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Flying from Tokyo to Los Angeles?

Add a departure date and see which side gets the sun.

About this route

TokyoLos Angeles

A very long flight from Japan to United States. You gain 16 hours on arrival.

Route type International
Distance 8,812 km / 5,476 mi
Distance class Ultra-long-haul
Direction Eastbound
Est. duration About 11h 50m
Time change Destination -16h

You'll cross the International Date Line and the calendar rolls back a day at the crossing.

Departing from

HND

Tokyo Haneda International Airport

Location Tokyo, Japan
Time zone GMT+9 · UTC+9
Current time

The world's largest metropolis

Tokyo anchors the most populous metropolitan area on Earth, a sprawling lowland of districts that each feel like a city in their own right. It runs on an unrivaled web of trains and subways, punctual and dense, that makes a car pointless for most visitors. The center has no single heart but many, with government, business, and shopping districts spread across the rail map. Its two airports lie at very different distances from the city, so the choice matters.

City access

Haneda is the close-in airport, on Tokyo Bay just south of the city, and usually the faster arrival. Rail and monorail links reach the center in well under an hour, and it handles a growing share of international flights. If you can choose, Haneda saves time over the farther airport.

Nearby airports

60 km / 37 mi

Surrounding hubs

882 km / 548 mi
984 km / 611 mi
1,210 km / 752 mi

Arriving at

LAX

Los Angeles International Airport

Location Los Angeles, United States
Time zone PDT · UTC−7
Current time

The Entertainment Capital of the World

Los Angeles is a spread-out city in a much larger county, with the Pacific on one side and mountains on the other. The places travelers usually mean by "LA" can be far apart: beach cities, studio districts, downtown, canyon neighborhoods, museum corridors, and the San Fernando Valley. The region is built around driving, and a short distance on the map can become a long trip in traffic. Where you stay matters more here than in most cities, because crossing the basin can shape the day.

City access

LAX sits on the coast at the western edge of the basin, handy for the beaches and the Westside but a long way from downtown, Hollywood, or the Valley. Transit to the airport is limited and slow, so most travelers leave by car, ride-hail, or shuttle. Factor the drive into your timing, because from the eastern and northern suburbs it can be one of the longest legs of the trip.

Nearby airports

176 km / 109 mi

Surrounding hubs

949 km / 590 mi
1,385 km / 861 mi
1,537 km / 955 mi
How it works

Find out which side of the plane to sit on.

Pick your airports, set your departure time, and you're done.

We calculate the sun's position based on your flight path and departure time, then tell you which side of the plane gets direct sun and which stays shaded. No guessing, just math.

01

Enter your flight

Pick your departure and arrival airports and set your departure time at the departure airport. FlightSide estimates the duration and you can adjust it if you know the exact schedule.

02

We track the sun along your route

Your flight path is broken into hundreds of points. At each one we check where the sun is and which side of the plane it faces.

03

You get a recommendation

Which side of the plane to sit on, left or right, depending on whether you'd rather avoid the sun or enjoy it. The percentages and the map are there if you want to see why.

Want to go deeper? Accuracy, edge cases, polar routes — see the FAQ →

Latest journal

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