Jet WindowWindow seat by route · HND to SFO
Tokyo Haneda to San Francisco: which side of the plane?
Sun side turns with season and hour.
The sun is on the left on 4 and the right on 4 of the 8 daylight departures we modeled, so the season and the hour decide it. Find yours in the table.
The sun, by departure time
Where the light will be.
Departure times are local to Tokyo. About 9 h 45 min in the air over 4,474 nautical miles.
| Leaving at | Winter (mid-December) | Summer (mid-June) |
|---|---|---|
| 7 a.m. | Right · sunset about 5.5 hours in | Left · sunset about 7.5 hours in |
| Noon | Right · sunset about 2.5 hours in | Left · sunset about 5 hours in |
| 5 p.m. | Right · sunrise about 8 hours in | Left · sunset about 1.5 hours in |
| 10 p.m. | Right · sunrise about 5.5 hours in | Left · sunrise about 3.5 hours in |
Out of the window
What you can look for.
Built out on the flats of Tokyo Bay at the mouth of the Tama River. Out on the edge of San Francisco Bay.
Leaving Tokyo
The bay and its container terminals open out beneath you as the city recedes.
Arriving in San Francisco
A long final low over the water of the Bay, with the Bay Bridge, the city skyline and, on a clear day, the Golden Gate to the north.
Best from the right, because the busiest west-flow arrivals (Runways 28L/R) come in from the southeast, keeping the Bay and city to the north, on the right.
How this was worked out
The same engine as the app.
These answers come from the model Jet Window uses on your phone: the sun's position from the cabin's own horizon at cruise, sampled along the great-circle path, with the landmark and airport notes the app shows. This page has to assume a departure time and a flight time, and a real flight bends with winds, airways and the runway in use. Cloud is not modeled.
In the app, Jet Window works it out for your actual flight, at its real departure time, and tells you when to look.
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