Enjoy sightseeing, hot springs and winter sports even on bullet trip! Winter Sapporo Trip based on Sapporo Station

Sapporo Station (札幌駅) which is 37 minutes’ train ride from New Chitose Airport. 3 subway lines stretching to north, south, east and west runs here, and the station is directly connected to Sapporo Station (さっぽろ駅) where two lines running in the central area of Sapporo city are available. There are many sightseeing spots that represent Sapporo city, such as Sapporo Clock Tower and Former Hokkaido Government Office Building. Even if it’s snowing or raining, you can walk to Odori Park, a venue of ‘Sapporo Snow Festival,’ through an underground walkway without getting wet.

This time, we’re going to introduce sightseeing areas, hot spring towns and ski resorts great access from Sapporo Station.

Entertainment district perfect to walk and eat & Historical spot with a fantastic view

It’s a 20-minute walk to an entertainment district “Susukino” from Sapporo station. It’s said that there are about 4,500 eateries, so you can enjoy local dishes and sake and so on to your heart’s content. Besides, “Otaru,” one of the most popular tourist destinations in Hokkaido, is just 5 stations away by airport express. Flourished as the main commercial hub of the city in the north, this area has lots of old buildings with a retro atmosphere of the Meiji period. “Otaru Canal,” a symbol of Otaru, is holding “Otaru Snow Story” until 16th February. You will have butterflies in your stomach just by seeing illuminations using glass, the canal lit up by blue light given off by approximately 10,000 light bulbs and so on.

3 hot spring towns located in scenic spots that can be visited by bus from Sapporo Station

The area surrounding Sapporo has not only sightseeing spots but also hot spring towns. “Jozankei Onsen,” the closest town from Sapporo Station, is an hour bus ride (Kappa Liner). Opened in 1866, this old hot spring is located in a scenic spot where you can see the beautiful scenery of each season. It takes about an hour and 40 minutes to “Noboribetsu Onsen,” one of Japan’s most famous hot springs, by express bus, and there are 9 types of hot springs. This area is a hot spring town full of a quaint atmosphere, with smell of sulfur and smoke of hot springs. It might also be a good idea to stop by at “Jigokudani (Hell Valley)” allowing you to see a flowing hot spring river and white smoke erupting from deep under the ground close up. To those who have enough time, “Toyako Onsen” which is about 3 hours’ bus ride (Donan Bus) from Sapporo Station is our recommendation in addition to 2 hot spring towns we introduced. You can relieve the fatigue of travel by soaking hot springs while seeing Lake Toya which is one of the three best landscapes in Hokkaido.

Sapporo’s ski resorts with a great variety of trails

There are many ski resorts in and around Sapporo city, so you can feel free to enjoy winter sports when you want. “Sapporo Kokusai Ski Resort” where direct buses are available from Sapporo Station is a place having much powder snow. 7 trails varying difficulty in the vast ski slopes can be enjoyed by both beginners and advanced skiers. Besides, “Sapporo Teine Ski Resort” is the largest one in Sapporo, where you can get there by direct bus from Teine Station, 6 stations away by Hakodate Main Line from Sapporo Station. It was also the competition venue in Sapporo Olympics held in 1972. That’s why you can find one of the three Olympic cauldrons used at that time in Olympia Zone. How about experiencing winter sports while seeing magnificent scenery covered with snow?