How to cycle from New Chitose Airport to central Sapporo City (Hokkaido, Japan)

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From New Chitose Airport, it is about 50km to central Sapporo City by the most direct routes. Below, I outline three options, in order of recommendation: 1) a 55km meander through rural landscape and the Shiroishi Cycling road, 2) an 80km rocute via the hopelessly beautiful Lake Shikotsu, and 3) a 45km gauntlet-run along the heavy-traffic four-lane national highway 36. My pick is always either option 1 or 2. They’re much less harrowing than National Highway 36, and you get to enjoy much more of the rural and small-town landscape. Expect onsen, fresh vegetables, icecream, and cyclepaths (except for Option 3). Below are all three routes from New Chitose Airport to Sapporo, annotated with highlights along the way.

Option 1 – Chitose Plains and the Shiroishi Cycling Road (55km)

Option 2 – Via Lake Shikotsu (80km)

Option 3 – National Highway 36 (43km)

Option 1 – The Chitose Plains and Shiroishi Cycling Road

This cycling 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.

Route GPS File

Essential details

55km
Distance

4 hrs
Time

225m
Ascent

70m
Highest point

1/10
Difficulty

Apr-Oct
Best season

Route Map

GPX file download

Need-to-Know Details

Distance: 55km
Total climbing: 225m – basically flat apart from a very slight, gradual climb on the Kita-Hiroshima side of the cycleway.
Road surface: 100% paved
Packing/unpacking a bike at the airport: New Chitose Airport is a large airport with plenty of out-of-the-way places you can spread out and unpack/pack a bike for travel. Check out my list of bike shops in Chitose for places to get a bike box: http://14degrees.org/a-list-of-bicycle-shops-in-chitose-city-hokkaido-japan/.
Bike shops: The most well stocked bike shops are in Sapporo. See that link above for a list of good bike shops in Sapporo.
Resources for cycling in Hokkaido: See my Hokkaido Cycle Touring Routes page.

What to expect along the way

NOTE: All highlights mentioned below are marked on the route map above.

Getting out of the airport: If you want to avoid all large roads at all costs, you can get out of the airport grounds through a gate in the fence here. Take a look at Google Street View to see what I mean. Don’t stress if you can’t find it. The main road, which snakes its way out of the airport under a couple of overpasses, will get you to the same Route 36 into Chitose City proper.

You’ll cycle through the center of Chitose, which is the busiest section of the southern half of the route. Directly north of Chitose JR Station, I recommend getting yourself onto the eastern side of the train tracks – as noted on the route map above. This side is much less busy and the traffic does not move as fast.

Once out of Chitose City, the idea is to zig-zag towards Kita-Hiroshima City, utilizing the grid of farming roads across the Kita-Hiroshima/Chitose plains. So long as you’ve downloaded a map of this area in advance (Chitose Airport has WIFI), you should be able to navigate nicely using your smartphone. Locals will also be willing to help point you in the right direction if you tell them you want to go to Kita-Hiroshima eki (station is eki in Japanese – 北広島駅).

There are some nice gravel river-bank roads if that is your fancy…

Or, stick to the paved roads for equally traffic-free riding.

Just outside Chitose City center is a gelato icecream shop that is worth a stop. Location here: https://goo.gl/maps/puWA8pKCi8Q2

If you want to split the ride up or camp along the way, there are a few spots that will do the job. The official campground in Chitose City’s Aoba Park is beautiful (here), but there are some other spots along the way that are not official campgrounds but parks where wild-camping is possible. One standout place would be the Michi-no-eki in Eniwa (here).

If you’re here in the right season, then you can expect some well stocked vegetable stalls along the way too. The photo below is from a local vege shop a little further out (here), but along the way you could try the vege shop in Chitose (here) or the one on the way to Kita-Hiroshima (here).

There are also a couple of onsen (hot springs) along the way. First, there’s the airport onsen on the 4th floor. At about 1,500yen to enter, it is one of the priciest you’ll find in Hokkaido, but it is quite a nice experience. The outdoor bath looks out over the carpark – if you stand up and look over the fence, that is.

The next natural onsen is the Chitose-no-yuen here, just south of Chitose Aoba Park. It is not 100% right on the route from the airport to Sapporo, but worth the 2.5km detour if you’re hanging out for a wash and a soak – it has a very large selection of indoor and outdoor baths as well as a sauna. It is in a very handy location for anyone staying at the Chitose Aoba Park Campground (here). Expect to pay around 400yen per person for the onsen here.

The next natural onsen is Eniwa Onsen, one of the Honoka chain of onsens (here). From memory it is less than 700yen per person. You can have meals here too, so it can be a nice stop before you wild camp at the Eniwa MIchi-no-eki park (here).

Just as you’re entering Sapporo on the cycleway, there are two natural onsen near Kaminopporo JR Station, just east of the cycleway. One of them is another Honoka-brand onsen here, but we prefer the Mori-no-yu onsen just up the road here, which has a gorgeous view from the open air baths over some woods. Both have restaurants with very reasonable meals, and both cost around 600yen per person to enter.

Once you’re on the Eniwa-Sapporo Cycling road, then you’re set. This cycling road actually starts at the southern end in Kita-Hiroshima. although there are plans to extend it all the way to Eniwa. The start of the cycling road is on the eastern side of the station, right about here: https://goo.gl/maps/EiG9n5EcXHH2

Just in case you’ve decided to embark on a deep-winter Hokkaido cycle tour, you’ll be happy to know that the Shiroishi Cycling road is also open in winter – but only on the Sapporo City side. At the Kita-Hiroshima City border it is impassable on a bike.

Once you’re in Sapporo City proper, it is a matter of just ‘following your nose’ into the city center. Unlike many ‘mainland’ Japanese cities, Sapporo City’s roads are fairly wide. Traffic moves faster here though, so take your time and enjoy the ride.

If you’re approaching the city in winter, studded tires are not essential, but they give me much more confidence on the rutted, often icy roads.

Option 2 – Via Lake Shikotsu

This is the 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.

Route GPS File