---
title: "Los Angeles to Tokyo (LAX → NRT): distance and flight time · Orbit"
description: "Los Angeles to Tokyo is 8,753 km (5,439 mi) great circle, an estimated 11h 23m 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/lax-to-nrt
---

LAX → NRT

# Los Angeles to Tokyo: distance, flight time and the route it really takes

Los Angeles to Narita is 8,753 km of great circle — 5,439 mi — and an estimated 11h 23m in the air. It crosses from North America to Asia.

**Great circle**
8,753 km
5,439 mi

**Estimated in the air**
11h 23m
block time

**Furthest from equator**
47.7°N
at 52% along

**One lap of Earth**
21.8%
of 40,075 km

Of the [292 routes catalogued here](https://orbitflights.app/routes), this is the 67th longest.

The Los Angeles to Tokyo route drawn as a great circle arc on a globe

## What the aircraft actually flies over

From Los Angeles the path crosses the United States, then 8,425 km of open water.

The furthest the great circle gets from the equator is 47.7°N, 52% of the way along.

Flying the line that looks straight on a Mercator map — one constant compass bearing — would cover 9,236 km. That is 482 km further, about 6% more, and roughly 36m of extra flying.

Leaving Los Angeles the aircraft points north-west (306°); it arrives into Tokyo heading south-west (236°). That is 70° 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 1.24 t of CO₂e each way, counting non-CO₂ warming.

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

From

LAX

## Los Angeles

Los Angeles, United States · North America

33.9°N, 118.4°W

[LAX airport →](https://orbitflights.app/airports/lax) [Flights to Los Angeles →](https://orbitflights.app/flights-to/los-angeles)

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)

## Los Angeles to Tokyo, asked and answered

**How far is Los Angeles to Tokyo?**
Los Angeles to Tokyo (LAX to NRT) is 8,753 km, or 5,439 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.

**How long is the flight from Los Angeles to Tokyo?**
About 11h 23m 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 Los Angeles to Tokyo flight take?**
The great circle passes over the United States, then 8,425 km of open water. It reaches 47.7°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

[LHR → LAX London to Los Angeles 8,760 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-lax) [LAX → HND Los Angeles to Tokyo 8,812 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lax-to-hnd) [IST → NRT Istanbul to Tokyo 8,980 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/ist-to-nrt) [CDG → LAX Paris to Los Angeles 9,103 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/cdg-to-lax) [FRA → LAX Frankfurt to Los Angeles 9,322 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/fra-to-lax) [LHR → NRT London to Tokyo 9,591 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-nrt)

## 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)

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