One of Hokkaido's 179 towns
Chitose千歳市
The airport town with a caldera lake half an hour away
Ishikari region · The urban heart — and the doorstep of every Hokkaido journey.
Chitose is more than the airport: crystal-clear Lake Shikotsu, Japan's second-deepest lake, sits just half an hour from the arrivals hall.
Chitose is where Hokkaido begins for most people: New Chitose Airport, the island's main gateway, sits inside the city. What travellers miss on the way to the train is that Chitose stretches west into Shikotsu-Toya National Park, and Lake Shikotsu, Japan's second-deepest lake and one of its clearest, is only about 30 minutes from the terminal. The Chitose River, which drains the lake, is famous for its autumn salmon run. It is a town for a first or last night, and for people who want deep water and volcanoes without a long drive.
- Region
- Ishikari (石狩)
- From New Chitose Airport
- ~21 km · 18 min summer / 24 min winter
- From Sapporo
- ~44 km · 42 min summer / 48 min winter
- Best season in Ishikari
- Great year-round: beer terraces in summer, the Snow Festival in February, and city food culture in every season.
Chitose at a glance
Drive estimates: straight-line × 1.35, at 65 km/h (summer) / 55 km/h (winter). How we calculate
What to see in Chitose
Lake Shikotsu
支笏湖
A caldera lake ringed by forest and three volcanoes, so deep it never freezes even in a Hokkaido winter. Clear-bottom boats, canoes and lakeside hot springs at Shikotsu-ko Onsen on the eastern shore.
Mt. Tarumae
樽前山
An active volcano on the lake's south side with a lava dome sitting in its crater. The trail from the seventh-station car park to the crater rim is short enough for most walkers, with the lake spread out below.
Chitose River salmon and the aquarium
千歳川の鮭とサケのふるさと千歳水族館
From September, salmon push up the Chitose River past a water-wheel weir, and the city aquarium beside it has underwater windows onto the actual river. Watching wild fish through the glass is something few places offer.
Lake Shikotsu Ice Festival
支笏湖氷濤まつり
From late January into February, lake water is sprayed over frames to build ice towers that glow blue by day and are lit up at night. There are ice slides too.
Getting to Chitose
New Chitose Airport is in the city, with its own JR station under the terminal. Chitose and Minami-Chitose stations on the Chitose Line are minutes away, and Sapporo is about 40 minutes by rapid train. Route 36 and the Dō-ō Expressway pass through, and Route 453 runs from the city centre to Lake Shikotsu in about half an hour by car; buses cover the same route.
Ishikari region: Fly into New Chitose Airport (CTS) — Sapporo is 40 minutes by rapid train. Most itineraries start and end here.
When to visit Chitose
June to October is the lake's season, with canoes, hiking on Tarumae and the salmon run peaking in September and October. Late January to February brings the ice festival on the shore. Because the lake never freezes, even midwinter visits are possible, though the road can be icy.
What to eat in Chitose
Kokanee salmon from Lake Shikotsu, called chip locally, are the summer delicacy, grilled or as sashimi at the lakeside. Autumn brings the river salmon and its roe. The airport concentrates the whole island's sweets, cheese and seafood in one building, which is worth a last hour before a flight.
Chitose in context: the Ishikari region
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Almost every Hokkaido trip touches Ishikari, whether you notice it or not. New Chitose Airport, Sapporo's ramen alleys and beer halls, the February Snow Festival — the island's front door and its biggest city are both here, backed by the wide plain of the Ishikari River that gave the region its name.