Japan Hokkaido Travel Notes 1 - Airfare

There are many flights between Shanghai Pudong and major Japanese cities, so airfares are cheap. In northern cities, even direct flights from Beijing to Japan are fewer and expensive. Flights with a transfer in Pudong are very cheap. Even if you add the cost of staying at a hotel near Pudong airport for one night (about 500 yuan), it's still very cost-effective. On June 17, I booked a China Eastern Airlines flight from Beijing Daxing, transferring in Pudong, to Sapporo New Chitose in Hokkaido. The total was 1925 + 500 = 2425 yuan. A direct flight from Beijing to Sapporo costs over 4000 yuan.

Also note that June is before the summer peak season for outbound travel in China, and the low season for Hokkaido tourism is coming to an end, so flights are easy to book and have good prices.

Hokkaido is very large, and distances between some cities are long. For example, Hakodate (June is the season for fresh sea urchin. Because sea urchin is not easy to preserve, only the Hakodate seafood morning market has especially fresh ones). Taking the JR railway takes 4 hours, plus the time for airport and JR transfers. It's better to fly directly from Sapporo New Chitose Airport to Hakodate on All Nippon Airways' domestic route. The flight takes less than 40 minutes and costs 599 yuan—you need to book in advance. Moreover, hotels in the Hakodate hot spring district are a 10-minute taxi ride from the airport.

One more interesting thing: The ANA domestic flight from Sapporo to Hakodate is operated by a traditional propeller-driven small plane, not a jet. There aren't many passengers, but the plane is clean and well-maintained.