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Time gap

Time differences

Time difference between Sydney and Tokyo

Good time for both on a weekday: 11:00–17:00 in Sydney = 9:00–15:00 in Tokyo.

 

 

 

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

Tap any column to see that moment in every city.

Different hours for each city
  • 1–2 hoursTokyo behind Sydney
  • UTC+11 / UTC+10Sydney, January / July
  • UTC+9Tokyo, January and July
  • 6 hours / 7 hoursshared 9-to-5 time, January / July

How the gap moves through the year

Tokyo is 2 hours behind Sydney for about 6 months of the year.

Tokyo is 1 hour behind Sydney for about 6 months of the year.

From the first Sunday in April (when Sydney falls back), Tokyo is 1 hour behind Sydney.

From the first Sunday in October (when Sydney moves forward), Tokyo is 2 hours behind Sydney.

Sydney moves its clocks forward one hour on the first Sunday in October at 2:00 am local time and back on the first Sunday in April at 3:00 am, switching between Australian Eastern Standard Time (UTC+10) and Australian Eastern Daylight Time (UTC+11).

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): Sydney falls back on Sun 4 April 2027.

Everything on this page also holds if you swap Sydney for Melbourne, Canberra or Hobart, or Tokyo for Seoul, Busan, Pyongyang, Osaka or Dili — those cities follow exactly the same clock all year.

Working hours that overlap

In January, a 9-to-5 day in both cities shares 6 hours: 11:00 am–5:00 pm in Sydney, which is 9:00 am–3:00 pm in Tokyo.

In July, a 9-to-5 day in both cities shares 7 hours: 10:00 am–5:00 pm in Sydney, which is 9:00 am–4:00 pm in Tokyo.

Across the week

At 9:00 on a Monday morning in Sydney, it is 7:00 am on Monday in Tokyo.

Daylight, distance and night calls

Sydney and Tokyo are about 7,830 km (4,860 miles) apart and 12° of longitude apart, which by the sun alone would be 45 minutes.

Sydney's winter clock runs 55 minutes ahead of the sun, and Tokyo's runs 19 minutes behind the sun.

In mid-January the sun is up in Sydney from about 5:59 am to 8:09 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 10 hours.

In mid-July the sun is up in Sydney from about 6:58 am to 5:04 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 10 hours.

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

Common mistakes with Sydney and Tokyo

  • Forgetting that the gap changes even though Tokyo never touches its clocks: Sydney does, so a meeting fixed in Tokyo time moves by an hour for people in Sydney.
  • Writing “GMT+11” all year for Sydney. In summer the zone is Australian Eastern Standard Time; calendar apps handle it, but a typed time in an email can be read the wrong way.

Questions

Is Tokyo ahead of Sydney?
Tokyo is 2 hours behind Sydney in January and 1 hour behind Sydney in July.
What is a good time for a meeting between Sydney and Tokyo?
With 9-to-5 days in both cities, 10:00 am–5:00 pm Sydney time is inside working hours in both, which gives 7 hours. The window can shift by an hour in the weeks when only one city has changed its clocks.
Does the time difference between Sydney and Tokyo change?
Yes. Tokyo is 2 hours behind Sydney for about 6 months of the year. Tokyo is 1 hour behind Sydney for about 6 months of the year.

Related time differences

Sydney 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.