---
title: "San Francisco to Tokyo (SFO → HND): distance and flight time · Orbit"
description: "San Francisco to Tokyo is 8,285 km (5,148 mi) great circle, an estimated 10h 48m 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/sfo-to-hnd
---

SFO → HND

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

San Francisco to Tokyo Haneda is 8,285 km of great circle — 5,148 mi — and an estimated 10h 48m in the air. It crosses from North America to Asia.

**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](https://orbitflights.app/routes), this is the 76th longest.

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

## 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.

One economy seat on it is about 1.17 t of CO₂e each way, counting non-CO₂ warming.

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

From

SFO

## San Francisco

San Francisco, United States · North America

37.6°N, 122.4°W

[SFO airport →](https://orbitflights.app/airports/sfo) [Flights to San Francisco →](https://orbitflights.app/flights-to/san-francisco)

To

HND

## Tokyo Haneda

Tokyo, Japan · Asia

35.5°N, 139.8°E

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

## 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.

[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 → SFO London to San Francisco 8,616 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-sfo) [SYD → HND Sydney to Tokyo 7,818 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/syd-to-hnd) [LAX → HND Los Angeles to Tokyo 8,812 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lax-to-hnd) [SEA → HND Seattle to Tokyo 7,711 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/sea-to-hnd) [SFO → ICN San Francisco to Seoul 9,085 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/sfo-to-icn) [LHR → HND London to Tokyo 9,592 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-hnd)

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