What is the time difference between Tokyo and San Francisco?

San Francisco is 16 hours behind Tokyo. That figure is current — it changes by an hour when either city starts or ends daylight saving, and the exact dates are listed above.

When is the best time to call San Francisco from Tokyo?

Between 09:00–10:00 in Tokyo, which is 17:00–18:00 in San Francisco. That is the only stretch where both cities are inside a 09:00–18:00 day.

Does Tokyo observe daylight saving time?

No. Tokyo stays on UTC+9 all year, so its clocks never move.

Does San Francisco observe daylight saving time?

Yes. San Francisco runs on UTC-8 in winter and UTC-7 in summer. The next change is on 2026-11-01, when clocks go back by 60 minutes.

If it is midday in Tokyo, what time is it in San Francisco?

It is 20:00 in San Francisco, still on the previous day. That holds for the current offsets; it shifts by an hour around the daylight saving dates listed above.

Which time zones do Tokyo and San Francisco use?

Tokyo uses Asia/Tokyo, currently UTC+9, and San Francisco uses America/Los_Angeles, currently UTC-7 (PDT). Those identifiers are the ones to use in code — abbreviations are ambiguous and offsets change.

Convert Tokyo time to San Francisco time

San Francisco is 16 hours behind Tokyo right now, so midday in Tokyo lands in the evening in San Francisco.

Convert a time

From

Date

Time

Converted time

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The converter needs JavaScript to run. Everything below — offsets, daylight saving dates and the hour-by-hour table — is part of the page and works without it.

Hour by hour

Every hour of a day in Tokyo, and what the clock reads in San Francisco at that same moment.

Tokyo	San Francisco
00:00	08:00previous day
01:00	09:00previous day
02:00	10:00previous day
03:00	11:00previous day
04:00	12:00previous day
05:00	13:00previous day
06:00	14:00previous day
07:00	15:00previous day
08:00	16:00previous day
09:00	17:00previous day
10:00	18:00previous day
11:00	19:00previous day
12:00	20:00previous day
13:00	21:00previous day
14:00	22:00previous day
15:00	23:00previous day
16:00	00:00
17:00	01:00
18:00	02:00
19:00	03:00
20:00	04:00
21:00	05:00
22:00	06:00
23:00	07:00

Daylight saving time

San Francisco changes its clocks; Tokyo does not. The difference between them therefore shifts by an hour twice a year.

Tokyo

Does not observe daylight saving time

Standard: UTC+9

San Francisco

Observes daylight saving time

Standard: UTC-8
Daylight: UTC-7
Next change: 2026-11-01 −60m

When you can actually talk

The window is 1 hour wide — 09:00–10:00 in Tokyo, 17:00–18:00 in San Francisco.

Tokyo 09:00–10:00San Francisco 17:00–18:00

Reference

The underlying data, in case you need to put it in a calendar invitation or a configuration file.

	Tokyo	San Francisco
IANA zone	Asia/Tokyo	America/Los_Angeles
Abbreviation	UTC+9	PDT
Standard offset	UTC+9	UTC-8
Daylight offset	—	UTC-7
Clock changes this year	0	2
Country	Japan	United States

Example, not the current time. Live times appear once the page loads.

Common questions

What is the time difference between Tokyo and San Francisco?: San Francisco is 16 hours behind Tokyo. That figure is current — it changes by an hour when either city starts or ends daylight saving, and the exact dates are listed above.
When is the best time to call San Francisco from Tokyo?: Between 09:00–10:00 in Tokyo, which is 17:00–18:00 in San Francisco. That is the only stretch where both cities are inside a 09:00–18:00 day.
Does Tokyo observe daylight saving time?: No. Tokyo stays on UTC+9 all year, so its clocks never move.
Does San Francisco observe daylight saving time?: Yes. San Francisco runs on UTC-8 in winter and UTC-7 in summer. The next change is on 2026-11-01, when clocks go back by 60 minutes.
If it is midday in Tokyo, what time is it in San Francisco?: It is 20:00 in San Francisco, still on the previous day. That holds for the current offsets; it shifts by an hour around the daylight saving dates listed above.
Which time zones do Tokyo and San Francisco use?: Tokyo uses Asia/Tokyo, currently UTC+9, and San Francisco uses America/Los_Angeles, currently UTC-7 (PDT). Those identifiers are the ones to use in code — abbreviations are ambiguous and offsets change.