Getting There & Around

Getting There
Sapporo is served mainly by the New Chitose airport, 40km (25mi) south of the city. There is also a subsidiary airport at Okadama, about 10km (6mi) north of the city. Flights connect Sapporo with most of the major cities on Honshu and Okinawa. Air Do has brought almost every major carrier's price down for the two-hour flight to Tokyo. There are regular flights to Osaka or Kansai and international destinations include Guam, Seoul and Amsterdam. Chitose airport is accessible from Sapporo by kaisoku (rapid train) or bus. The airport has its own train station and bus centre, as well as car-rental counters. From the airport, there are convenient bus services to various destinations on Hokkaido. Taxis can be found at taxi stands in front of the airport.

Sapporo is linked with the rest of Hokkaido by an extensive network of long-distance bus services. The main bus station is next to Sapporo station; access is via the underground shopping plaza. Some buses also leave from the Chuo bus station and Odori bus centre near Odori-koen. If you're short on time, consider taking one of the less-expensive night buses.

Two of the fastest rail connections from Tokyo are the Hokutosei Express, a direct 16-hour sleeper to Sapporo, and a combination of the shinkansen (bullet train) to Morioka followed by a tokkyu (limited express) via Aomori (10 hours).

Getting Around
You will find the main station for city buses is adjacent to the Sogo department store. From late April to early November, the Sapporo Lincle tourist bus makes a loop of 22 major sights around the city from 9am-5pm until 7pm during July-August). There is a single tramline that heads west from Odori, turns south and then loops back to Susukino. It's convenient for Moiwa-yama.

Subways are the most efficient way to get around Sapporo. There are three lines, the two most useful being the Nanboku line, which runs on a north-south axis, and the Tozai line, which runs on an east-west axis. There are good value passes that are valid for Sapporo's buses and trams in addition to the subway.