Nonstop flight route between Kushiro, Hokkaidō, Japan and Minot, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kushiro Airport (KUH), Kushiro, Hokkaidō, Japan and Minot Air Force Base (MIB), Minot, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,972 miles (or 8,001 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 Kushiro Airport and Minot Air Force Base, 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 Kushiro Airport and Minot Air Force Base. 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 Kushiro Airport (KUH):

• In addition to being known as "Kushiro Airport", other names for KUH include "釧路空港" and "Kushiro Kūkō".
• A number of car hire companies have desks in the arrivals, all have off site parking, although this is no more than 2 minutes travel in the shuttle bus.
• Kushiro Airport (KUH) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Kushiro Airport (KUH) is Nakashibetsu Airport (SHB), which is located 53 miles (86 kilometers) NE of KUH.
• A bus service runs between the Airport and town of Kushiro, taking about 25 minutes and calling at the railway station, "MOO" shopping complex and a few other locations.
• The furthest airport from Kushiro Airport (KUH) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 11,268 miles (18,133 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• Because of Kushiro Airport's relatively low elevation of 311 feet, planes can take off or land at Kushiro 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.

Facts about Minot Air Force Base (MIB):

• The 91st Operations Group is the operational backbone of the 91st Missile Wing, with its mission to defend the United States with safe and secure Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles – ready to immediately put bombs on target.
• The furthest airport from Minot Air Force Base (MIB) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,320 miles (16,609 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• replaced by the 5th Bombardment Wing
• The initial USAF host unit was the Air Defense Command 32d Air Base Group, activating on 8 February 1957.
• In addition to being known as "Minot Air Force Base", another name for MIB is "Minot AFB".
• The ADC 32d Fighter Group was the first operational unit at Minot, with its 433d Fighter-Interceptor squadron.
• In 1961, the Air Force selected the land around Minot for a new Minuteman I ICBM complex.
• The closest airport to Minot Air Force Base (MIB) is Minot International Airport (MOT), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) SSE of MIB.
• Strategic Air Command initially had units assigned to Minot AFB in 1958 for air refueling support.
• In the early 1990s, the base prepared for change as the Air Force directed reorganization, and the 5th Bomb Wing assumed host base responsibilities.