Sit on the Right side of the plane for the best views on flights from Spokane to Tokyo. The takeoff left-side advantage (Lake Coeur d'Alene, Selkirks) is real but brief. The right side wins overall because the Tokyo approach delivers the most dramatic single view of the flight — the chance to see Mount Fuji on a clear day combined with the scale of the Tokyo metropolitan area on descent into Haneda is genuinely spectacular and hard to match.

During takeoff from Spokane International (GEG), sit on the Left side for the best views. Departing Spokane, aircraft typically use runway 21 heading southwest or runway 3 heading northeast. On a westbound-then-north Pacific routing, a left turn after takeoff puts the Selkirk Mountains and Lake Coeur d'Alene to the left (east/southeast). Lake Coeur d'Alene is a striking, elongated blue lake clearly visible during climb-out, and the forested Selkirk ridgelines frame the scene well. Notable sights include: Lake Coeur d'Alene (Idaho), Selkirk Mountains, Spokane River valley, Mount Spokane.

When landing at Tokyo International (HND), sit on the Right side for the best views. Flights into HND typically approach from the north or northeast over Tokyo Bay, landing on runways 34L/34R or 16L/16R depending on wind. On a northeast approach, the right side of the aircraft faces west over central Tokyo — giving views of the dense urban grid, Tokyo Bay shoreline, and on clear days, Mount Fuji rising above the Kanto Plain to the southwest. Left side faces the bay and open water. Notable sights include: Mount Fuji (on clear days, ~60 miles southwest), Tokyo Bay, central Tokyo urban grid, Yokohama waterfront.

The flight from Spokane International (GEG) to Tokyo International (HND) takes Approximately 10 to 11 hours nonstop, though many routings connect via Seattle (SEA) adding transit time.

The great circle route from Spokane to Tokyo tracks northwest over British Columbia and the Canadian Rockies, then across the Gulf of Alaska and the Aleutian Island chain — a string of volcanic islands clearly visible on clear days. The route then crosses the North Pacific, passing south of the Kamchatka Peninsula before descending over the Kuril Islands and Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost main island, before tracking south along Honshu toward Tokyo.