Tokyo vs Los Angeles — true size compared
Tokyo is about 1.69× the area of Los Angeles — a difference of roughly 892 km² (344 sq mi). You could fit Los Angeles inside Tokyo about 1 time.
Tokyo Metropolis covers 2,194 km² (847 sq mi), stretching from Tokyo Bay into forested mountains.
The City of Los Angeles sprawls across 1,302 km² (503 sq mi) of Southern California.
Overlay Tokyo and Los Angeles on the map →
Why maps make Tokyo and Los Angeles 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 Tokyo and Los Angeles 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
- Tokyo: 2,194 km² · 847 sq mi
- Los Angeles: 1,302 km² · 503 sq mi
- Ratio: Tokyo is 1.69× Los Angeles
- Absolute difference: 892 km² (344 sq mi)
- Los Angeles fits inside Tokyo ~1 time
Frequently asked
Is Tokyo bigger than Los Angeles?
Tokyo is the bigger of the two, at 2,194 km² compared to 1,302 km² for Los Angeles.
How many times does Los Angeles fit inside Tokyo?
About 1 time — the exact ratio is 1.69×.
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.