- Great circle
- 8,285 km
- 5,148 mi
- Estimated in the air
- 10h 48m
- block time
- Furthest from equator
- 48.5°N
- at 47% along
- One lap of Earth
- 20.7%
- of 40,075 km
Of the 292 routes catalogued here, this is the 76th longest.
What the aircraft actually flies over
From San Francisco the path crosses 8,182 km of open water.
The furthest the great circle gets from the equator is 48.5°N, 47% of the way along.
Flying the line that looks straight on a Mercator map — one constant compass bearing — would cover 8,738 km. That is 452 km further, about 5% more, and roughly 34m of extra flying.
Leaving San Francisco the aircraft points north-west (303°); it arrives into Tokyo heading south-west (235°). That is 69° of drift without a single turn — the compass moves because the path is a curve on a sphere, not because the aircraft does.
SFO
San Francisco
San Francisco, United States · North America
37.6°N, 122.4°W
San Francisco to Tokyo, asked and answered
- How far is San Francisco to Tokyo?
- San Francisco to Tokyo (SFO to HND) is 8,285 km, or 5,148 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.
- How long is the flight from San Francisco to Tokyo?
- About 10h 48m 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 San Francisco to Tokyo flight take?
- The great circle passes over 8,182 km of open water. It reaches 48.5°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.
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