Where should I spend the middle day of a 3-day trip?
With 2 nights in Sapporo, visit Otaru Canal on day 2. With 2 nights in Hakodate, see the night view and Goryokaku on separate days. Choose your final day's airport train or bus first, then fit nearby sights into the time remaining.
Choose a 3 days / 2 nights itinerary
A Sapporo base with a day in Otaru
Keep your Sapporo hotel and take a day trip to Otaru Canal. Visit Sapporo TV Tower on departure day.
A Sapporo base with a day in Otaru →3 days / 2 nights BHakodate harbour and Goryokaku
Stay 2 nights near Hakodate Station and see the night view and Goryokaku on separate days. Choose this if you also want lunch and a park walk around Goryokaku. Visit the warehouses on the final day only if airport travel leaves enough time.
Hakodate harbour and Goryokaku →A Sapporo base with a day in Otaru
Keep your Sapporo hotel and take a day trip to Otaru Canal. Visit Sapporo TV Tower on departure day.
Day 1 | Clock Tower and Odori Park after arrival
Explore Sapporo's past at the Clock Tower and walk in Odori Park on day 1. Visit Otaru Canal on day 2 and leave the TV Tower for the final day, only if airport travel allows enough time.
- New Chitose Airport arrivals → JR signs in the domestic terminal
For an international arrival, complete immigration and baggage collection, then take the floor 2 connecting passage to the domestic terminal. For a domestic arrival, follow JR signs inside your terminal.
- Domestic terminal → New Chitose Airport Station, basement floor 1
Follow JR signs down to New Chitose Airport Station on basement floor 1. Terminal transfers and train waits are additional to the ride.
- New Chitose Airport Station → JR Sapporo Station
Take a Sapporo-bound Airport train and get off at Sapporo. Reserved seats add a seat charge to the unreserved fare.
- Sapporo Station → Makomanai-bound Namboku Line → Odori
Take a Makomanai-bound Namboku Line train one stop to Odori. If starting from an Odori hotel, walk from the station area to the Clock Tower.
- Odori Station, City Hall side exit → Clock Tower → park and dinner
Walk about 5 minutes from Odori Station's City Hall side exit and visit inside the Clock Tower first. If standard last admission at 17:00 has passed, see the exterior and skip the indoor visit. Walk through the eastern park and have dinner in the city. Check official notices separately for hours and visit areas on evening-opening dates.
Facility directions from station exitsClock Tower: official admission, opening and last-entry informationSapporo tourism guideAdmission and hoursSapporo Clock Tower: official evening-opening notice
- Odori Station → Asabu-bound Namboku Line → Sapporo Station hotel
From Odori, take an Asabu-bound Namboku Line train back towards your Sapporo Station hotel.
The Clock Tower's standard hours are 08:45–17:10, with last admission at 17:00. It closes on 1–3 January. If you arrive after last admission, skip the indoor visit. The final day is for the TV Tower followed by the airport; do not add the Clock Tower as well.
Tickets: if you can visit inside the Clock Tower on day 1 and the TV Tower on day 3, compare the 1,300-yen adult combined ticket at the Clock Tower counter. First check opening arrangements and time for your flight. Do not buy the combined ticket if you will skip one attraction. See the cost section below for sales dates, validity and the combined-ticket total.
Day 2 | Otaru Canal walk and return to Sapporo
- Sapporo Station → JR Otaru Station → canal
Take a JR train towards Otaru. The canal is about a 10-minute walk from Otaru Station.
Hokkaido official tourism guideTrains and operations for your travel date
- Otaru Canal and station area → Walk, lunch and return-train check
Walk along the canal and choose lunch near the canal or station. If staying into the evening, check restaurant hours alongside return JR trains to Sapporo.
Hokkaido official tourism guideTrains and operations for your travel date
- Otaru Station → JR Sapporo Station → hotel
Take a Sapporo-bound train from Otaru for the return journey. The paid canal cruise is not included in this route.
Trains and operations for your travel dateHokkaido official tourism guide
Day 3 | TV Tower, then New Chitose Airport
Look over the city from the TV Tower, then travel to New Chitose Airport on the final day.
- From a Sapporo Station hotel to the tower → Namboku Line Sapporo Station
Use your hotel's recommended exit and walking route to Namboku Line Sapporo Station. Distinguish the subway station from JR Sapporo Station.
Check with your Sapporo Station hotel: walk to the Namboku Line station
- Namboku Line Sapporo Station → Makomanai-bound train → Odori
Take a Makomanai-bound train one stop to Odori, then follow the station-to-tower directions below.
- From an Odori hotel to the tower → Odori Station and Aurora Town
Enter through an entrance near your hotel and head towards Odori Station and Aurora Town.
Check with your Odori hotel: walk to Odori Station and Aurora Town
- Odori Station and Aurora Town → Prepare your ticket on TV Tower floor 3
Use exit 27, enter the nearby tower and go to the floor 3 ticket counter. Show the combined ticket bought on day 1, or buy a 1,200-yen adult individual ticket.
- TV Tower, floor 3 → Visit the deck, then return towards Odori Station
See the city and park from the deck, then come down and return towards exit 27. Finish in time for your airport-bound JR train.
- TV Tower and Odori → Your hotel and JR Sapporo Station
Take the Asabu-bound Namboku Line from Odori one stop to Sapporo, then walk to JR. Collect luggage from an Odori hotel before taking the subway, or from a Sapporo Station hotel after getting off. Include the luggage-collection trip in your airport travel time.
- JR Sapporo Station → Airport train towards New Chitose Airport → airport station
Take a New Chitose Airport-bound train checked for your date and get off at the terminus. Adult unreserved fare is 1,230 yen one way; check the official fare or station display for your date. Reserved seats in Airport car 4 cost extra.
- New Chitose Airport Station, basement floor 1 → Domestic terminal, floor 2
Follow airport signs up to domestic-terminal floor 2. For a domestic flight, continue to domestic departure procedures below; for an international flight, use the floor 2 connecting passage.
Airport: JR access guideNew Chitose Airport: official floor map dated 2026-09-17
- Domestic departure: domestic-terminal floor 2 → Airline counter and security
Go to your booked airline's counter. Follow the airline's guidance for your date for check-in, baggage drop, security and gate-arrival deadlines.
Check with your airline: domestic departure counter and deadlines
- International departure: domestic-terminal floor 2 → Floor 2 connecting passage → international terminal
Follow the floor 2 connecting passage towards the international terminal. Allow extra time after leaving the airport station for the walk between terminals.
- International terminal, floor 2 → Floor 3 departures
Follow departure signs up to floor 3. Check your airline's counter location in the airport information for your date.
- International terminal, floor 3 → Airline counter and international departure procedures
Go to your booked airline's counter. Use the airline's guidance for your date when allowing time for check-in, baggage drop, security, departure immigration and reaching the gate.
Check with your airline: international departure counter and deadlines
The TV Tower opens at 09:00. Do not move Otaru to departure day. Costs change if you skip an attraction or choose a different ticket.
Included: Clock Tower and TV Tower: 1,550 yen + return airport JR: 2,460 yen + return Otaru JR: 1,600 yen
Extra costs: Flights, accommodation, meals, luggage storage, shopping and Sapporo subway travel are excluded. Check unreserved airport and Otaru JR fares for your date in the official fare table or station display. For Airport car 4 reserved seats, check the extra seat charge and reservation conditions. Standard attraction costs use individual admission tickets.
If you can use the combined ticket, the subtotal is 5,360 yen per adult: Clock Tower and TV Tower combined ticket 1,300 yen + return airport JR 2,460 yen + return Otaru JR 1,600 yen. The exclusions above, including city subway travel, are unchanged.
The combined ticket is sold on TV Tower floor 3 and at the Clock Tower. Sales run from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027; validity runs from purchase through 31 March 2027. You can show the ticket bought at the Clock Tower on day 1 at the TV Tower on day 3.
Use this alternative subtotal only if you can visit both attractions within that period. Do not recalculate a day 1 individual ticket as a combined ticket afterwards. If you skip an attraction or it is closed, recalculate using the tickets and journeys you actually use.
Clock Tower: official admission, opening and last-entry informationAdmission and hoursJR: official access and timetablesStandard JR fares
Hakodate harbour and Goryokaku
Stay 2 nights near Hakodate Station and see the night view and Goryokaku on separate days. Choose this if you also want lunch and a park walk around Goryokaku. Visit the warehouses on the final day only if airport travel leaves enough time.
Day 1 | Arrive in Hakodate and see the night view
See Hakodate's night view and Goryokaku's star-shaped fortress on separate days. Plan the first evening's summit visit around ropeway operations and your arrival time.
- Hakodate Airport arrivals → Airport bus stop 2
After baggage collection, use an exit near arrivals and go to stop 2. Check the station-bound rapid route 8 timetable for your date.
Hakodate Bus: airport-to-station guideOfficial timetable at the airport stop
- Airport stop 2 → Outside Hakodate Station
Take rapid route 8 towards Hakodate Station and get off outside the station. The direct ride takes about 25 minutes and costs adults 500 yen. Waits and road delays are extra.
- Outside Hakodate Station → Jujigai tram stop
From Hakodate-ekimae, take a tram towards Yachigashira or Hakodate Dock and get off at Jujigai.
- Jujigai tram stop → Ropeway lower station
Walk uphill for about 10 minutes to the lower station. On suspension dates, choose a harbour walk rather than going up.
- Lower station, floor 1 → Floor 3 boarding lobby
Buy a return ticket on floor 1 and go to the floor 3 boarding lobby. An adult return costs 1,800 yen; ticketing and boarding waits are extra.
- Lower station, floor 3 → Summit observation deck
Take the ropeway to the summit station and see the city and sea from the deck. The ride takes about 3 minutes. Finish in time for the last descent and your return tram.
- Summit station → Lower station
Take the ropeway down to the lower station. Leave time for local queues rather than viewing until just before the last descent.
- Lower station → Jujigai tram stop
Retrace your route downhill to Jujigai tram stop.
- Jujigai tram stop → Hakodate-ekimae and your hotel
Take a Yunokawa-bound tram to Hakodate-ekimae and return to your hotel. Use the same tram direction after a harbour walk if the ropeway is suspended.
Check ropeway maintenance suspensions in the attraction information below and official notices. During suspension, skip the summit and walk about 5 minutes from Jujigai towards the coast to explore the harbour. Return on a Yunokawa-bound tram from Jujigai.
Day 2 | Goryokaku, lunch and a park walk
- Outside Hakodate Station → Goryokaku-koen-mae tram stop → tower floor 1 tickets
Take a Yunokawa-bound tram to Goryokaku-koen-mae, walk about 10 minutes and buy a ticket at the tower's floor 1 counter.
- Goryokaku Tower → Lunch → park walk
After the tower views, walk towards Goryokaku Park and have lunch nearby. When your walk is over, return to Goryokaku-koen-mae, the tram stop used on arrival. If you spend longer at lunch or in the park, recheck your return tram time.
- Goryokaku-koen-mae tram stop → Tram to Hakodate-ekimae → hotel
From the same Goryokaku-koen-mae stop, take a tram towards Yachigashira or Hakodate Dock. This is a different location from JR Goryokaku Station. Get off at Hakodate-ekimae and return to your hotel.
Day 3 | Warehouses if time allows, then the airport
If time remains before your flight, explore the harbour warehouses, then travel to Hakodate Airport.
- Outside Hakodate Station → Tram to Jujigai → warehouse walk and shopping
Take a tram from Hakodate-ekimae towards Yachigashira or Hakodate Dock, get off at Jujigai and walk about 5 minutes towards the waterfront. Warehouse shops open from 09:30, so visit after that. Fit shopping or a meal around the time needed for airport travel.
Tram guideHakodate City tourism guideKanemori: official partial closure in November 2026
- Jujigai tram stop → Yunokawa-bound tram → Hakodate-ekimae
Return to Jujigai and take a Yunokawa-bound tram to Hakodate-ekimae. Collect any hotel-stored luggage first, then go to airport-bound stop 3 outside the station.
- Hakodate Station, stop 3 → Rapid route 8 → Hakodate Airport
Take the airport-bound rapid route 8 bus selected for your date. The direct journey takes about 25 minutes and costs adults 500 yen. Waits, road delays and airline procedures need extra time.
Hakodate Bus: station-to-airport guideOfficial timetable at the station stop
- After arrival at Hakodate Airport → Your airline's departure counter
Follow departure signs to your booked airline's counter. Use the airline's guidance for your date for check-in, baggage drop, security and international departure immigration deadlines.
Check with your airline: airport counter and departure deadlines
Warehouse shops open from 09:30. Skip the visit if you cannot make the return trip before your airport bus. Removing that day's return tram journey reduces the subtotal by 500 yen.
Included: Goryokaku Tower and return ropeway: 3,000 yen + return rapid route 8: 1,000 yen + return trams over three days: 1,540 yen
Extra costs: Flights, accommodation, meals, luggage storage and shopping are excluded. Transport costs change if you alter the visit order or journeys. Attraction costs use standard individual admission.
Tram costs combine return journeys on days 1 and 2 (1,040 yen) with the departure-day return to Jujigai (500 yen). If the ropeway is suspended, choose a harbour walk; the only attraction admission is the tower's 1,200 yen. With the same transport above, the subtotal is 3,740 yen per adult. The displayed subtotal uses rapid route 8. If you switch to the shuttle after checking the actual service, stop and applicable date, add 200 yen for each one-way journey you change.
Admission and hoursFares and hoursAirport guideTram fares · revised 2025-12-01Official service-suspension noticeHakodate Bus: airport-to-station guideHakodate Bus: station-to-airport guide
Frequently asked questions
Can I reach Otaru and the airport with a Sapporo subway one-day pass?
No. The subway one-day pass and Donichika are for Sapporo's subway only. These airport and Otaru routes use JR and cost extra.
Official one-day passJR: official access and timetablesStandard JR fares
Do I change hotels on the Otaru day-trip day?
No. The Otaru day-trip route keeps your Sapporo hotel. Take JR to Otaru, walk about 10 minutes to the canal and return on a Sapporo-bound train from the same station. For an evening stay, check restaurant hours and return trains for your date together.
Hokkaido official tourism guideJR: official access and timetablesTrains and operations for your travel date
Official sources and dates checked
- Official service-suspension notice ·
- Sapporo tourism guide ·
- Admission and hours ·
- Directions ·
- Facility directions from station exits ·
- Hokkaido official tourism guide ·
- Standard JR fares ·
- Admission and hours ·
- Access ·
- Tram fares · revised 2025-12-01 ·
- Fares and hours ·
- Access map ·
- Lower station floor guide ·
- Hakodate City tourism guide ·
- JR: official access and timetables ·
- Airport: JR access guide ·
- Subway route map ·
- Airport guide ·
- Tram guide ·
- Trains and operations for your travel date ·
- Official one-day pass ·
- Clock Tower: official admission, opening and last-entry information ·
- Kanemori: official partial closure in November 2026 ·
- Hakodate Bus: airport-to-station guide ·
- Hakodate Bus: station-to-airport guide ·
- Official timetable at the airport stop ·
- Official timetable at the station stop ·
- New Chitose Airport: official floor map dated 2026-09-17 ·
- Sapporo Clock Tower: official evening-opening notice ·