A Guide to New Chitose Airport (Sapporo, Hokkaido)

I say Sapporo, because Sapporo is Hokkaido’s biggest city, and New Chitose is associated with it being 40 minutes away by train, but New Chitose isn’t actually located in Sapporo proper (like how Tokyo Disneyland isn’t actually in Tokyo, but in Chiba). That aside, I’ve taken quite a few trips to and from, and in and out of New Chitose Airport already this year, and have become quite familiar with it as my local airport. New Chitose Airport is quite a small airport compared to other ones I’ve been to, but don’t let that fool you, as there’s quite a few things to it.

1. The Layout
2. Food and Souvenirs
3. The Terminals
4. Staying at the Airport

The Layout

The basic layout is that there’s five floors to the airport:

1. The underground floor is the JR train stop. There’s a tourist help desk, and everything to do with the train is on this floor. The train itself is one way, and leaves every 15 minutes or so in the Sapporo direction. Some trains go all the way to Otaru. You can pick up JR passes here.
2. The first ground floor is for ground transportation and domestic arrivals. If you’re taking the airport shuttle bus, you’ll arrive at this floor, and take the escalator to the main area. If you’re flying from somewhere else in Japan, you’ll come out here. There’s a couple fast food places, and a bookstore.
3. The second floor is for domestic departures, international arrivals, and souvenir shopping. There’s a ton of sweets, as well as a lot of airport exclusive items of famous Hokkaido brands. As expected of Hokkaido, you can also find a many dairy products, produce, and even seafood (I’m not sure what you’re going to do with a $100 melon or crab, but good luck anyway). I think there’s a standing sushi bar, and some bento shops for savory items. Non-food souvenirs are a bit further in the back, like various generic trinkets, an Ainu shop, and even a Pokemon store. Past domestic security, there’s a food court, a few cafes, and a few souvenir/snack shops. There’s a Lawson right when you get out from international arrival.
4. The third floor is for international departures and the sit-down restaurants. There’s a couple cafes and food of every cuisine (Chinese, Western, Italian), and every Hokkaido cuisine (seafood, curry, an entire ramen street), and unlike airport food in America, the airport food here is pretty good. I’d even argue the pre-security food is better quality and selection than the post-security. There’s also some additional non-food souvenir shops. To get to international departures, you have to go through this hallway that has a chocolate factory, a Doraemon section, and a few kid-focused areas. Past international security, there’s a food court, some food stands, and a few souvenir shops. To be honest, most of the food court restaurants are the same as elsewhere in the airport, but pricier and more limited. You can get tax-free at the souvenir shops past security though.
5. The fourth floor is for hotel areas and some more specialty entertainment spots, like the onsen and movie theater. I believe there’s an onsen and a movie theater and a couple different hotels. There’s also a small Hatsune Miku museum if you’re into that.

Food and Souvenirs

If you’re flying in or out of New Chitose Airport, I highly recommend getting early not for security purposes, but actually for exploring purposes. Security is so efficient here it takes less than 5 minutes (Immigration will really depend on the day). Japan is so good, almost too good, at souvenirs and snacks that everything is almost irresistable, but still, it’s a great place for last minute souvenirs to take home or your last taste of Hokkaido ice cream.

Here are my reccomendations:

• Ice cream: Try the exclusive and unique sweet potato ice cream from Wakasimo (2nd floor) or the exclusive matcha ice cream from Kinotaya Ringo (2nd floor). Both include some red bean. Grab a pastry or souvenir to go while you’re at it.
• Sweets: If you aren’t going to Otaru, the LeTao shops (2nd floor) in the airport have most of the famous LeTao offerings, and even have some airport exclusives. You can even grab a mini parfait while you’re at it.
• Ramen: The Ramen Dojo has ramen from all over Hokkaido including the famed Sapporo miso ramen, but Ichigen (3rd floor) from Sapporo makes unique shrimp-based tonkotsu ramen! Be on the lookout for crab ramen, Asahikawa shoyu ramen, or Hakodate shio ramen too.
• Seafood: Fukutei (3rd floor) does kamameshi (rice in a metal pot) set meals and also has sashimi. There’s bougie options, but also some more affordable set meals.

The Terminals

There’s only two terminals: domestic and international. Both are very walkable, and you can probably finish exploring both in 20-30 minutes if you’re curious or want some exercise before your flight. There’s honestly not that much to see, only really good for some last minute food or souvenirs, but hey, still something if you’re curious. I believe there’s massage chairs in the domestic one.

Staying at the Airport

If you’re arriving late or have an early morning flight, you can look into staying overnight at the airport at one of the hotels. There’s a very nice one called the Portom complete with a library cafe (not exclusive to people staying; it’s nice to kill some time and relax before an international flight) and fancy restaruants, or a more affordable one called the Air Terminal Hotel. I haven’t personally used either except the Cafe Sky Library, but my family stayed at the Air Terminal Hotel and had a good experience.