London vs Tokyo — true size compared
Tokyo is about 1.40× the area of London — a difference of roughly 622 km² (240 sq mi). You could fit London inside Tokyo about 1 time.
Greater London spans 1,572 km² (607 sq mi) along the River Thames in southeast England.
Tokyo Metropolis covers 2,194 km² (847 sq mi), stretching from Tokyo Bay into forested mountains.
Overlay London and Tokyo on the map →
Why maps make London and Tokyo look wrong
Almost every web map — Google Maps, Apple Maps, OpenStreetMap — uses the Mercator projection. Mercator preserves shape locally, but it stretches land the further you get from the equator. Greenland ends up looking bigger than Africa. Alaska rivals the contiguous US. That's why London and Tokyo can look similar on a world map even when one is many times larger. The only fair way to compare is to lift one outline off the map and drop it on top of the other at true scale.
Quick facts
- London: 1,572 km² · 607 sq mi
- Tokyo: 2,194 km² · 847 sq mi
- Ratio: Tokyo is 1.40× London
- Absolute difference: 622 km² (240 sq mi)
- London fits inside Tokyo ~1 time
Frequently asked
Is London bigger than Tokyo?
Tokyo is the bigger of the two, at 2,194 km² compared to 1,572 km² for London.
How many times does London fit inside Tokyo?
About 1 time — the exact ratio is 1.40×.
Why does the map exaggerate one of them?
Mercator projection. Places far from the equator get visually stretched. Overlay the two at true scale to see the honest comparison.