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Time gap

Time differences

Time difference between Chicago and Tokyo

No office hour works for both on a typical weekday — the bars below show the closest.

 

 

 

  • Everyone at work
  • Work hours
  • Awake
  • Night
  • Weekend

Tap any column to see that moment in every city.

Different hours for each city
  • 14–15 hoursTokyo ahead of Chicago
  • UTC−6 / UTC−5Chicago, January / July
  • UTC+9Tokyo, January and July
  • 0 hoursshared 9-to-5 time

How the gap moves through the year

Tokyo is 14 hours ahead of Chicago for about 8 months of the year.

Tokyo is 15 hours ahead of Chicago for about 4 months of the year.

From the second Sunday in March (when Chicago moves forward), Tokyo is 14 hours ahead of Chicago.

From the first Sunday in November (when Chicago falls back), Tokyo is 15 hours ahead of Chicago.

Chicago moves its clocks forward one hour on the second Sunday in March at 2:00 am local time and back on the first Sunday in November at 2:00 am, switching between Central Standard Time (UTC−6) and Central Daylight Time (UTC−5).

Tokyo does not change its clocks: it stays on UTC+9 (Japan Standard Time) all year.

Next clock change for this pair, as of when this page was built (2026-10-20): Chicago falls back on Sun 1 November 2026.

Everything on this page also holds if you swap Chicago for Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Austin or Winnipeg, or Tokyo for Seoul, Busan, Pyongyang, Osaka or Dili — those cities follow exactly the same clock all year.

Working hours that overlap

In January, two 9-to-5 days never meet — not a single quarter-hour is inside working hours in both cities.

July is no different.

Stretching both days to 8:00–18:00 opens 1 hour (5:00 pm–6:00 pm in Chicago). Beyond that, one side has to take an early-morning or evening call.

Across the week

At 9:00 on a Monday morning in Chicago, it is 12:00 am on Tuesday in Tokyo — already a day ahead there.

8 hours of a Chicago working week (Monday to Friday, 9 to 5) fall on the weekend in Tokyo, so part of Monday or Friday is lost for meetings.

The other way round, 6 hours of a Tokyo working week fall on the Chicago weekend.

Daylight, distance and night calls

Chicago and Tokyo are about 10,140 km (6,300 miles) apart and 133° of longitude apart, which by the sun alone would be 8 hours 45 minutes.

Chicago's winter clock runs 9 minutes behind the sun, and Tokyo's runs 19 minutes behind the sun.

In mid-January the sun is up in Chicago from about 7:16 am to 4:43 pm, and the sun is up in Tokyo from about 6:50 am to 4:50 pm; both cities are in daylight at the same time for about 1 hour.

In mid-July the sun is up in Chicago from about 5:28 am to 8:25 pm, and the sun is up in Tokyo from about 4:36 am to 6:58 pm; both cities are in daylight at the same time for about 5 hours 45 minutes.

In January, 6 hours of a Chicago office day fall in Tokyo's night (10 pm to 6 am), and 4 hours of a Tokyo office day fall in Chicago's night.

In July, 7 hours of a Chicago office day fall in Tokyo's night (10 pm to 6 am), and 5 hours of a Tokyo office day fall in Chicago's night.

Two usual compromises in January: an early call at 7:00 am in Chicago is 10:00 pm in Tokyo; a late call at 6:00 pm in Chicago is 9:00 am the next day there.

Hour-by-hour table and common mistakes — 2 more sections
Each hour in Chicago and the same moment in Tokyo, on a Wednesday in January and in July. Shaded: inside 9-to-5 in both.
ChicagoTokyo, JanuaryTokyo, July
12:00 am3:00 pm2:00 pm
1:00 am4:00 pm3:00 pm
2:00 am5:00 pm4:00 pm
3:00 am6:00 pm5:00 pm
4:00 am7:00 pm6:00 pm
5:00 am8:00 pm7:00 pm
6:00 am9:00 pm8:00 pm
7:00 am10:00 pm9:00 pm
8:00 am11:00 pm10:00 pm
9:00 am12:00 am (+1 day)11:00 pm
10:00 am1:00 am (+1 day)12:00 am (+1 day)
11:00 am2:00 am (+1 day)1:00 am (+1 day)
12:00 pm3:00 am (+1 day)2:00 am (+1 day)
1:00 pm4:00 am (+1 day)3:00 am (+1 day)
2:00 pm5:00 am (+1 day)4:00 am (+1 day)
3:00 pm6:00 am (+1 day)5:00 am (+1 day)
4:00 pm7:00 am (+1 day)6:00 am (+1 day)
5:00 pm8:00 am (+1 day)7:00 am (+1 day)
6:00 pm9:00 am (+1 day)8:00 am (+1 day)
7:00 pm10:00 am (+1 day)9:00 am (+1 day)
8:00 pm11:00 am (+1 day)10:00 am (+1 day)
9:00 pm12:00 pm (+1 day)11:00 am (+1 day)
10:00 pm1:00 pm (+1 day)12:00 pm (+1 day)
11:00 pm2:00 pm (+1 day)1:00 pm (+1 day)

Common mistakes with Chicago and Tokyo

  • Forgetting that the gap changes even though Tokyo never touches its clocks: Chicago does, so a meeting fixed in Tokyo time moves by an hour for people in Chicago.
  • Getting the date wrong. With a gap this large, an afternoon call in one city is the next morning — or the previous evening — in the other. Write the date for both cities in the invite.
  • Writing “CST” all year for Chicago. In summer the zone is Central Daylight Time; calendar apps handle it, but a typed time in an email can be read the wrong way.

Questions

Is Tokyo ahead of Chicago?
Tokyo is 15 hours ahead of Chicago in January and 14 hours ahead of Chicago in July.
What is a good time for a meeting between Chicago and Tokyo?
There is no hour that is inside a 9-to-5 day in both cities. The least painful option is usually early morning in one and early evening in the other; drag the slider above to see the trade-off on your date.
Does the time difference between Chicago and Tokyo change?
Yes. Tokyo is 14 hours ahead of Chicago for about 8 months of the year. Tokyo is 15 hours ahead of Chicago for about 4 months of the year.

Related time differences

Chicago time zone · Tokyo time zone · Plan with more cities

City names, coordinates and time zone assignments: GeoNames, licensed under CC BY 4.0 (selection and renaming of some cities by this site). Clock times are computed in your browser from the IANA time zone database. Sources and limits.