Sit on the Left side of the plane for the best views on flights from Newark to Tokyo. Left side wins both the departure over Manhattan and the arrival over central Tokyo. During the transpacific cruise at 35,000 feet the views are largely ocean and cloud regardless of side, so the departure and arrival phases are the deciding factor, and left dominates both.

During takeoff from Newark Liberty International (EWR), sit on the Left side for the best views. EWR departures on runway 22L/22R head southwest, then aircraft typically turn north, putting Manhattan and the Hudson River on the left side. You get a clear view of the NYC skyline, the Hudson, and the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge before climbing out over New Jersey. Notable sights include: Manhattan skyline, Hudson River, Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, Newark Bay.

When landing at Tokyo International (HND), sit on the Left side for the best views. Aircraft approaching HND from the north typically use runways 34L/34R, descending over Tokyo Bay from the north. The left side gives you a direct view over central Tokyo, including the dense urban grid of the city center and Tokyo Bay to the south, while the right side faces toward the less scenic suburban sprawl of Kanagawa. Notable sights include: Tokyo Bay, central Tokyo urban grid, Rainbow Bridge and Odaiba, Mount Fuji on the western horizon.

The flight from Newark Liberty International (EWR) to Tokyo International (HND) takes Approximately 14 to 15 hours.

The polar great-circle route takes the flight north over southern Canada, across Hudson Bay, over the southern tip of Greenland or Labrador depending on winds, then across the North Pacific. Visible features at altitude can include the Canadian Rockies in Alberta and British Columbia, the Aleutian Island chain as scattered volcanic peaks emerging from the Pacific, the Kamchatka Peninsula with its snow-covered volcanic mountains, and the Kuril Islands as a curved chain of dark islands before descending toward Japan.