Tokyo to Shanghai flight path: HND to SHA

Sit on the Left side of the plane for the best views on flights from Tokyo to Shanghai. The left side offers the flight's two standout features: Mount Fuji and the Izu Peninsula during departure, and the Zhoushan Islands/Hangzhou Bay coastline during arrival. The right side spends most of the flight over featureless open water with only a brief city glimpse at takeoff.

During takeoff from Tokyo International (HND), sit on the Left side for the best views. Haneda's south-wind departure climbs out over Tokyo Bay before turning southwest toward China, putting Mt. Fuji and the Izu Peninsula's coastline on the left side of the aircraft. The right side mostly shows a brief glimpse of the Tokyo/Yokohama waterfront before leveling out over open water. Notable sights include: Mount Fuji, Izu Peninsula, Sagami Bay coastline, Tokyo Bay/Yokohama waterfront.

When landing at Hongqiao International (SHA), sit on the Left side for the best views. On approach into Hongqiao, the flight path crosses the coast near Hangzhou Bay and the Zhoushan Islands, which appear on the left before the aircraft turns inland over the flat, canal-laced Yangtze Delta farmland. The right side shows mostly featureless open sea until just before the coast. Notable sights include: Zhoushan Islands, Hangzhou Bay coastline, Yangtze River Delta patchwork fields, Shanghai's western suburbs.

The flight from Tokyo International (HND) to Hongqiao International (SHA) takes about 3 hours 25 minutes. The shortest flight path between them is 1,104 miles (1,777 km); winds and air traffic control usually add a few percent.

The route crosses the open East China Sea for roughly half the flight, passing south of Kyushu's western coast and near the Goto Islands before reaching the Chinese coast; no land is visible at the true midpoint, just open water.