Nonstop flight route between Houston, Texas, United States and Shirahama, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between William P. Hobby Airport (HOU), Houston, Texas, United States and Nanki-Shirahama Airport (SHM), Shirahama, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,953 miles (or 11,190 kilometers).

A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between William P. Hobby Airport and Nanki-Shirahama Airport, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.

Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between William P. Hobby Airport and Nanki-Shirahama Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about William P. Hobby Airport (HOU):

• In addition to being known as "William P. Hobby Airport", another name for HOU is "Houston Hobby".
• The airport covers 1,304 acres and has four runways.
• In 1967 the airport was renamed after former Texas governor William P.
• The furthest airport from William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,002 miles (17,706 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• The closest airport to William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) is Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field (EFD), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) ESE of HOU.
• William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) has 4 runways.
• Developments at Hobby in the 2000s include a new concourse to serve Southwest Airlines, designed by Leo A Daly and the upgrade of Runway 4/22.
• Because of William P. Hobby Airport's relatively low elevation of 46 feet, planes can take off or land at William P. Hobby Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• William P. Hobby Airport handled 9,054,001 passengers last year.
• On April 9, 2012, Houston Director of Aviation Mario Diaz announced support of international flights from Hobby after multiple studies of the economic impact on the entire city of Houston.

Facts about Nanki-Shirahama Airport (SHM):

• The closest airport to Nanki-Shirahama Airport (SHM) is Kansai International Airport (KIX), which is located 54 miles (87 kilometers) N of SHM.
• Because of Nanki-Shirahama Airport's relatively low elevation of 293 feet, planes can take off or land at Nanki-Shirahama Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• In addition to being known as "Nanki-Shirahama Airport", other names for SHM include "南紀白浜空港" and "Nanki Shirahama Kūkō".
• Nanki-Shirahama Airport (SHM) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Nanki-Shirahama Airport (SHM) is Diomício Freitas/Forquilhinha Airport (CCM), which is located 11,994 miles (19,302 kilometers) away in Criciúma, Santa Catarina, Brazil.