My best views of Japan from the air were on an ORD>KIX flight several years ago.

The first land we saw was the Kamchatka Peninsula, and it was fascinating and astonishing to see how utterly devoid of human habitation it was. There was nothing but trees, rocks, and snow (it was November). I didn't even see any evidence of animals.

Then we crossed over to Hokkaido, where we could suddenly see boats, houses, and tiny moving dots that were cars on the highway. The rest of the trip took us down the west coast of Japan and across Honshu before turning sharply to approach KIX.

Even on a clear day in the days before compulsory lowered window shades, the approach to NRT wasn't very exciting. The airport is only about 10 miles inland in a very flat part of the country.