How Nancy Got to Japan

Nancy's flight to Japan took over 12 hours.  She left Chicago at 1:30 in the afternoon on Wednesday, and landed in Japan sometime after 4 in the afternoon on Thursday, August 16th, after having crossed the International Date Line.

One interesting thing about her flight is how, for the entire 12 hours, the plane always flew in daylight.  They were in a race to get to Japan before the night did!  And although they lost about 3 or 4 hours along the way, the dark of night was not able to catch up to them.  On the other hand, although it may have been 4PM when they landed in Tokyo, it was 3AM here in Atlanta, where we were all fast asleep.  Nancy was tired too, but her trip wasn't over yet.  It took her another 5 hours to finally get to her hotel!  Japan is almost on the other side of the world, and their time is 13 hours ahead of ours.  So if it is 12 noon here in Atlanta, it will be 1AM in Japan.

This is a view of the route Nancy took on her way to Japan, where she followed the Red Line from Atlanta to Chicago to Japan.  You can see where her flight first took her over Canada, Alaska and the Bering Sea before heading south along the coast of Russia on the way to Japan.  The Red Line demonstrates the Great Circle Route from Chicago to Japan.  Overall, Tokyo is over 6,900 miles away from Atlanta.

You will also see a light green line representing latitude 35º North.  Both Atlanta and Tokyo are very close to 35º N, which means that Tokyo is almost directly west of Atlanta.  Her plane could have headed directly west from Atlanta to reach Japan, but that route would have been over 800 miles longer than the Great Circle Route.  A path of travel that follows a direct bearing line is called a Loxodrome.  To see the difference between a Great Circle Route and a Loxodrome, you only need to find a globe of the Earth, and connect two different points on the Earth with a string pulled tight to the globe.  Compare that to a string connecting the same two points on a flat map of the world.  Remember that a map is always a distorted view of the Earth, while a globe is a true representation.

This is another view of the Earth showing Nancy's route to Japan.  Where the first view was centered over Hawaii, this one is centered just south of Alaska.  In this view the Great Circle Route and the Loxodrome look to be about the same distance.

This is a map of Japan (日本) relative to Asia.  To the east of Japan is the Pacific Ocean, while to the west is the Sea of Japan.  Japan is surrounded by water.  Nancy's new school, Yokosuka Middle School, is located on an American naval base in Yokosuka, Japan.

This is a closer view of the general area around Yokosuka, Japan.  (Yokosuka is actually pronounced like Yo-Kosh-Ka.  In the Japanese pronunciation, the 'U' is silent and the 'S' is a little slurred.)  You can see that Yokosuka is approximately 30 miles south of Tokyo.  On a clear day, folks in Yokosuka might be able to see Mt. Fuji, 50 miles directly west.  The red square depicts the area shown in the next map.

This is a map of the Miura Peninsula, at the southwest entrance to Tokyo Bay.  The American naval base is officially known as Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka, usually abbreviated as CFAY. This is the home port for the American nuclear aircraft carrier USS George Washington.  Because this is the GW's home port, many of the sailor's families live in or near Yokosuka (横須賀市). Nancy's new school, Yokosuka Middle School, is located directly on base.  She is looking for her new home in some of the surrounding communities, including Zushi (逗子市), Hayama (葉山町) and Nobi (野比).

This is the American aircraft carrier USS George Washington outside of its home port in Yokosuka, Japan.

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