---
title: "New York to Tokyo (JFK → NRT): distance and flight time · Orbit"
description: "New York to Tokyo is 10,830 km (6,729 mi) great circle, an estimated 13h 58m in the air. The route, what it flies over, and why the short way is not the straight line on a map."
url: https://orbitflights.app/routes/jfk-to-nrt
---

JFK → NRT

# New York to Tokyo: distance, flight time and the route it really takes

John F. Kennedy to Narita is 10,830 km of great circle — 6,729 mi — and an estimated 13h 58m in the air. It crosses from North America to Asia.

**Great circle**
10,830 km
6,729 mi

**Estimated in the air**
13h 58m
block time

**Furthest from equator**
69.6°N
at 47% along

**One lap of Earth**
27.0%
of 40,075 km

Of the [292 routes catalogued here](https://orbitflights.app/routes), this is the 31st longest.

The New York to Tokyo route drawn as a great circle arc on a globe

## What the aircraft actually flies over

From New York the path crosses the United States, then Canada, then the United States, then Russia, then 2,301 km of open water.

The great circle reaches 69.6°N, inside the Arctic circle — which is why the route looks like a detour over the top of the world on a flat map, and like the obvious line on a globe.

Flying the line that looks straight on a Mercator map — one constant compass bearing — would cover 12,745 km. That is 1,916 km further, about 18% more, and roughly 2h 23m of extra flying.

Leaving New York the aircraft points north-west (333°); it arrives into Tokyo heading south-west (205°). That is 127° of drift without a single turn — the compass moves because the path is a curve on a sphere, not because the aircraft does.

One economy seat on it is about 1.53 t of CO₂e each way, counting non-CO₂ warming.

[JFK–NRT carbon footprint →](https://orbitflights.app/tools/flight-carbon-calculator?from=JFK&to=NRT) [Map this route →](https://orbitflights.app/tools/flight-route-map?r=JFK-NRT)

From

JFK

## John F. Kennedy

New York, United States · North America

40.6°N, 73.8°W

[JFK airport →](https://orbitflights.app/airports/jfk) [Flights to New York →](https://orbitflights.app/flights-to/new-york)

To

NRT

## Narita

Tokyo, Japan · Asia

35.8°N, 140.4°E

[NRT airport →](https://orbitflights.app/airports/nrt) [Flights to Tokyo →](https://orbitflights.app/flights-to/tokyo)

## New York to Tokyo, asked and answered

**How far is New York to Tokyo?**
New York to Tokyo (JFK to NRT) is 10,830 km, or 6,729 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.

**How long is the flight from New York to Tokyo?**
About 13h 58m in the air. That is an estimate from the distance at a typical airliner block speed, plus half an hour for taxi, climb and descent; published schedules vary with winds and routing.

**What route does a New York to Tokyo flight take?**
The great circle passes over the United States, then Canada, then the United States, then Russia, then 2,301 km of open water. It reaches 69.6°N at its furthest from the equator.

## Where these numbers come from

Distances are computed from the two airports’ own coordinates, not looked up from published routes. Times are estimates, not schedules.

[Why the shortest path is a curve →](https://orbitflights.app/blog/great-circle-routes-explained)

## Flown this one?

Orbit logs it in two taps and draws the arc on your own globe, along with every other flight you can remember. Free for your first 15.

[Download now](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.qwertybit.orbit)

## Nearby routes

[JFK → ICN New York to Seoul 11,089 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/jfk-to-icn) [LHR → NRT London to Tokyo 9,591 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-nrt) [IST → NRT Istanbul to Tokyo 8,980 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/ist-to-nrt) [LAX → NRT Los Angeles to Tokyo 8,753 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lax-to-nrt) [JFK → HKG New York to Hong Kong 12,970 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/jfk-to-hkg) [HKG → JFK Hong Kong to New York 12,970 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/hkg-to-jfk)

## Further reading

[How many miles do you have to fly around the world?](https://orbitflights.app/blog/how-many-miles-to-fly-around-the-world) [What is on the exact opposite side of the world?](https://orbitflights.app/blog/opposite-side-of-the-world) [What's actually worth counting in a flight log](https://orbitflights.app/blog/what-is-worth-counting-in-a-flight-log)

---
Markdown copy of https://orbitflights.app/routes/jfk-to-nrt for language models and agents. Site index: https://orbitflights.app/llms.txt