km without land8,450 km · ≈ 10 h 00 min into the flight
  31. Local time below changes: UTC+12 to UTC+99,790 km · ≈ 11 h 30 min into the flight
  32. Below: Japan9,860 km · ≈ 11 h 35 min into the flight
  33. Below: Hokkaidō9,900 km · ≈ 11 h 40 min into the flight
  34. Pacific Ocean — 653 km without land9,970 km · ≈ 11 h 45 min into the flight
  35. Mount Iwate, 2,038 m — on the right, 110 km away10,400 km · ≈ 12 h 10 min into the flight
  36. Morioka, Japan — on the right, 90 km away10,410 km · ≈ 12 h 15 min into the flight
  37. Sendai, Japan — on the right, 43 km away10,560 km · ≈ 12 h 25 min into the flight
  38. Below: Honshu10,620 km · ≈ 12 h 30 min into the flight
  39. Land again10,620 km · ≈ 12 h 30 min into the flight
  40. Fukushima, Japan — on the right, 50 km away10,630 km · ≈ 12 h 30 min into the flight
  41. Kōriyama, Japan — on the right, 39 km away10,670 km · ≈ 12 h 30 min into the flight
  42. Iwaki, Japan — on the left, 17 km away10,680 km · ≈ 12 h 30 min into the flight
  43. Utsunomiya, Japan — on the right, 40 km away10,770 km · ≈ 12 h 40 min into the flight
  44. Mito, Japan — on the left, 16 km away10,770 km · ≈ 12 h 40 min into the flight
  45. Suginami, Japan — on the left, 10 km away10,790 km · ≈ 12 h 40 min into the flight
  46. Landing at Tokyo Haneda International Airport10,880 km · ≈ 12 h 45 min into the flight
  47. Mount Fuji, 3,776 m — on the right, 78 km away10,880 km · ≈ 12 h 45 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 13 h 00 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.

6,760 miles (10,880 km, 5,870 nautical miles) along the great circle. The real flight covers a little more because it follows airways.

Time zones you cross

kmTimeZone
0 kmUTC−4New York
2,140 kmUTC−5Winnipeg
3,120 kmUTC−6Edmonton
4,860 kmUTC−7Dawson
4,970 kmUTC−8Anchorage
6,310 kmUTC+12Anadyr
9,790 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.

  • New York
  • Boston
  • Montreal
  • Toronto
  • Montreal
  • Edmonton
  • Anchorage
  • Magadan
  • Khabarovsk
  • Fukuoka
  • Khabarovsk
  • Fukuoka

FAQ

Where does the plane fly from New York to Tokyo?

Along the shortest route, the flight from New York to Tokyo covers 6,760 miles (10,880 km) — about 13 h 00 min with no wind. It passes over or close to the United States, Canada and Japan. It crosses the Hudson Bay, the Beaufort Sea and the Mackenzie Bay: 31% of the route is over water. Today you leave on UTC−4 and land on UTC+9.

What countries do you fly over from New York to Tokyo?

It passes over or close to the United States, Canada and Japan, and crosses the Hudson Bay, the Beaufort Sea and the Mackenzie Bay. This is the theoretical route: the aircraft may deviate for wind or closed airspace.

How long is the flight from New York to Tokyo?

About 13 h 00 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 New York from Tokyo by plane?

6,760 miles (10,880 km, 5,870 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?

31% of the route, about 3,410 km. The longest stretch without land is 1,410 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 → New York

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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