Information on living in Sapporo for foreign residents

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Living in Sapporo

Subways

There are three subway lines in Sapporo.

Fares

Fares vary from \200 to \360 according to the distance traveled; elementary school students and younger pay half price, and babies under one year of age travel free.

If you transfer from the subway directly to a streetcar or a bus (or vice versa), you can obtain a transfer ticket at a discount rate.  With You cards are convenient because they allow the transfer rate to be applied automatically.

How to use the subway (Ticket)

• Confirm the fare for your destination using the route maps above the ticket machines, place your coins or bills into the slot and press the fare button to receive your ticket.
• Place your ticket in the slot of the ticket gate and walk through, retrieving your ticket as you go.  When leaving the subway, place your ticket in the slot of the ticket gate (the ticket will not be returned).
• If your ticket rate is insufficient for the distance traveled, place the ticket into the slot of the fare adjustment machine located near the ticket gate on arrival.  It will indicate the additional amount to be paid.  Insert the amount indicated, and an adjusted-fare ticket will fall into the tray.  You can then exit through the ticket gate using the adjusted-fare ticket.

Discount tickets

With You Cards

Prepaid With You cards can be used for the subway, streetcar and regular city routes offered by JR Hokkaido Bus, Chuo Bus and Jotetsu Bus.  There are five varieties: ¥1,000 (worth ¥1,100), ¥3,000 (¥3,300), ¥5,000 (¥5,500) and ¥10,000 (¥11,500) for adults and ¥1,000 (¥1,100) for children.  All cards can be purchased at ticket machines.

One-Day Cards

This card offers unlimited rides on the subway, streetcar, and regular city routes offered by the Chuo, Jotetsu, and JR Hokkaido Buses (excluding some suburban areas) on the day of purchase.  It is priced at ¥1,000 for adults and ¥500 for children.

A subway one-day card, for use only on the subway, is also available (¥800 for adults and ¥400 for children).  The cards can be purchased at ticket machines and station offices.

Donichika-Ticket

This card is an unlimited one-day ride pass for the subway to be used only on Saturdays, Sundays and national holidays.  It is priced at \500 for adults and \250 for children, and can be purchased at commuter pass sales offices and station offices.

Commuter passes (teiki-ken)

A commuter pass offers unlimited rides between specific stations during its period of validity.  There are two types of commuter pass: one for those commuting to their workplace and one for students; both are available for one- or three-month periods, and can be purchased from commuter pass sales offices located at major stations.

Streetcars

Streetcars are called shiden in Japanese.  There is one streetcar route, charging a flat fare of ¥170 for adults and ¥90 for elementary school students and younger, and free for babies under one year of age.

Buses

Several companies provide bus services in Sapporo.  For almost all buses, fares start at ¥200 for adults and ¥100 for children.

Enter the bus from the rear door and exit from the front door, paying your fare as you leave.  A With You card is convenient for using buses within the city.

Japan Railways (JR)

This is the largest railway system in Japan.

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