Okay. It has been a year since I went to Hokkaido and I am still writing blog posts. Oh my god. Today I will share how I travel from Sapporo to Tokyo by Shinkansen.
Oh by the way, I travelled from Tokyo to Sapporo by air. Specifically Peach Aviation. Which flies from Narita Airport to Sapporo. Which I stayed one night at 9 hours Narita (after arriving at Narita from Singapore via Singapore Airlines) and then catching the early flight from Narita to Sapporo.
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Sapporo to Tokyo by Shinkansen
Technically there is no way to travel from Sapporo to Tokyo by Shinkansen only. Because there is no such direct link between Tokyo and Sapporo with Shinkansen. Instead, it is a two legged trip.
Specifically you take
(1) Hakodate line (this is NOT Shinkansen) from Sapporo to Hakodate
(2) Then the Shinkansen from Hakodate to Tokyo etc
You can see from this diagram that the Shinkansen stopped at Hakodate.
The green colours are Shinkansen lines. You can see that the green lines go from Tokyo and end at Hakodate. Then it is RED line (regular trains) from Hakodate to Sapporo.
Alternatively, you can wait till 2030. The extension from Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto to Sapporo Station is scheduled to open in 2030, offering even more convenient access to Sapporo. In fact, by all accounts, it will probably NOT open in 2030.
Planning the JR trains from Sapporo To Tokyo
Using good tools on my iPhone like my favourite Japan Travel by Navitime, these are the routes I took from Sapporo to Tokyo….
So firstly, you need to get from Sapporo to Hakodate. I used 08:43am train from Sapporo Station (very near to where I was staying at Holiday Inn Sapporo Susukino Hotel). This will take me to Shin-Hakodate station by 12:19pm.
A short wait later (buying food !!) at 12:48pm, we can then take the Shinkansen from Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto Station to Tokyo.
The Hayabusa (はやぶさ, “Peregrine falcon“) is a high-speed Shinkansen service operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido) between Tokyo and Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto in Japan since 26 March 2016.
Depending on where you stay in Tokyo (we were staying at the AMAZING BEAUTIFUL HOTEL GROOVE Shinjuku), you will arrive in the evening in Tokyo. All in all, a whole day of travel !
JR Tickets for Sapporo to Tokyo by Shinkansen
I was able to plan nicely to be able to use the JR Japan Pass before the prices increased in Oct 2023. I was able to buy the tickets at the right time to use them in Dec 2023. And these are the tickets I got 🙂
Just realised I travelled on Dec 26th 2023. My tickets are valid till 1st Jan 204 (Five Days JR Pass). After Tokyo, I will need it for the long distance JR Train to another place ! 🙂
Taking the Train from Sapporo To Hakodate
Oh my god, the first thing I do on 26th Dec 2023 was to travel from Sapporo to Hakodate via a train. Seven early eight early, wake up at the hotel and had breakfast and then rushed to Sapporo train station 🙂
And Japan trains are never late okay ! 🙂 See the train “Limited Express Hokuto” at 8:43am to Hakodate.
My Train Car is Car 3 (you can see from the tickets above, my seats are Car 3, Seat 6-A, Seat 7-A and Seat 7-B). So the seats are reserved.
Seemed like Car 3 is specifically for the ride
And it is a 2 by 2 seating..
Lots of leg room ! And this is a “local train”.. this is Japan !
There is luggage space too..
Leaving Snowy Sapporo
Transferring to Shinkansen at Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto
After a long ride, you will arrive at Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto. Many people will leave your train at this station but still do watch out 🙂
Look out for the signs that showed you the way to “transfer” to Shinkansen.
See.. LARGE SIGN 🙂
You will need the train tickets for the Shinkansen to Tokyo to go to the Shinkansen area. Because I am using Japan Rail pass, I will need the Japan Rail Pass ticket too.
See.. My Shinkansen at 12:48pm is coming.
This time I am in Car 4 as you can see from the tickets again. So it is RESERVED Seating again.
No Green Car. 3 seats by 2 seats
Charging points are available 🙂
Lots of leg room. No worries. I am 1.78m tall.
I tried to see the route of the Shinkansen from Hakodate to Tokyo via Google Maps. It was working till we disappeared under the sea when we reached Seikan Tunnel.
The Seikan Tunnel (Japanese: 青函トンネル, Seikan Tonneru or 青函隧道, Seikan Zuidō) is a 53.85 km (33.46 mi) dual-gauge railway tunnel in Japan, with a 23.3 km (14.5 mi) portion under the seabed of the Tsugaru Strait, which separates Aomori Prefecture on the main Japanese island of Honshu from the northern island of Hokkaido.
Here…
And coming soon to the Tunnel…
And damn, the next time I can see myself on Google Map, I am on mainland Japan 🙂
After crossing the Seikan Tunnel, you will then be travelling across the northern part of Japan to reach Tokyo such as Omiya, Ueno etc.. Depending on how you travel, you will need a local JR Train to your hotel !
There you have it.. that’s how you can travel from Sapporo to Tokyo by Shinkansen (or from Tokyo to Sapporo by Shinkansen !).
Taking the Hayabusa is pretty easy and fun !
