How to Get From New Chitose Airport to Niseko on a Budget

Bell | 11 January 25

Niseko is one of Japan’s most well-known ski resorts and for good reason – lots of powder, a big resort and accessible backcountry make it an incredible choice for your next ski holiday. Here is exactly how to get to Niseko Ski Resort from its closest airport in Sapporo, New Chitose Airport.

I am currently doing a ski season in Niseko Japan as a snowboard instructor, which has been a dream come true and about three years in the works. I didn’t know what to expect, but had heard of dreamy powder and ramen by the slopes and if you know me, it doesn’t take much more than that to get me on a plane.

Over the past four weeks here in Niseko, I have learned so much about the ski resort, the beautiful town of Niseko and its surroundings and I want to share it with anyone thinking of coming here.

However, I know that budget can be a huge issue when thinking of Japan as a ski holiday destination, so I have decided to start with a budget series on Niseko. Secondly – transport to the resort. The closest airport is New Chitose Airport in Sapporo, around 3 hours away. There are several transport options from the airport to the resort, so I have summarised all the best ones.

See you on the slopes 🙂

Table of Contents

Best Accommodation Options in Niseko

From budget to luxury, Niseko has something for every type of ski trip. Here are some of my favourites ranked by price, all of which have excellent reviews and are within walking distance (or public transport for Pensione Uno) from the ski lifts.

$ – Pension Locomotion, Pensione Uno, Ramat and Snowgum Ski Lodge Niseko

$$ – Always Niseko, Midtown Niseko, MUSE Niseko

$$$ (ski-in, ski-out) – Yumoto Niseko Prince Hotel Hirafutei, Park Hyatt Niseko Hanazono, Ki Niseko

How to get to Niseko ski resort

The closest airport to Niseko is New Chitose Airport (CTS) in Sapporo. I would highly recommend flying into this airport as from there it is only about 2-3 hours to the resort.

There are three main options to get to the resort by public transport– bus, train or shuttle, as well as the private options of taking a taxi or renting a car. Here are all options laid out with prices and my recommendations:

Bus from New Chitose Airport (Sapporo) to Niseko Ski Resort

Bus is the happy medium regarding price and convenience and how I got to Niseko. It is a little more expensive than train (around $35) and you need to pre-book in advance, especially in peak season, but it will take care of all your luggage and get you to Niseko in 3 hours with no further effort from you. I would recommend the Hokkaido Resort Liner which you can book here, but there are also the Hokkaido Chūō Bus and the White Liner. Most of these buses only go from December to March.

The bus representatives will meet you in the arrivals hall of New Chitose Airport and escort you to the bus, where your luggage is loaded and you can find your seat. My bus stopped half-way to Niseko for a 10-minute toilet and snack break. There are around 7 departures each day for Hokkaido Resort Liner with the last bus leaving at 6pm, so keep this in mind when booking flights.

Train from New Chitose Airport (Sapporo) to Niseko

Train is the cheapest option (~$24) and does not need to be pre-booked, but you will need to change trains 2-3 times so it may not be ideal if you have a lot of luggage. You can search for your journey here.

I would recommend getting the train to Kutchan station as there are several buses that go to all areas of Niseko from there, though check in with your hotel if they have shuttles and which station they recommend (there is also Niseko station which is a little outside of Niseko). The last train to Kutchan leaves New Chitose Airport at 8.32 pm.

Private Shuttle from New Chitose Airport (Sapporo) to Niseko

There are also a bunch of direct shuttle buses which are more expensive but will often drop you right by your hotel. Options are NDS, Sky Express and NGS. They start at around $45 (NDS) and are worth it if you value convenience, especially when bringing a lot of luggage.

Some hotels even offer private shuttles organised by the hotel, so ask for that when booking.

Other Options to transfer from New Chitose Airport (Sapporo) to Niseko

Taxi: This is the most expensive option but can be the most convenient if you are booking last-minute. I would only recommend this if any of the other options don’t work for some reason. Expect to pay upwards of $200 (Go and DiDi are popular apps here).

Rental Car: If you are looking to visit other ski resorts/towns in Hokkaido or have booked accommodation outside Niseko to save money, a rental car may be a good option for you. Hire starts around $35 per day at New Chitose Airport (check out Car Rental Hokkaido). Keep in mind that you need an International Driving Permit (IDP) to drive in Japan, which you need to organise in advance to your trip.

How do you get around Niseko without a car?

As we have talked about, there are four areas to Niseko Ski Resort that can either be reached by skiing or by car/bus. The main one is Niseko Hirafu where you will find the most restaurants, bars and general nightlife, but the other three areas also offer great slopes and sometimes fewer lift lines.

There are free shuttle buses that go between the four areas of Niseko and even one that goes to Kutchan. The Niseko United Bus is included in your lift ticket and timetable can be found here. It goes between the four ski resort areas. The Hirafu free shuttle bus and Kutchan Night bus have several lines that service different areas of the resort, you can find the exact routes and timetables here.

Overall, I would recommend a hotel within walking distance to the lifts if you don’t have a car as the buses aren’t always reliable and can fill up very quickly in peak season.

How many days do you need in Niseko?

I would say an absolute minimum of 4 days is required to be able to ski/snowboard all 4 of Niseko’s resort and also make the most of the amazing restaurants, Onsen and nightlife here. You can easily spend a week or even two at this resort without getting bored, as there are so many different runs and lots of backcountry options.

What are the best months to visit Niseko for skiing/snowboarding?

The best snow conditions are late December to February. Keep in mind that around Christmas and Chinese New Year the resort is extremely busy and expensive, so if you can travel outside of those dates, I would highly recommend it.

Mid-January and February after Chinese New Year are less busy times to visit with still amazing powder snow.