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Transportation in Hokkaido (Sapporo)

creamtulip
creamtulip
almost 10 years ago
2 responses

Hi,

I have a family of 8 with 2 elderly and 2 young children arriving in New Chitose Airport on 14 Jun 2014, 20:30pm for a 5 days stay. We will proceed to Otaru.on the 6th day.

As there are various transport options available, we are at a lost and would appreciate any guidance or assistance.
There are (1) Hokkaido Rail pass and (2) Sapporo-Otaru Welcome pass available to tourist.
Which type of pass will it more cost efficient for my group?

Another doubt we have is since we will be arriving in Hokkaido late at night, at 20:30pm, would we be still able to purchase the JR rapid train ticket from New Chitose Airport to Sapporo since the Information Desk at the airport closes at 19:00pm?

Thank you.

avatar
Daniel-san
18830 posts
almost 10 years ago
Expert

Hi there,

Travel from New Chitose Airport to Sapporo is very easy. You can use the airport express directly from the airport. You can purchase tickets at any ticket machine, so don't worry about the Information Desk being closed.

As for what pass the purchase, my advice would be to either buy the Sapporo-Otaru pass or just normal tickets. Sapporo and Otaru are very close and going all the way to buy a special pass for this may simply not be worth the effort. The Sapporo-Otaru pass could be interesting if you wish to travel around Sapporo on the subway as well for a single day.

Hope this helps!
Daniel

creamtulip
creamtulip
2 posts
almost 10 years ago

Hi Daniel San,

Thank you very much for your speedy reply.
Your information does indeed provide some reliefs to us, as first time traveller to Hokkaido.

For airport express, do you mean the JR Rapid train?
If yes, can we also purchase the train ticket with reserved seat option via the ticket machines, hopefully with English guidelines?
And since we have just arrive in Hokkaido, definitely we will have luggage with us.
As such, will be able to reserve seats (reserved seats option with additional fare) which is near to the area to store our luggages in the trains?

Appreciate your assistance.

Thank you.

avatar
Daniel-san
18830 posts
almost 10 years ago
Expert

Hi again,

Yes it's the JR Rapid train which only has one or two trains with reserved seats and these tend to be gone quickly, most of the train cars are non-reserved. It is possible to buy reserved seats using a ticket machine, however you may as well use a normal (non-reserved) seat.

The train is a normal train but with a special luggage compartment.

Hope this helps!
Daniel


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