Where is Asahikawa Hokkaido?

Asahikawa is located in Central Hokkaido, 137km northeast of Sapporo. Asahikawa Japan is 57km north of Furano.

Flights to Asahikawa

Flights are available into Asahikawa from Tokyo Haneda (1.5 hour flight), Nagoya or Sapporo. You can search for different flight routes and for the best price with a flight search aggregator. The Asahikawa Airport is located 17km southeast of the city (towards Furano). Taxis (30 minutes) or inexpensive buses (45 minutes) connect the airport and the city.

It’s probably not worth catching a flight from Sapporo to Asahikawa, because it doesn’t save that much time and it costs significantly more money than getting there by train (see below).

Train from Sapporo to Asahikawa

The other option is to fly into Sapporo (see the Hokkaido travel page for the pros and cons of flying into Asahikawa vs Sapporo) or get a train from Honshu up to Sapporo, and then a train to Asahikawa Hokkaido.

From Sapporo City, JR trains for Asahikawa depart every 30 minutes. The trip takes about 80 minutes. From the New Chitose Airport to Asahikawa it’s approximately 2.5 hours by train. Check Japan Travel Navitime for schedules and rates.

Private Transfers

Private transfers are available from Niseko to Asahikawa for 1-16 passengers. The trip takes about 5.5 to 6 hours.

Ski Resorts Nearby

Renting a car provides the most flexibility to sample multiple ski resorts, or there are shuttle buses or public bus travel options to get to some of the resorts. Alternatively you can join a guided multi-resort tour and let someone else do all the driving for you.

There’s a smorgasbord of car rental outlets near the Asahikawa train station and with English GPS it’s very easy to navigate.

Ski areas close to Asahikawa include:

• Kamui Ski Links - 20 minutes, 20km east. From Asahikawa, Kamui Links ski area can be accessed by car (no parking fees) with an approximate travel time of 20 minutes. Use the GPS, or it’s fairly simple to take the no. 12 out of Asahikawa. To get to Kamui Links, there are also shuttle buses from a couple of major hotels in Asahikawa.
• Asahidake – one hour, 46km east of Asahikawa. See the travel to Asahidake page.
• Furano ski resort - 1 hour, 57km south. There are trains and buses from Asahikawa to Furano town.
• Tengu cat skiing - 1.5 hours
• Pippu - 30 mins, 25km northeast. To get to Pippu Ski Resort, there are about 5 buses per day from the Asahikawa station.
• Kurodake - 1.5 hours, 70km east. See the travel to Kurodake page.
• Tokachi-dake - 57km southeast of Asahikawa. Driving is the easiest way to travel there from Asahikawa.
• Nayoro Piyashiri - 89km north of Asahikawa. Self-driving is required.

Getting Around Asahikawa

It’s easy to get around Asahikawa on foot, although take care with the slippery roads and footpaths. The city is really easy to navigate as the streets are on a numbered grid system. There are also lots of taxis available and the bus system is very inexpensive.