How much is the Sapporo-Furano Area Pass?

It costs ¥11,000 for adults and ¥5,500 for children aged 6 to 11 when bought in advance online or from an overseas agent. At a station in Hokkaido it costs ¥12,000 and ¥6,000. It is valid for 4 consecutive days.

Does the Sapporo-Furano Area Pass cover Biei?

Yes. Biei station is on the Furano Line inside the pass area. The local buses from Biei station to the Blue Pond and Shirogane Falls are not covered.

Does the pass cover the Furano Lavender Express?

Yes, including the reserved seat. The train runs between Sapporo and Furano on selected days from June to September. Reserve your seat early for July.

Can I use the pass to get to Tomamu?

No. Tomamu is outside the pass area. Use the JR Hokkaido Rail Pass or a single ticket for that trip.

Does it include the trip from New Chitose Airport?

Yes. JR trains between New Chitose Airport and Sapporo are covered, so you can start the pass on the day you land if you will use it on all four days.

JR Sapporo-Furano Area Pass: Price, Map and a 4-Day Plan

10/03/202510/10/2026

The Sapporo-Furano Area Pass with flower fields in Furano

Quick answer

The Sapporo-Furano Area Pass costs ¥11,000 for 4 consecutive days bought in advance (child ¥5,500), or ¥12,000 at a station.
It covers JR trains between New Chitose Airport, Sapporo, Otaru, Furano, Biei and Asahikawa, including reserved seats on limited expresses.
Buses to the Blue Pond and Asahiyama Zoo are not covered, and Tomamu is outside the area.

Contents

What Is the Sapporo-Furano Area Pass?

The Sapporo-Furano Area Pass is a 4-day JR Hokkaido ticket for visitors that covers unlimited JR travel in central Hokkaido, from New Chitose Airport, Sapporo and Otaru to the inland triangle of Furano, Biei and Asahikawa. It is built for a few nights in Sapporo with a day or two in the flower fields and at Asahiyama Zoo.

Any non-Japanese passport holder can buy it, and you need the original passport to buy or collect it. Reserved seats in the ordinary car of limited express trains are included at no extra charge.

If your plan reaches Hakodate or eastern Hokkaido, you need the whole-island JR Hokkaido Rail Pass instead. If you are going to Noboribetsu's hot springs rather than Furano, JR sells a separate Sapporo-Noboribetsu Area Pass.

Our overview of regional rail passes in Japan compares them all.

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Price and Validity in 2026

The pass costs ¥11,000 for adults and ¥5,500 for children aged 6 to 11 when bought in advance, and ¥1,000 (child ¥500) more at a station in Hokkaido.

Where you buy	Adult	Child (6 to 11)	Valid
In advance (online or overseas agent)	¥11,000	¥5,500	4 consecutive days
At a station in Hokkaido	¥12,000	¥6,000	4 consecutive days

The four days are calendar days from the start date you pick, not 96 hours. A pass started on Thursday afternoon ends at midnight on Sunday, so start it on the morning you leave Sapporo for Furano, not the evening you land.

Under JR's general rules, children under 6 ride free with a paying adult as long as they do not have their own reserved seat. On a two-hour limited express with a toddler, buying a child pass so they get a seat is often worth the ¥5,500.

The Pass Area, Map and Main Routes

The pass covers JR lines from New Chitose Airport and Otaru through Sapporo to Takikawa, then on two routes into the hills, north to Asahikawa and east to Furano, joined by the Furano Line through Biei.

Map of the Sapporo-Furano Area Pass covering New Chitose Airport, Sapporo and Otaru, then Takikawa, Asahikawa, Biei and Furano — The area covered by the Sapporo-Furano Area Pass

Route	Train	About
New Chitose Airport to Sapporo	Rapid Airport	40 min
Sapporo to Asahikawa	Limited express Lilac or Kamui	1 hr 30 min
Asahikawa to Biei to Furano	Local train on the Furano Line	1 hr 15 min
Sapporo to Furano direct	Furano Lavender Express (June to September)	2 hrs
Sapporo to Furano off-season	Limited express to Takikawa, local train to Furano	2 hrs 30 min

The practical loop is Sapporo to Asahikawa by limited express, down the Furano Line to Biei and Furano, and back to Sapporo via Takikawa, or the reverse. That loop alone covers a large part of the pass price, which is why most visitors who go to Furano and Biei come out ahead.

What is outside the area.

Tomamu. The rail line between Furano and Shintoku closed in 2024, and Tomamu is not in the pass area.
JR Hokkaido Bus, the Sapporo subway and the streetcars.
Local buses to the Blue Pond, Shirogane Falls and Asahiyama Zoo, which are run by other companies.

IC cards such as Kitaca and Suica cannot be used between Takikawa and Furano, and fare adjustments on board are cash only. With the pass this does not matter.

Without it, buy a paper ticket before boarding.

The Furano Lavender Express in Summer

The Furano Lavender Express is a seasonal limited express that runs directly between Sapporo and Furano in about 2 hours, with no change of trains, from June to September. In 2026 it runs on selected days through that season.

JR Hokkaido publishes the exact calendar and warns that dates and cars can change without notice.

It stops at Iwamizawa, Takikawa and Ashibetsu on the way. Seats are reserved, and with this pass the seat reservation costs nothing, but you still need a seat ticket in hand before you board.

In July, when the lavender in Furano is usually at its best, these trains are the first to fill. Reserve as soon as your dates are fixed, through JR-EAST Train Reservation or at a station.

How to Reach Furano, Biei and Asahiyama Zoo

The pass gets you to the stations. The sights around Furano and Biei are spread across farmland and need a bus, a taxi or a hire car for the last part.

1. Furano

In summer the lavender farms are the draw. In winter it is a ski town. Farm Tomita, the best-known lavender farm, is near Naka-Furano station, and in season a temporary station called Lavender Farm opens nearby on the Furano Line.

Ningle Terrace, a cluster of craft cabins in the woods, sits by the hotel area west of town.

2. Biei

Biei's patchwork hills and the Blue Pond are the photographs most people come for. The Blue Pond and Shirogane Falls are reached by local bus from Biei station, which the pass does not cover.

With young children, a taxi from Biei station for the hills is simpler than the bus timetable.

3. Asahikawa and Asahiyama Zoo

Asahiyama Zoo is the one stop in this area that children ask for by name. They come for the penguin walk in winter and the polar bears and red pandas all year.

It is a local bus ride from Asahikawa station. Asahikawa is also known for its soy-sauce ramen.

A red panda resting its paws on a snowy ledge — Red pandas are among the favourites at Asahiyama Zoo

ONO

Summer. Winter is bitterly cold.

A 4-Day Family Plan with the Pass

JR Hokkaido's own model route for this pass is three nights in Sapporo with Furano, Biei, Asahiyama Zoo and Otaru. With children, we would move one of those nights out to Furano or Asahikawa so nobody spends two hours on a train twice in one day.

Day 1. Take the Rapid Airport from New Chitose Airport to Sapporo and spend the afternoon in the city. Start the pass on this day only if you also use it on day 4.
Day 2. Sapporo to Asahikawa by limited express. Take the bus to Asahiyama Zoo, then go on to Biei or Furano for the night.
Day 3. Spend the day in Biei and Furano, with the hills, the Blue Pond and a lavender farm in summer. Return to Sapporo in the evening.
Day 4. A half day in Otaru by JR, then the train to New Chitose for your flight.

The plan stays inside the pass area and uses about six limited express or long rapid legs, which is where the savings come from.

Area Pass or Hokkaido Rail Pass?

Choose the Sapporo-Furano Area Pass when your train travel fits in 4 days and stays between the airport, Otaru and the Furano-Asahikawa triangle. Choose the 5-day JR Hokkaido Rail Pass (¥22,000) when you add Hakodate, Noboribetsu, Kushiro or anywhere else outside that triangle.

The area pass is half the price of the shortest Hokkaido Rail Pass, so the test is simple. If even one long leg falls outside the area, price that leg separately and see whether the area pass plus one single ticket still beats ¥22,000.

It usually does for Noboribetsu, and usually does not for Hakodate.

Buying and Using the Pass

Buy the pass online through JR-EAST Train Reservation or from an overseas agent for the lower price, or at New Chitose Airport, Sapporo or Asahikawa station for ¥1,000 more. You need each traveller's passport to collect it.

The buying, collecting and refund rules are the same as for the island-wide pass, and we set them out step by step, including the passport-reader machines at Sapporo and New Chitose from 20 October 2026, in our JR Hokkaido Rail Pass guide. If you need help at the counter, our guide to the Midori no Madoguchi JR ticket office explains what to ask for.

All JR Hokkaido limited expresses, including the Lilac and Kamui to Asahikawa, are reserved-seat trains, so get a seat ticket before each one.

Coming from Tokyo

Most families fly from Haneda to New Chitose and start the pass in Hokkaido. The train from Tokyo means a Shinkansen to Hakodate and four more hours to Sapporo.

If you are flying in and out of Tokyo, spend the first days there while you get over the flight. Our Tokyo private tour with kids is a walking day built around strollers, naps and food allergies, and our Japan travel tips cover the rest of the planning.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is the Sapporo-Furano Area Pass?: It costs ¥11,000 for adults and ¥5,500 for children aged 6 to 11 when bought in advance online or from an overseas agent. At a station in Hokkaido it costs ¥12,000 and ¥6,000. It is valid for 4 consecutive days.
Does the Sapporo-Furano Area Pass cover Biei?: Yes. Biei station is on the Furano Line inside the pass area. The local buses from Biei station to the Blue Pond and Shirogane Falls are not covered.
Does the pass cover the Furano Lavender Express?: Yes, including the reserved seat. The train runs between Sapporo and Furano on selected days from June to September. Reserve your seat early for July.
Can I use the pass to get to Tomamu?: No. Tomamu is outside the pass area. Use the JR Hokkaido Rail Pass or a single ticket for that trip.
Does it include the trip from New Chitose Airport?: Yes. JR trains between New Chitose Airport and Sapporo are covered, so you can start the pass on the day you land if you will use it on all four days.

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