A NOTIVE EXPERIMENT · INTERNET ON EARTH

Tokyo area → Miyazaki area

CURRENT LOCATION Tokyo area Source probe · observed

measured response

WHAT WE CAN'T SEE

Which cables did it use?

Traceroute shows the devices that responded along the way and how long those responses took. It cannot tell us which terrestrial fiber, landing points, or submarine cables carried the traffic.

JOURNEYWITHIN JAPAN

ROUND TRIP231 ms

OBSERVED2026-08-04

JAPAN → US → EUROPE → JAPAN

A measurement begins in the Tokyo area.

RIPE ATLAS · 2026-08-04 01:23 UTC

ABOUT THIS ROUTE

Out of Japan, around the world, and back again.

IS THIS REAL?

This is based on a real RIPE Atlas traceroute measured between two probes in Japan on August 4, 2026. The responses and timings were measured. The city locations are estimates based on RIPE IPmap and operator hostnames. Probe locations are approximate, and the exact routers, fiber and submarine cables are unknown.

WHY CAN THIS HAPPEN?

The Internet does not choose routes based only on geographic distance. The path also depends on where networks connect, which routes are available, and which route they select. That can produce a surprisingly long journey on the map.

WHY THIS ROUTE?

The source probe was already inside TeraSwitch's network, AS20326. Most of the detour stayed within that network, through locations inferred as Tokyo, Seattle, Chicago, London and Amsterdam. Near Amsterdam it moved to Starlamp, AS214675, before the destination probe responded in Miyazaki. Public data does not reveal why this path was selected over a shorter route inside Japan.

SOURCERIPE Atlas measurement 196917608 · source probe 1016152 → destination probe 1011110 · 2026-08-04 01:23:29 UTC · destination response 230.706 ms. Geographic estimates use RIPE IPmap and operator hostnames. Probe coordinates are approximate. Map: Natural Earth, public domain.