New Chitose Airport (CTS): Airlines, Terminals and the Train to Sapporo

Somewhere over the Sea of Japan the cabin lights come up, the seat-back map swings toward Hokkaido, and the first thing out the window is a wide, flat plain of fields and forest. That plain is where New Chitose Airport sits, the gateway most travelers use for Sapporo and the rest of Hokkaido. It has two terminals, a train station under the main building and a long list of domestic routes.

What is New Chitose Airport?

New Chitose Airport is the largest airport in Hokkaido, by both traffic and land area, and the place where most domestic flights from the main island land. Japan’s national tourism organization describes Chitose as the airport that serves southern Hokkaido, one of several airports that open up the island. For a traveler, it is the start of a Hokkaido trip, whether the plan is Sapporo, Otaru or a drive into the countryside.

It is an unusual airport in one respect. It is one of six 24-hour airports in Japan, yet it is the only inland one, and its terminal buildings keep daily opening hours unlike the terminals of other round-the-clock airports. At night, services between 10 PM and 7 AM are limited to six flights a day because of noise concerns, so the late hours are quiet compared with the daytime schedule.

The domestic terminal

The domestic terminal is more than a place to wait for a boarding call. It holds a hot spa, a cinema complex and museums, which makes a long layover feel less like a layover. The 188-room Air Terminal Hotel is part of the same complex, handy for anyone with an early departure or a late arrival.

The domestic bus counter is on the first floor of this building. That is the place to sort out a ride into the city by road, while the train station lies beneath the terminal.

The international terminal

The international terminal has its own hotel, the Hotel Portom International, described as a luxury property. Arriving passengers will find the international transportation information counter on the first floor of this building, which is the spot for questions about getting onward.

Skytrax ranked New Chitose Airport 49th among the top 100 airports in the world in 2024 and named it the World’s Most Improved Airport for that year. One more detail concerns the calendar. Operations by certain foreign aircraft, including Chinese and Russian aircraft, are prohibited on Mondays and Thursdays, which shapes which international services appear on those days.

Which airlines fly there?

Six airlines on the domestic side fly nonstop from New Chitose: All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines, J-Air, Jetstar Japan, Skymark Airlines and Spring Japan. Between them they connect Hokkaido with Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka and a handful of smaller cities in northern and western Honshu.

All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines

All Nippon Airways flies nonstop to Fukuoka, Kobe, Komatsu, Osaka–Itami, Tokyo–Haneda and Tokyo–Narita. Japan Airlines flies nonstop to Fukuoka, Nagoya–Centrair, Osaka–Itami, Osaka–Kansai and Tokyo–Haneda.

Both airlines serve Tokyo–Haneda, the airport of Tokyo city, which lets travelers arrive in the heart of Tokyo. Japan Airlines also reaches Osaka–Kansai, the airport that makes it possible to visit Japan without going through Tokyo. Fukuoka appears on both lists, and from Fukuoka Airport the train reaches Hakata in the heart of the city in five minutes.

Low-cost and regional carriers

Jetstar Japan flies nonstop to Nagoya–Centrair, Osaka–Kansai and Tokyo–Narita. Spring Japan flies nonstop to Tokyo–Narita. Skymark Airlines flies nonstop to Fukuoka, Ibaraki, Kobe, Nagoya–Centrair and Tokyo–Haneda. Low-cost carriers in general make it possible to reach almost anywhere in Japan at a reasonable price.

J-Air flies nonstop to Aomori, Hanamaki, Hiroshima, Memanbetsu, Osaka–Itami and Sendai. That mix of smaller cities is useful for travelers building a loop through northern Honshu or heading to eastern Hokkaido, where Memanbetsu is the airport reached.

Which Tokyo and Osaka airport

Tokyo has two airports. Narita serves international and domestic destinations, and Haneda is the airport of Tokyo city itself. From New Chitose, All Nippon Airways flies to both, Japan Airlines to Haneda, Skymark Airlines to Haneda, and Jetstar Japan and Spring Japan to Narita.

Osaka works the same way. Osaka–Itami is served by All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines and J-Air, while Osaka–Kansai is served by Japan Airlines and Jetstar Japan. Nagoya’s Central Japan International Airport, or Centrair, is the hub for flights to and from cities in Asia and Japan, and both Japan Airlines and Jetstar Japan fly there.

How do you get to Sapporo?

The train is the way to Sapporo from New Chitose Airport, with JR Sapporo Station about 40 minutes away, and a bus is the alternative at about 1 hour 50 minutes. New Chitose Airport Station is directly connected from the basement floor of the terminal building, so you go downstairs rather than outside.

By train

From New Chitose Airport Station, the fastest time to Sapporo Station is 37 minutes on the Rapid Airport Service Trains. Express trains, buses and taxis serve airports in major Japanese cities, and here the rail link starts inside the terminal complex.

The same line carries on past Sapporo to Otaru, which is 73 minutes at the fastest from the airport station. Otaru is a harbor town people often pair with Sapporo, and the rail connection means the trip can begin straight from arrivals.

By bus

The domestic bus counter is on the first floor of the domestic terminal building. Buses take about 1 hour 50 minutes to reach JR Sapporo Station, noticeably longer than the train. International arrivals can ask at the international transportation information counter on the first floor of the international terminal building.

Other stations from the airport

Kitahiroshima is the nearest of the three, which makes it a useful stop for anyone staying outside the center of Sapporo. Airports in major cities generally also have car rental services, so driving out from the terminal is another way to start a Hokkaido trip.

Good to know before you go

Both terminal buildings are open from 5:00 to 23:00, so a very early or very late flight is worth planning around, particularly since only six flights a day operate between 10 PM and 7 AM. The airport hotels, one in each terminal, give an option for those nights.

Carry some yen for small purchases around the terminals and in the city. Hokkaido has its own winter, and snow can shape flight days, so a margin in your schedule suits a cold-season arrival.