Sit on the Left side of the plane for the best views on flights from Abu Dhabi to Tokyo. Left side wins both ends of the flight. During the cruise over central Asia, the left side also has a slight edge tracking the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau on the southern horizon as the route passes north of the range, though both sides see similar terrain at cruising altitude across the vast interior.

During takeoff from Abu Dhabi International (AUH), sit on the Left side for the best views. Abu Dhabi International's primary departure runway 31L sends aircraft northwest over the city. The left side captures Abu Dhabi island, the Corniche waterfront, and the dense urban core before the aircraft turns northeast toward the Gulf. Right side gets desert scrubland. Notable sights include: Abu Dhabi Corniche waterfront, Abu Dhabi island urban grid, Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque (large white structure south of city center), Persian Gulf coastline.

When landing at New Tokyo International (NRT), sit on the Left side for the best views. Narita typically uses runway 34L/34R for northerly arrivals, meaning the approach comes from the south over the Chiba Peninsula. The left side on final approach looks west toward Tokyo Bay and the distant Tokyo metropolitan skyline, which is far more interesting than the flat agricultural Chiba countryside on the right. Notable sights include: Tokyo Bay, Chiba Peninsula coastline, Tokyo metropolitan area skyline on the distant horizon, agricultural flatlands of Chiba Prefecture.

The flight from Abu Dhabi International (AUH) to New Tokyo International (NRT) takes Approximately 9 to 10 hours.

The route tracks northeast from the Gulf across Iran's central plateau and the Alborz Mountains near Tehran, then over the Caspian Sea briefly before crossing Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan's flat desert lowlands. The flight then passes over the Tian Shan mountain range in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, crosses into western China over Xinjiang, skirts the northern edge of the Tibetan Plateau, and then descends over eastern China — the Yellow River basin, the North China Plain, and the Yellow Sea — before crossing the Korean Peninsula and the Korea Strait into Japan.