New Chitose Airport is located more than 50 km from Sapporo and hence you have to allow for longer travel time.

There are trains to the terminals, many bus lines and of course taxis.

Type	Price	Travel time
Train	1 230 jpy	40-52 minutes
Buses	1 300 jpy	120 minutes
Taxi	from 17 000 jpy	60-70 minutes

Use the train if you want to be in the centre quickly and cheaply.

Buses are good if you are staying in one of the hotels where the buses stop and don't mind a longer journey time.

Show the 10 best hotels in Sapporo

Train - fastest and cheapest

The train station is directly below the national terminal. From the international terminal you have to walk here through the inner corridor in about 10-15 minutes.

You can buy your ticket from the ticket machine before entering the platform - but you can only pay with cash. ATMs are only located on the departure floors (public area).

Alternatively, all Japanese IC cards can be used to pay fares - if you have one from other trips to Japan, you don't need to worry about anything, just attach it to the turnstile. If you want to buy a Kitaca card, again you only need to have cash.

• 💵 1 230 jpy - 1 ride to Sapporo Station
• 💺 840 jpy - seat reservation (optional - only one carriage in the middle of the train is reserved for these passengers)
• 🕖 Trains run approximately once every 12 minutes
  • Last train from the airport - 23:21
  • First train from Sapporo - 5:50
  • 👉 Search for connections: jrhokkaido.co.jp or Google Maps

Trains run directly to the centre of Sapporo. There are 3 types of connections:

• Rapid - Minami-Chitose, Chitose, Eniwa, Kita-Hiroshima and Shin-Sapporo.
  • journey time 51-57 minutes
• Special Rapid - 11 times a day in total, stopping at the following stations: Shin-Sapporo
  • Journey time 40 minutes
• Semi Rapid - 14 times a day in total, stopping at all stations
  • Journey time 65-70 minutes
• 🏨 Verified tip for a hotel near Sapporo Station - JR Inn Sapporo *** (5 minutes on foot)

Buses - slow but multiple stops in the center

Bus stops to Sapporo are at both terminals. They always start at the national terminal and only the second stop is in front of the international terminal.

There are buses from the airport on several routes and different companies.

The bus is the busiest route heading to the city centre, but the bus does not follow the highway and stops at several hotels. We select the most desirable stops:

• Premier hotel TSUBAKI **** - travel time approx. 100 minutes
• Odori Park (main centre of Sapporo) - driving time approx. 110 minutes
• JR Sapporo Station - driving time approx. 120 minutes
• Sapporo Prince Hotel ***** - driving time approx. 125 minutes
• Keio Plaza Hotel ***** - driving time approx. 130 minutes

On the main line from the airport to the city centre, the following service runs:

• 💵 1 300 jpy - 1 ride
  • Ticket can be bought from the driver, payment can be made with your own contactless card, IC card or cash
  • you can also buy a ticket from the machine in the arrivals hall, but it is linked to a specific company. I recommend going to the bus stop and getting on the first available bus and paying the fare from the driver
• 🕖 Buses run 1x every 20 minutes

Sometimes there are queues for the bus and you may not fit on the first bus.

Taxi / Uber / GO

Taxi stands are located in front of both terminals and queues for taxis do not normally form.

The taxi ride to Sapporo city centre takes 60-90 minutes depending on traffic.

You can book a taxi right outside the terminal or call one via mobile apps such as GO or Uber. However, you will always take a regular taxi and the price is always calculated according to the taximeter.

The price depends on the current traffic and varies between 17 000 jpy and 22 000 jpy.

You can pay normally with cash or card.

Car rental

There are many car rental counters in both terminals.

A car is a great option if you want to explore the mountains of Hokkaido, where public transport is not as frequent.

Prices start at 50 000 jpy for a week's rental.