---
title: "London to Tokyo (LHR → NRT): distance and flight time · Orbit"
description: "London to Tokyo is 9,591 km (5,960 mi) great circle, an estimated 12h 25m 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/lhr-to-nrt
---

LHR → NRT

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

London Heathrow to Narita is 9,591 km of great circle — 5,960 mi — and an estimated 12h 25m in the air. It crosses from Europe to Asia.

**Great circle**
9,591 km
5,960 mi

**Estimated in the air**
12h 25m
block time

**Furthest from equator**
71.3°N
at 40% along

**One lap of Earth**
23.9%
of 40,075 km

Of the [292 routes catalogued here](https://orbitflights.app/routes), this is the 50th longest.

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

## What the aircraft actually flies over

From London the path crosses United Kingdom, then 719 km of open water, then Norway, then Sweden, then Finland, then Russia, then 671 km of open water, then Russia, then 719 km of open water, then Japan.

The great circle reaches 71.3°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 11,372 km. That is 1,781 km further, about 19% more, and roughly 2h 13m of extra flying.

Leaving London the aircraft points north-east (31°); it arrives into Tokyo heading south-east (157°). That is 126° 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 1.36 t of CO₂e each way, counting non-CO₂ warming.

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

From

LHR

## London Heathrow

London, United Kingdom · Europe

51.5°N, 0.5°W

[LHR airport →](https://orbitflights.app/airports/lhr) [Flights to London →](https://orbitflights.app/flights-to/london)

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)

## London to Tokyo, asked and answered

**How far is London to Tokyo?**
London to Tokyo (LHR to NRT) is 9,591 km, or 5,960 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.

**How long is the flight from London to Tokyo?**
About 12h 25m 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 London to Tokyo flight take?**
The great circle passes over United Kingdom, then 719 km of open water, then Norway, then Sweden, then Finland, then Russia, then 671 km of open water, then Russia, then 719 km of open water, then Japan. It reaches 71.3°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 → HND London to Tokyo 9,592 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-hnd) [LHR → BKK London to Bangkok 9,578 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-bkk) [LHR → HKG London to Hong Kong 9,630 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-hkg) [LHR → CPT London to Cape Town 9,682 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-cpt) [LHR → GRU London to São Paulo 9,460 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-gru) [LHR → MRU London to Mauritius 9,784 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-mru)

## 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/lhr-to-nrt for language models and agents. Site index: https://orbitflights.app/llms.txt