Las Vegas to Tokyo Narita Flights (LAS to NRT): Connections, Flight Time and Arrival Guide

A one-stop trip through a West Coast gateway

There is no nonstop between Las Vegas and Tokyo Narita as of recent schedules. Every LAS to NRT itinerary connects once, almost always at a West Coast airport with a transpacific nonstop, and the first leg is short enough that the connection rarely adds more than a few hours.

Los Angeles has the most Narita flights. Japan Airlines, ANA, United, American and Singapore Airlines all fly Los Angeles to Narita, and ZIPAIR adds a low-cost nonstop. Las Vegas to Los Angeles is one of the busiest short routes in the country, so an American, United or Delta feeder is easy to pair on one ticket with a partner long-haul: American with Japan Airlines, United with ANA.

San Francisco is the other strong gateway, with United, Japan Airlines and ANA to Narita. Seattle has Japan Airlines to Narita and Delta's Tokyo flights, Dallas-Fort Worth has American and Japan Airlines, Denver has United, and Vancouver has Air Canada. Honolulu is a longer two-leg option that some travellers choose to break the trip.

Tokyo has two airports. Haneda is much closer to the city centre and several of the same airlines fly there from Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle. This guide is about Narita, which suits onward connections in Asia, Chiba and the Disney resort area; if your hotel is in central Tokyo and the fares are similar, compare Haneda too.

Flight time and distance

Las Vegas to Tokyo is about 5,500 miles (roughly 8,900 km) in a straight line, and the West Coast detour adds little. The feeder flight is about 1 to 1.5 hours to Los Angeles or San Francisco, and the transpacific leg 11 to 12 hours westbound against the jet stream. A realistic itinerary runs 14 to 17 hours gate to gate.

You cross the International Date Line, so you land in Japan the day after you leave. The return is shorter in the air, about 9.5 to 10.5 hours across the Pacific, and you can land in Las Vegas on the same calendar day you left Tokyo.

Leaving from Harry Reid International

Las Vegas's Harry Reid International has two terminals. Terminal 1 handles Southwest, Allegiant and several others; Terminal 3 handles United, Delta, American, Alaska and the international carriers. The two are not connected airside and the shuttle between them runs on the public side, so check which terminal your feeder flight uses. Security at Terminal 3 is quick most of the day, with the Sunday afternoon wave of departing weekenders the exception.

The airport is about 5 miles from the Strip, 10 to 20 minutes by taxi or ride-hail outside peak times; the pickup zones are on the parking garage levels, so follow the signs. If your itinerary is on separate tickets, check your bag only to the connection city and allow at least three hours there.

Arriving at Narita and getting into Tokyo

Narita has three terminals. Terminal 1 handles ANA, United and most Star Alliance partners; Terminal 2 handles Japan Airlines, American and other oneworld airlines; Terminal 3 is the low-cost terminal, linked to Terminal 2 by a walkway. Confirm your terminal the day before, since assignments change. Completing the Visit Japan Web registration before you fly gives you QR codes for immigration and customs and shortens the arrival queue.

Narita is about 60 km from central Tokyo, so decide the last leg before you land:

• Narita Express: the JR train to Tokyo Station in about an hour, continuing to Shinjuku, Shibuya and Yokohama. Reserved seats and luggage space.
• Keisei Skyliner: to Nippori and Ueno in about 40 minutes, best for the north and east of the city.
• Limousine bus: direct to major hotels in 75 to 120 minutes depending on traffic. Easiest with heavy bags.
• Taxi: comfortable but very expensive for the distance; trains are faster most of the day.

Trains stop around midnight, so a late arrival means a bus or a taxi.

When to fly and when to book

Japan's calendar drives demand. Cherry blossom season in late March and early April, Golden Week in late April and early May, Obon in mid-August and the New Year holiday are the most expensive and crowded periods, and transpacific seats from the West Coast sell out months ahead. Late October and November bring clear autumn weather and softer demand; January and February are cold, dry and the quietest months.

June is Tokyo's rainy season and late August to October is typhoon season, when a storm can delay flights for a day or two. For the peak periods, book three to five months ahead; otherwise six to ten weeks is usually enough from Las Vegas, since the feeder flights are plentiful.

Entry requirements and documents

As of recent rules, US passport holders can visit Japan for short tourist stays without a visa; other nationalities differ and rules change, so check the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan before booking. Your passport should be valid for your whole stay, and the airline may ask for an onward or return ticket.

Japan restricts several medications that are routine in the US, including some decongestants and stimulant prescriptions. Check the Japanese rules for anything you take regularly and carry a doctor's letter where required.

Time zones and jet lag

Tokyo is 16 hours ahead of Las Vegas during Pacific Daylight Time and 17 hours ahead in winter, since Japan does not change its clocks. Westbound you arrive in the Japanese afternoon and can stay up to a normal bedtime, which makes the outbound lag manageable. The return is harder: you land in the morning after a short night and most people feel it for three or four days. Daylight, a light dinner and no long nap on the first day make the biggest difference.

What travellers on this route get wrong

The first mistake is booking the feeder and the long-haul on separate tickets with a short gap at Los Angeles, where a late departure from Las Vegas costs the whole day. The second is choosing Narita when Haneda would have saved an hour on the ground, or the reverse, without checking the hotel address. The third is arriving at Narita after the last train and discovering the taxi fare into the city is a shock. All are five-minute checks.