How long does it really take to fly from Istanbul to Tokyo? Here's a sample itinerary for a commercial flight plan. If you want to know the total travel time to reach Tokyo, you need to include time at the airports. Eventually, you'll be able to customize this itinerary to select other nearby airports and choose your preferred airline.
Tuesday, 7:10 pm: start in Istanbul
drive for about 25 minutes
most airlines recommend you get to the airport at least 90 minutes before your flight, so arrive by 8:30 pm at the latest
7:35 pm: Ataturk (IST)
if you need to check luggage, make sure you do it at least 30-60 minutes before departure, or in this case, by 9:00 pm
8:05 pm: get your boarding pass and go through TSA security
allow enough time for long security lines during busy travel seasons or holidays, and prepare for the wait time
9:05 pm: arrive at the gate
once you're ready to board, you can get something to eat in the airport or just relax near the gate
9:35 pm: prepare for boarding
check your boarding pass for your group number or listen to the gate agent as they announce boarding, some airlines require you to be in the boarding area 10-15 minutes before departure or risk losing your seat
9:50 pm: board All Nippon Airways Co. flight
you can scroll down to view other airlines that fly this route
10:00 pm: this is your scheduled departure time
but remember flights can be delayed, so take that into account
it takes the plane an average of 15 minutes to taxi to the runway
10:15 pm: wheels up! take-off from IST
fly for about 11.5 hours in the air
Wednesday, 3:54 pm (local time): Tokyo International (HND)
Tokyo is 6 hours ahead of Istanbul
so the time in Istanbul is actually 9:54 am
you actually arrive the day after you left
taxi on the runway for an average of 15 minutes to the gate
4:09 pm (local time): arrive at the gate at HND
deboard the plane, and claim any baggage
if you're renting a car, check if you need to take a shuttle to car rental agency, otherwise you can ride in a cab, limo, or Uber for about 28 minutes to your destination
4:37 pm (local time): arrive in Tokyo
Total travel time: 15 hours
How far is Tokyo from Istanbul? Here's the quick answer if you have a private jet and you can fly in the fastest possible straight line.
Flight distance: 5,574 miles or 8970 km
Flight time: 11 hours, 39 minutes
Compare this to a whole day of commercial travel with the airports and waiting in line for security, which ends up taking a total of 15 hours, 27 minutes.
Flying private is roughly 1.4x faster, and saves you about 4.5 hours in your total travel time.
Because of the curvature of the Earth, the shortest distance is actually the "great circle" distance, or "as the crow flies" which is calculated using an iterative Vincenty formula. For a long distance, this appears as a curve on the map, and this is often the route that commercial airlines will take so it's a good estimate of the frequent flyer miles you'll accumulate as well.
This is a fairly long flight, so unless you have a Gulfstream G650 or your own Boeing or Airbus, you might be booking a commercial flight. In that case, your travel time would really need to include how many minutes to get to your local airport, wait for security, board and taxi on the runway, land at the other airport, and get to your destination. The flight itinerary at the top of the page takes into account all these factors to get a more accurate estimate of your actual flight time.
The most common route is IST to HND, so that's what we used in the sample itinerary. However, you may want to explore travel alternatives, you could try one of these routes:
We picked All Nippon Airways Co. for your main flight, but there are other airlines that you should check if you're looking for the cheapest flight, or you need a different schedule. Check the websites of these airlines:
Trippy has a ton of information that can help you plan your trip to Tokyo, Japan. Start by reading the Trippy page on where to stay in Tokyo. If you're looking for a place to stay, you might want to check out The Peninsula Tokyo. A great place to eat might be Golden Gai. Trippy members can suggest things to do in Tokyo like Akihabara. Check out some of the questions people have asked about Tokyo like Exploring Tokyo solo for 3 days: Where to stay and what to do? Click the button below to explore Tokyo in detail.
The distance is the same either way if you're flying a straight line. But for a real trip, there can be plenty of differences so go ahead and check the reverse flight itinerary to fly from Tokyo to Istanbul, or go to the main page to calculate other flight times.
If you happen to know Istanbul, don't forget to help other travelers and answer some questions about Istanbul!