For 4 days, should I visit Otaru or stay in Sapporo?
Stay in Sapporo and take a day trip for an Otaru Canal walk. For trees and flowers without travelling to Otaru, choose the Botanic Garden route. Both itineraries visit Shiroi Koibito Park. Choose the garden route only for outdoor opening dates between 29 April and 3 November.
Choose a 4 days / 3 nights itinerary
Otaru and a confectionery theme park
Visit Otaru Canal and Shiroi Koibito Park's paid exhibitions on separate days, keeping your Sapporo hotel throughout.
Otaru and a confectionery theme park →4 days / 3 nights BStay in Sapporo: spring to autumn
Enjoy walks and exhibitions in Sapporo without travelling to another city. Visit the Botanic Garden on an opening date between 29 April and 3 November.
Stay in Sapporo: spring to autumn →Otaru and a confectionery theme park
Visit Otaru Canal and Shiroi Koibito Park's paid exhibitions on separate days, keeping your Sapporo hotel throughout.
Day 1 | Odori Park and TV Tower after arrival
Enjoy Odori Park and TV Tower views on arrival day. Split the canal walk and confectionery factory visit over the next two days, then visit the Clock Tower on your final morning.
- 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.
- JR Sapporo Station → Makomanai-bound Namboku Line → Odori
Take the Makomanai-bound Namboku Line one stop to Odori. If starting from an Odori hotel, walk straight towards the park.
- Eastern Odori Park → TV Tower floor 3 ticket counter and observation deck
Walk through the eastern park, buy a ticket on TV Tower floor 3 and see the city from the observation deck before coming back down.
- Odori and Susukino → Dinner → Sapporo Station hotel
Choose dinner in Odori or Susukino according to the easiest return to your hotel. For a Sapporo Station hotel, take an Asabu-bound Namboku Line train. Visit the Clock Tower separately on the final morning.
If you arrive late, skip arrival-day sightseeing or adjust the order to actual opening dates.
Day 2 | Otaru Canal walk, lunch and return to Sapporo
- Sapporo Station → JR Otaru Station → canal
Check that day's return train before leaving. Take an Otaru-bound JR train, get off at Otaru and walk about 10 minutes to the canal.
Hokkaido official tourism guideTrains and operations for your travel date
- Otaru Canal → Lunch → JR Sapporo Station
After lunch near the canal, return to Otaru Station and take a Sapporo-bound JR train to Sapporo.
Hokkaido official tourism guideTrains and operations for your travel date
- Sapporo Station → Odori or station-area hotel and dinner
For an Odori hotel, take a Makomanai-bound Namboku Line train one more stop. Have dinner in Sapporo.
Day 3 | Shiroi Koibito Park's paid exhibitions
- Sapporo Station or Odori hotel → Tozai Line to Miyanosawa → walk and ticket centre
From a Sapporo Station hotel, take the Makomanai-bound Namboku Line one stop to Odori, then transfer to the Miyanosawa-bound Tozai Line. Get off at the terminus, walk about 7 minutes to the park and buy paid-area admission at the ticket centre.
- Park paid area → Factory visit, exhibitions, optional activity and lunch
Explore the confectionery factory and exhibitions in the paid area, with time for lunch and a break. If you booked a confectionery-making activity, arrange your viewing order around its time.
Admission and ticketsKorean visitor informationShiroi Koibito Park: official facilities and factory visit
- Shiroi Koibito Park → Miyanosawa Station
After your visit, retrace the roughly 7-minute walk to Miyanosawa Station.
- Miyanosawa Station → Odori Station and your hotel
Take a Shin-Sapporo-bound Tozai Line train to Odori. Return to an Odori hotel from here, or take an Asabu-bound Namboku Line train one more stop for a Sapporo Station hotel.
Day 4 | Clock Tower, then New Chitose Airport
Finish with Sapporo Clock Tower's exhibitions, then travel to New Chitose Airport.
- Sapporo Station or Odori hotel → Odori Station, City Hall side exit → Clock Tower
From a Sapporo Station hotel, take the Makomanai-bound Namboku Line one stop to Odori. Walk about 5 minutes from the City Hall side exit to the Clock Tower and visit the indoor exhibitions after the Clock Tower opens at 08:45.
Subway route mapFacility directions from station exitsClock Tower: official admission, opening and last-entry information
- Clock Tower → JR Sapporo Station
After your visit, go to JR Sapporo Station, collecting hotel-stored luggage first if needed. From Odori, take an Asabu-bound Namboku Line train one stop; from the Sapporo Station area, walk to JR.
- JR Sapporo Station → New Chitose Airport Station and your terminal
Take a New Chitose Airport-bound Airport train to the terminus. From basement floor 1, go up to the domestic terminal. For an international departure, use the floor 2 connecting passage and continue to international-terminal floor 3 departures.
JR: official access and timetablesAirport: JR access guideNew Chitose Airport: official floor map dated 2026-09-17
The Clock Tower opens at 08:45. Visit on the final morning only if you have enough time to reach the airport afterwards.
Included: Clock Tower, TV Tower and park paid area: 2,750 yen + return airport JR: 2,460 yen + return Otaru JR: 1,600 yen
Extra costs: Flights, accommodation, meals, luggage storage, confectionery-making activities, shopping and Sapporo subway travel are excluded. Confirm the final JR fare for your date and seat type on the booking screen. Airport JR uses unreserved seats; the Airport car 4 reserved-seat supplement is excluded. Attraction costs use standard individual admission.
If you visit only the garden and shops without entering the paid area, you do not pay the park's 1,200-yen admission.
Clock Tower: official admission, opening and last-entry informationAdmission and hoursAdmission and ticketsJR: official access and timetablesStandard JR fares
Stay in Sapporo: spring to autumn
Enjoy walks and exhibitions in Sapporo without travelling to another city. Visit the Botanic Garden on an opening date between 29 April and 3 November.
Day 1 | Odori Park walk and dinner after arrival
Keep day 1 to a short Odori Park walk and dinner in the city. Spread the Botanic Garden's plants, TV Tower views and confectionery factory visit over the following days.
- 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.
- JR Sapporo Station → Makomanai-bound Namboku Line → Odori
Take the Makomanai-bound Namboku Line one stop to Odori. If starting from an Odori hotel, walk straight towards the park.
- Odori Park → Walk and dinner → hotel
Take a short walk through the eastern park, then eat in the city. Use an Asabu-bound Namboku Line train for a station-area hotel. If you arrive late, move the park walk to the next day.
If you arrive late, skip arrival-day sightseeing or adjust the order to actual opening dates.
Day 2 | Botanic Garden walk, then TV Tower
- Sapporo Station or Odori hotel → Botanic Garden main gate
If staying near Sapporo Station, use the route from JR Sapporo’s south exit to the Botanic Garden’s main gate, a walk of about 10 minutes. If staying near Odori, the main gate is about 10 minutes on foot from Odori Station exit 2.
- Botanic Garden → Morning walk → lunch in the city
Walk in the Botanic Garden in the morning. There is no restaurant inside, so leave through the main gate for lunch in the city.
- City centre and Odori Park → TV Tower observation deck
In the afternoon, visit the TV Tower at the east end of the park. Buy a ticket at the floor 3 counter, see the city from the deck and come back down.
- Odori Station → Your hotel
Return to your nearby hotel if staying in Odori. For a Sapporo Station hotel, take an Asabu-bound Namboku Line train one stop, then walk to the hotel.
Visit the outdoor Botanic Garden on opening dates between 29 April and 3 November. The outdoor garden closes in winter, and the glasshouse is currently closed to visitors, so neither can be visited then.
Day 3 | Shiroi Koibito Park's paid exhibitions
- Sapporo Station or Odori hotel → Tozai Line to Miyanosawa → ticket centre
From a Sapporo Station hotel, take the Makomanai-bound Namboku Line to Odori and transfer to the Miyanosawa-bound Tozai Line. From an Odori hotel, use the Tozai Line directly. Get off at the terminus, walk about 7 minutes to the park and buy paid-area admission at the ticket centre.
- Park paid area → Factory visit, exhibitions and optional activity
Explore the confectionery factory and exhibitions in the paid area. If you also want a confectionery-making activity, check its charge and registration arrangements separately.
Admission and ticketsKorean visitor informationShiroi Koibito Park: official facilities and factory visit
- Shiroi Koibito Park → Miyanosawa Station
After your visit, retrace the roughly 7-minute walk to Miyanosawa Station.
- Miyanosawa Station → Odori Station and your hotel
Take a Shin-Sapporo-bound Tozai Line train to Odori. Return to an Odori hotel from here, or take an Asabu-bound Namboku Line train one more stop for a Sapporo Station hotel.
Day 4 | Clock Tower, then New Chitose Airport
Visit inside the Clock Tower, then return to New Chitose Airport.
- Sapporo Station or Odori hotel → Odori Station, City Hall side exit → Clock Tower
From a Sapporo Station hotel, take the Makomanai-bound Namboku Line one stop to Odori. Walk about 5 minutes from the City Hall side exit to the Clock Tower and visit the indoor exhibitions after the Clock Tower opens at 08:45.
Subway route mapFacility directions from station exitsClock Tower: official admission, opening and last-entry information
- Clock Tower → JR Sapporo Station
After your visit, go to JR Sapporo Station, collecting hotel-stored luggage first if needed. From Odori, take an Asabu-bound Namboku Line train one stop; from the Sapporo Station area, walk to JR.
- JR Sapporo Station → New Chitose Airport Station and your terminal
Take a New Chitose Airport-bound Airport train to the terminus. From basement floor 1, go up to the domestic terminal. For an international departure, use the floor 2 connecting passage and continue to international-terminal floor 3 departures.
JR: official access and timetablesAirport: JR access guideNew Chitose Airport: official floor map dated 2026-09-17
The Clock Tower opens at 08:45. Visit on the final morning only if you have enough time to reach the airport afterwards.
Included: Clock Tower, TV Tower, park paid area and Botanic Garden: 3,170 yen + return airport JR: 2,460 yen
Extra costs: Flights, accommodation, meals, luggage storage, confectionery-making activities, shopping and Sapporo subway travel are excluded. Confirm the final JR fare for your date and seat type on the booking screen. Airport JR uses unreserved seats; the Airport car 4 reserved-seat supplement is excluded. Attraction costs use standard individual admission.
Swap days 2 and 3 to avoid Monday closures and the day after a public holiday. This itinerary cannot be followed as written in winter: the outdoor Botanic Garden closes, and the glasshouse is currently closed to visitors. Without the garden, day 2's main visit is just the TV Tower. For winter travel, compare itinerary A, which omits the garden. Also check train services for your Otaru walk and opening dates for the attractions you choose.
Clock Tower: official admission, opening and last-entry informationAdmission and hoursAdmission and ticketsHours and admissionJR: official access and timetablesStandard JR fares
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to change hotels for an Otaru day trip?
For the day-trip option, stay 3 nights at your Sapporo hotel. Visit Otaru Canal by JR on day 2 and Shiroi Koibito Park on day 3. If you want an evening by the canal and a night in Otaru, compare the 1-night Otaru and 3-night Sapporo route.
Hokkaido official tourism guideTrains and operations for your travel dateAdmission and ticketsHours and admissionMain gate and access
Do I need a JR pass for an Otaru day trip?
The 4-day Otaru day-trip route's return airport and Otaru unreserved JR fares total 4,060 yen. If you have no extra JR journeys, compare these individual-ticket costs first. Check regional-pass coverage and validity separately; they do not replace Sapporo subway tickets or attraction admission.
Standard JR faresJR: official access and timetablesJR Hokkaido official informationOfficial one-day pass
Official sources and dates checked
- Sapporo tourism guide ·
- Admission and hours ·
- Directions ·
- Facility directions from station exits ·
- Admission and tickets ·
- Korean visitor information ·
- Access ·
- Hours and admission ·
- Main gate and access ·
- Hokkaido official tourism guide ·
- Standard JR fares ·
- JR: official access and timetables ·
- Airport: JR access guide ·
- Subway route map ·
- Trains and operations for your travel date ·
- Official one-day pass ·
- JR Hokkaido official information ·
- Clock Tower: official admission, opening and last-entry information ·
- New Chitose Airport: official floor map dated 2026-09-17 ·
- Shiroi Koibito Park: official facilities and factory visit ·