Which Sapporo Airport is best to fly or closest to City?

Two airports serve Sapporo metropolitan area in Japana; New Chitose Airport (CTS) and Okadama Airport (OKD). Okadama Airport is the second and closest airport serving Sapporo metropolis, most low-budget airlines operate from this airport with short haul flights within Hokkaidō. It takes about 12 minutes using the fast Hokuto Koutsu and Chuou Buses connecting passengers to Sapporo Subway Toho line. New Chitose is the primary airport serving Sapporo and the furthest to central Sapporo at 30 miles. But it enjoys good and fast public transport that will get you into the city in just 37 minutes by train.

Compare airport distances and transfer times to the center of Sapporo by public transport below.

Distance to Central Sapporo:

Okadama Airport: 5.5 miles / 8.9 km
New Chitose Airport:30 miles / 48.3 km

Okadama Airport to Central Sapporo Journey Times:

By Subway (Airport Shuttle + Toho line): 12 minutes
By Bus: 5-35 minutes
By Taxi: 10 minutes

New Chitose Airport to Central Sapporo Journey Times:

By Train (Japan Railways): 37 minutes
By Shuttle: 60-70 minutes
By Bus: 66 minutes
By Taxi: 37 minutes

Okadama airport is the best airport to fly into when travelling to Sapporo, it could be for a business trip or for pleasure, but you will definitely prefer to fly into this airport because of its closeness to the city centre. that's for business or pleasure, as a solo traveller or with family. From the airport, in 3-15 minutes, you can be in the Sapporo Community Dome (Tsudome), Sapporo Satoland, Moerenuma Park (designed by Isamu Noguchi), and many more attractions closer to the airport and within the city centre. Okadama's good public transport links connects the city with the airport which makes transfer from the airport easy and shorter by bus, train and taxis. Although, this airport can be inconveniencing for people with heavy luggage due to bus-to-subway transfers, you can opt for a taxi to go straight into the city centre from the airport.This airport is smaller and faster than CTS meaning you will experience less queues, crowds and flight delays with limited flight destinations and airlines serving the airport. Okadam airport is served by Hokkaido Air System and Fuji Dream Airlines with limited flights within Hokkaidō.

CTS (New Chitose airport) is the primary airport in Sapporo, it is the biggest airport by land size in the whole of Hokkaidō and is serves top airlines such as AirAsia Japan, AirAsia X, Air Busan, Air China, Air Do, All Nippon Airways, Asia Atlantic Airlines, ANA Wings, Asiana Airlines, Cathay Pacific, China Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Eastar Jet, and many more with short haul and long haul flights all around Asia and some major cities in the world. CTS is further away from the city center, this makes transfer journey times to Sapporo longer, but its efficient public transport services offers comfortable transfers to Sapporo either by train, or bus. You can conveniently reach central Sapporo where you will see top attractions such as Nijo Marketand many more. This is a bigger airport with more terminal levels than OKD, so moving around this airport can be tiring for travellers with a lot of luggage and or travelling with children. Also, flights delays, more queues and crowds would be experienced at the airport.

In terms of shorter travel journey times to the city centre from both airports, Okadama airport is better due to the fact it is closer to the central Sapporo than CTS which is further away. Okadama is also has a smaller airport terminal with 3 levels as against CTS's single terminal with 4 levels which can be exhausting for passengers with plenty of luggage to navigate. It a low cost airport with fewer airlines and destinations but it is faster with less crowds, queues and flight delays.

Okadam airport is the closest to all the major attractions in Sapporo, Japan. It islocated just5.5 miles (8.9km) to central Sapporo by road and 4.3 miles (6.9km) to the Sapporo Glass Pyramid from the airport just 8 minutes drive away at $24-$29.

Alternatively, if you wish to see more attractions within the city centre such as the Sapporo Beer Museum, Hitsujigaoka Observation Hill, Curb Market (Jogai Ichiba), Shiroi Koibito Park, Sapporo Art Park, Historic Village of Hokkaido, Susukino, Takino Suzuran Hillside Park, Mt. Moiwa, and many more, the subway is a better option to use as it is cheaper just $2-$4 to central Sapporo for a 12 minutes journey

From Okadama Airport by:

Train: Sapporo Subway (+ Hokuto Koutsu&Chuou Buses) $2-$4 - http://www.hyperdia.com/cgi/en/search.html Trains run every 15 minutes daily.
Taxi: $29 - $35 - http://www.yamatotaxi.co.jp/Available 24/7.
Uber: - Not Available.

From New Chitose Airport by:

Train: JR Airport line $6 - $10- http://www.hyperdia.com/cgi/en/search.html Trains run every 30 minutes daily.
Bus (Chuo Bus): $9-$11-http://www.chuo-bus.co.jp/highway.en/airport/index.cgi?ope=sap_pole&trjc=3138&trjs=29 Buses run every 15 minutes daily.
Taxi: $130 - $160 - Available 24/7 at the airport.
Uber: Not Available
But Private taxes are cheaper than Airport taxis, here to Book at

Hotel prices can vary greatly depending on how far in advance you book, the demand for rooms, and which hotel you book but the prices below will give you a rough idea and you can do further research and hotel booking at https://www.tripindicator.com/hotel.html

Okadama Airport Hotels: From $68 per night
New Chitose Airport Hotels: From $88 per night

All of the airports mentioned offer competitive prices and a range of cars to suit your needs. Prices are based on the type of car, driver age, length of hire, and demand but you can get a rough idea for each airport below.

Okadama Airport Car Rental:

Budget Cars (Ford KA, Fiat Panda etc) Prices starting at $38.58 per day
Intermediate Cars (Toyota Corolla, Toyota Prius, etc) Prices starting at $197.83 per day
Compare prices here - https://www.tripindicator.com//

New Chitose Airport Car Rental:

Budget Cars (Ford KA, Fiat Panda etc) Prices starting at $36.91 per day
Intermediate Cars (Toyota Corolla, Toyota Prius, etc) Prices starting at $175.09 per day
Compare Prices here - https://www.tripindicator.com/

You can use the JR train. New Chitose Airport is connected with frequent departures every hour. It takes 35 minutes and $10 for a one-way fare. Travellers can reserve seats optionally for a small additional fee of $5. You can also enjoy the trains with the Japan Rail Pass and Hokkaido Rail Pass.

There are two airports in central Hokkaido, the New Chitose Airport, and Okadama Airport. New Chitose Airport is the biggest airport in the Hokkaido, and it is the primary airport serving the city while Okadama Airport is the secondary airport serving the town. It is used for general aviation purposes, and by the Japan Self-Defense Forces.

At the airports CTS and OKD, there are many things to do for fun, educational purposes, general aviation knowledge and so on.

Some of the things to do in Sapporo include a visit to the Moerenuma Park (designed by Isamu Noguchi), Sapporo Satoland, Yurigahara Park, Okadama Airport Green Space, Sapporo Beer Museum, Hitsujigaoka Observation Hill, Curb Market (Jogai Ichiba), Shiroi Koibito Park, Sapporo Art Park, Historic Village of Hokkaido, Susukino, Takino Suzuran Hillside Park, Mt. Moiwa, and many more.

Buses charge $11 to Sapporo city centre in Hokkaido. These buses run every 1hour with a journey duration of about 60-70 minutes from the airport to the city centre where all the top attractions are found.