Which Side of the Plane is Mount Fuji When Flying to Haneda Airport?

Mount Fuji is a landmark in Japan, and it’s one of those sites where you whip out your phone whenever you catch a good look, especially while you’re traveling.

You’ll often have a chance of catching a glimpse of it when flying to and from Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, but there are several factors at play. Have a flight coming up? Let’s go over your chances.

Flying to Tokyo Haneda

Starting off with the basics, seeing Mount Fuji from an airplane will require a flight to or from the west of Tokyo, for obvious reasons. The volcano is located about 130 kilometers, or 80 miles west of the city, and flights from the north and east (transpacific arrivals) rarely get close views of it.

So for example, Japanese domestic flights from Osaka, Fukuoka and the rest of Kyushu, and other points west will offer a good chance. International flights from parts of Mainland China, such as Shanghai, should follow a similar path.

Speaking from personal experience, flights going to Haneda Airport tend to take more consistent route south of Mount Fuji, while flights leaving Haneda tend to be more dependent on weather conditions and air traffic volume. Many of these departing flights can take routes that go both north and south of it, making it a challenge to select a seat in hopes of capturing some photos.

The above photo from Flightradar24 shows several aircraft on approach to Tokyo Haneda. As you can see, all flights approach the airport from the south. This is almost always the case, no matter the runway configuration. This means that Mount Fuji will typically be on your left side when flying to Haneda.

Japan Airlines has a “Which side is Mount Fuji?” page on their website, where you can insert your flight route, and it gives an answer based on a predetermined route. It obviously doesn’t account for airport approach patterns like this and weather conditions, so I’d double-check recent flights on Flightradar24.

This was on a flight from Osaka to Haneda a few years ago, about 20 minutes before arrival. I was able to get this perfect view from the left side of the plane, right during sunset.

Departing from Tokyo Haneda

This is not to say that you can’t get any views of Mount Fuji following a Haneda departure.

Depending on the flight path, you can get some closer looks at Mount Fuji compared to flights going to Haneda. It just tends to be more of a wildcard given weather and air traffic volume on each route. There are flight paths that go south, right over the mountain, and north of the mountain. It’s not a consistent “it’ll typically be on your left side” situation like the arrivals are.

For departures, I think you can rely more on JAL’s “Which side is Mount Fuji?” page. Flights to Osaka, Kyushu, and other destinations southwest of Haneda should usually get Mount Fuji views on the right side of the plane. Flights to the northern half of western Honshu may fly directly over or north of the mountain. You just have to keep in mind that these flight paths can change easily.

Bottom Line

Given how routes out of Haneda Airport can be a bit of a wildcard based on a lot of things, I tend to take my chances on flights to Haneda when flying domestically in Japan. Ultimately though, sitting on the left side when flying to Haneda and sitting on the right side when departing Haneda will give you the best chance.

Featured image by the author.