Option 1 – The Chitose Plains and Shiroishi Cycling Road
This cycling 55km route from New Chitose Airport to Sapporo City goes via the Kita-Hiroshima/Chitose plains, and links up with the Shiroishi Cycling Road. The Shiroishi Cycling Road is a 20km separated, paved railtrail that runs from Kita-Hiroshima Station most of the way into central Sapporo City. Expect plenty of onsen (hotspring) options along the way, as well as local produce and rural farming vistas.
Option 2 – Via Lake Shikotsu
This is the 80km kick-jetlag-in-the-butt route. It is the longest route from New Chitose Airport to Sapporo City, but it is hard to overstate how impressive Lake Shikotsu is. It is a crystal-clear caldera lake surrounded by beautiful forest. At the lake itself there are a few options for campgrounds, as well as a Rider’s House – 1,500yen to stay the night in this two-storey log cabin (shared dorm-style rooms). The onsen at Lake Shikotsu close early at around 3pm though, so you’ll need to be quick if you want a soak. Be warned though, the hills between Lake Shikotsu and Sapporo are not to be taken lightly. Unless you are starting very early from the airport, best to make this an overnight trip, camping at Lake Shikotsu.
Option 3 – National Highway 36
This is the least desirable way of getting from New Chitose Airport to Sapporo City. Distance-wise, this is the shortest route from New Chitose Airport to Sapporo City. It is 10km shorter than the infinitely more cycle-friendly route via Kita-Hiroshima and the Shiroishi Cycling Road. That said, you’ll be sharing the road with 4 lanes of heavy traffic at most hours of the day, and you’ll encounter a lot of busy traffic light intersections. Therefore, even if you’re strapped for time, I can’t really recommend this route. It is just miles of character-less strip malls and car dealers. There aren’t even any onsen along the way. The only thing going for this route is that it is brain-dead. Stay on Route 36 – that is, just follow the truck exhaust fumes – and you can’t get lost. It will lead you straight into central Sapporo City.
3 thoughts on “How to cycle from New Chitose Airport to central Sapporo City (Hokkaido, Japan)”
We’re a family of four (our kids are 5 and 9) arriving to Chitose Airport next week from Vancouver, Canada, on a 5+ week bike trip. We have a friend to stay with in Sapporo. Is there a way for us to get from Chitose Airport to Sapporo City with our bike boxes without breaking the bank? A limousine bus service? How much, more or less, would a van taxi be and can we just get one from the airport…? Or maybe it’s a better plan to stay close to the airport, stash the bike boxes there at a hotel, and bike to Sapporo?
PS: The Evans Family (Andy and Clare) said we should contact you and check out your site – we met them while biking in Japan years ago (they were on their way to Europe).
Hi Gilli, how large are your bike boxes? If the total dimensions (width+depth+height) add up to 250cm or less, you should be able to take them on the JR train. If they’re large than this, then I would recommend staying close to the airport in Chitose City (an easy 20 minute bike ride from the airport).
Thanks, Rob! We caught the bus and it was a breeze. We found the bus stop easily, at the terminal. The driver loaded our bikes on, at no extra charge. We were able to get off at a stop along the way, which brought us within two blocks of our friend’s place. I think it cost about 1300Y per adult, so it’s very reasonably priced too.