The Chitose Line for Sapporo, Chitose, Tomakomai

The Chitose Line is a railway line in Hokkaido that links the cities of Sapporo, Chitose and Tomakomai.

At Sapporo Station, departure platforms vary by train, so check the station departure boards or JR Hokkaido’s date-specific timetable for the platform, destination and stopping pattern of your service. This line is operated by JR Hokkaido and so is fully covered by the Japan Rail Pass.

This article is about local services on the Chitose Line. For transportation to New Chitose Airport, visit the Rapid Airport Service article.

Key Destinations

Strictly speaking, the Chitose Line runs from Shiroishi Station in eastern Sapporo as far as Numanohata Station in Tomakomai. Passenger services run through from Sapporo toward Chitose, New Chitose Airport and Tomakomai, but not every local train travels all the way from Sapporo to Tomakomai. All 17 stations on the route between Sapporo and Tomakomai are listed below.

Sapporo – Naebo – Shiroishi – Heiwa – Shin-Sapporo – Kami-Nopporo – Kitahiroshima – Shimamatsu – Megumino – Eniwa – Sapporo Beer Teien – Osatsu – Chitose – Minami-Chitose – Uenae – Numanohata – Tomakomai

There is also an Airport Branch Line that connects Minami-Chitose Station directly to New Chitose Airport Station. The key destinations are listed below with adult one-way basic fares and representative journey times from Sapporo Station on a direct Local train that stops at all stations. Direct local trains to Tomakomai operate only at selected times, so check the date-specific timetable for a suitable service.

Sapporo Station

Sapporo is Hokkaido’s capital and a lively city with plenty to see and do. Established in the 19th century, this city’s attractions include several grand 19th century buildings such as the Sapporo Clock Tower, the Old Hokkaido Government Office, and the Hoheikan guest house in Nakajima Park. Other popular attractions include the Hokkaido University Botanical Gardens, Hokkaido University Museum, and the ropeway ride to the top of Mount Moiwa. Sapporo also hosts a Snow Festival each February during which delicate ice sculptures and giant snow statues decorate the city’s streets and parks.

Transfer here to the Hakodate Main Line, the Gakuentoshi Line, the Namboku Subway Line, and the Toho Subway Line.

Naebo Station

This station in Sapporo is an 8 minute walk from Sapporo Beer Museum and a 15 minute walk from Hokkaido Railway Technology Museum.

The Sapporo Beer Museum is located in a converted brewery and has displays featuring the history of Sapporo Beer. The self-guided museum is open between 11.00 and 18.00, with final admission at 17.30, and costs 1,000 yen for adults. Its Tasting Hall offers paid beer tastings between 11.00 and 18.30, with last orders at 18.00. The adjacent Sapporo Beer Garden has several restaurants where you can enjoy Genghis Khan-style jingisukan lamb. The beer garden is generally open between 11.30 and 21.00, with last orders at 20.40, although individual restaurant schedules can vary.

Hokkaido Railway Technology Museum has exhibits of historical photographs, models, a diorama, and also some historic vehicles on display including a rare JNR Class C62 steam locomotive. This museum is open only on the 2nd and 4th Saturday of each month between 13.30 and 16.00 and is free to enter. Visitors should register at the Naebo Works security office and confirm that no temporary closure is in effect before travelling.

Shin-Sapporo Station

This station is convenient for three of Sapporo’s museums and an aquarium.

Sapporo Science Center is a hands-on museum and planetarium with exhibits on snow and ice, astronomy and earth science, the human body and other scientific themes. It is a 6 minute walk from the station.

The Sunpiazza Aquarium displays about 200 species and 10,000 animals at peak periods, including spotted seals, Asian small-clawed otters, Cape penguins and fish from Hokkaido and warmer waters. The aquarium is a 5 minute walk from the station inside Sunpiazza Shopping Center.

The Historical Village of Hokkaido is an open-air museum of historic buildings dating from the Meiji period through the early Showa period. JR Hokkaido Bus route Shin 22 takes about 20 minutes from Shin-Sapporo Station.

The Hokkaido Museum has exhibits exploring Hokkaido’s history through the relationship between human culture and the natural world. It is a 15 minute bus ride from the station.

Sapporo Science Center is closed on Mondays and several additional dates, while Hokkaido Museum is closed on Mondays with holiday adjustments. Historical Village is open daily from May through September but closes on Mondays, with holiday adjustments, from October through April. Sunpiazza Aquarium has no regular closure day. Check each venue’s calendar for holiday and temporary closures.

Transfer here to the Tozai Subway Line.

Kami-Nopporo Station

This station in Sapporo is a 10 minute walk from the Mori-no-Yu day spa, which features indoor and outdoor natural hot spring baths and a dry sauna. Kami-Nopporo is served by Local trains, while rapid trains pass through the station. In addition to the bathing facilities, there are restaurants serving traditional Japanese fare and yakiniku barbecue. The spa is open from 9.00 to 22.00, with last entry at 21.30, and is closed on New Year’s Day and designated maintenance days. Admission costs 1,000 yen for adults on weekdays, 1,100 yen on weekends, holidays and specified peak dates, and 400 yen for children aged 6-12. Children aged 5 or younger enter free.

Eniwa Station

One of Eniwa’s attractions is Ecorin Village, an agricultural and environmental facility with a Welcome Center, Restaurant Rakudaken, the seasonal Tomato Forest, a camping field, a dog run and reservable outdoor, craft and environmental programmes. A large sheep farm remains on the property, but the sheep move among grazing areas and the former gardens, animal farm, sheepdog shows, sheep races and tractor tours have closed. The station shuttle has also ended. A taxi from the west exit of Eniwa Station takes about 15 minutes.

Sapporo Beer Teien Station

This station is a 10 minute walk from Sapporo Beer Hokkaido Brewery. This working brewery offers the 60-minute Sapporo Classic Star Tour, a Japanese-language guided tour covering beer production and history followed by a tasting. Advance reservations are required. The tour costs 1,000 yen for adults and includes two Sapporo Classic tastings, with non-alcoholic options for visitors who cannot drink. Tours normally begin at 10.30, 11.00, 13.30, 14.00 and 15.00, but the number offered varies by day. The brewery is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, or the following two days when those are holidays, as well as over New Year and on irregular closure dates. Check tour availability and book online at the official webpage. There is also a restaurant on site where you can continue your appreciation of Sapporo Beer together with Genghis Khan-style jingisukan lamb.

Chitose Station

This station is convenient for Salmon Hometown Chitose Aquarium. At this unusual facility you can view a variety of freshwater fish, learn about the life cycle of Hokkaido salmon, and see directly into the Chitose River ecosystem through the glass windows of the Underwater Observation Zone. This aquarium also has a working salmon wheel which is used in the autumn to catch salmon for breeding purposes. The aquarium is about a 10 minute walk from the station.

The city of Chitose is also a good base for visiting the hot spring resort of Shikotsu Onsen on the shores of Lake Shikotsu. Popular activities in this area include camping, hiking, canoeing, kayaking, paddle boarding, fishing, and pleasure boat cruises. For those who wish to stay here, Kyukamura Shikotsuko is a traditional inn with hot spring bathing facilities and saunas that also organizes trekking, canoeing, and bird watching activities. Also in Shikotsu Onsen, Resort Spa Mizu-no-Uta is a luxury hotel with a hot spring spa, two restaurants, a café and bar, a patisserie, and a hamburger stand. Its free shuttle from Chitose Station and New Chitose Airport must be reserved by 19.00 three days in advance and does not operate without bookings. Day-use bathing is offered only as part of an advance-booked lunch plan on designated dates, not as bathing-only admission. Lake Shikotsu is about a 45 minute bus ride from Chitose Station or 30 minutes by car. Check the limited bus timetable before travelling.

Minami-Chitose Station

Exit here for Northern Horse Park. This theme park offers horse and pony shows, riding experiences, carriage rides and seasonal outdoor activities, although the programme varies by day, weather and season. Public transport visitors can transfer at Minami-Chitose for New Chitose Airport and use the park’s limited seasonal free shuttle from the airport police-box area. The park is about 15 minutes by car from the airport, and a taxi is another option. Check the shuttle timetable and the day’s activity programme before travelling.

Transfer here to the Sekisho Line and the Airport Branch Line for New Chitose Airport.

Uenae Station

Uenae Station is located within Tomakomai City and is the closest station to Lake Utonai. This Ramsar wetland and nationally designated wildlife protection area is a popular spot for bird watchers, with more than 260 species recorded in the area. The conservation area features walking trails, and the Utonai-ko Wildlife Conservation Center beside Roadside Station Utonai Lake has exhibits, visitor information and staff who can advise on wildlife observation. The center is open from 9.00 to 17.00 and is closed on Mondays, or the following day when Monday is a holiday, and from December 29 through January 3.

There is no regular direct public transport from Uenae Station to the visitor facilities, so a taxi is the practical option. For bus access, take Donan Bus route 30 from Tomakomai Station to the Utonai-ko stop. The journey takes about 34 minutes and the stop is a short walk from the roadside station and Wildlife Conservation Center. The Wild Bird Society’s Utonai Lake Sanctuary Nature Center is a separate facility farther east, with different opening days and a longer walk.

Numanohata Station

Transfer here to the Muroran Main Line.

Tomakomai Station

The port city of Tomakomai has several long-distance ferry services which link Hokkaido to destinations around Japan. There are four ferry companies operating from two separate terminals.

At East Port, Shin Nihonkai Ferry operates services to Akita, Niigata, Tsuruga and Maizuru. A connecting bus for relevant sailings leaves from the north exit of Minami-Chitose Station; it does not depart from Tomakomai Station.

At West Port, Taiheiyo Ferry operates services to Sendai and Nagoya, MOL Sunflower operates a service to Oarai in Ibaraki Prefecture, and Silver Ferry operates a service to Hachinohe in Aomori Prefecture.

To reach West Port, take Donan Bus number 24 from bus stop 1 outside Tomakomai Station as far as the Tomakomai West Port Ferry Terminal. It takes approximately 17 minutes.

Tomakomai is also a convenient base for visiting Mount Tarumae. This 1,041m high active volcano offers hiking routes and views over the surrounding countryside. There is no public transport to the trailhead. Under normal conditions, the 7th station parking area is about 60 minutes by car from central Tomakomai, and the East Mountain route takes roughly 50 minutes from there to the summit. The access road is seasonal and can close at short notice because of weather, road conditions, maintenance or parking capacity, so check Tomakomai City’s latest road and trail information before setting out.

Transfer here to the Muroran Main Line and the Hidaka Main Line.

Services

The Chitose Line is an important rail line as it links the Hakodate Main Line and the Muroran Line. Many rapid and local services on this line are through services that continue on the Hakodate Main Line beyond Sapporo Station, or on the Muroran Main Line beyond Tomakomai Station.

Important services that use this line include the Rapid Airport Service, which provides frequent service between New Chitose Airport and Sapporo, with some trains continuing directly to Otaru.

This line also forms part of the route for southbound limited express services such as the Hokuto which runs between Sapporo and Hakodate, and the Suzuran which runs between Sapporo and Muroran.

The eastbound limited express services Tokachi and Ozora also use the section between Sapporo and Minami-Chitose Station on their way between Sapporo and the destinations of Obihiro and Kushiro.

Useful Information

A downloadable route map of the JR Hokkaido railway network can be found on their English language website together with a timetable and route finder which you can use to plan your journey.

Article and original photos by Michael Lambe. All rights reserved. Last updated 23-Aug-2026.