Sapporo to Tokyo using Seishun 18 Kippu

Hi,
Can I travel from Sapporo to Tokyo using Seishun 18 Kippu?

1) How long is the travelling time?
2) Do I need to change train ?
3) Can I travel on overnight train ? Do I need to pay extra fee?

Not possible as there are no local trains linking Hokkaido and Honshu. You would need to take a limited express train, not covered by the Seishun 18, at least for this part of the trip.

You'll need to take the Hamanasu express night train from Sapporo to Aomori. This is NOT covered by the Seishun 18 pass. The Seishun 18 pass only covers local and rapid trains.

But once you get to Aomori, you can take the local and/or rapid trains to Tokyo. The entire journey takes about nearly 24 hours.

As for changing trains, yes. A whopping 10 times - at least that's what Hyperdia says.

@SR If cost is the primary concern, it is possible to only take the Hakucho from Kikonai to Kanita, and local trains for everything else. An overnight stop will be needed, probably in Aomori or Hirosaki.

Unless you have a JR pass, it's generally cheaper (and much quicker) to fly between Sapporo and Tokyo. Budget airlines like Peach do tickets for around 5,000yen one way.

I prefer to travel by train wherever possible in Japan, but it really is much easier to fly between Tokyo and Sapporo.

I just saw on the Seishun 18 page that it does cover limited express trains between Kikonai and Kanita, so it is not necessary to pay for any additional train fees. An overnight stop is still necessary, however.

Leaving Sapporo at 7:15, you arrive at Kikonai at 17:38, you take the 17:45 Hakucho arriving in Kanita at 18:33, and you go on to Aomori (19:44) or Hirosaki (21:25), spend the night there and leave for Tokyo the next day. From Aomori at 7:09 or Hirosaki at 7:53, you arrive at Tokyo station at 23:51.

Generally "worthless" but depends on ur plan.

Fastest route is like this. http://qq4q.biz/nU8F
But over 40hrs(22hrs ride) need 2 days full
with 16 times transfering and stay at Aomori stn (Hotel or) first day's night.

If thinking long days travel enough.

I have traveled many times from Tokyo to Odate (Akita) on seishun 18. Odate is as far as you can go in one day starting with the early morning trains. It requires many many changes, but it's 2,300 yen instead of 16,000 yen for the trip and the scenery on much of the trip is beautiful (if you want to add a few extra miles, going from Akita to Shinjo via Sakata on the Uetsu & Rikuu Sai sen is prettier than going directly from Akita to Shinjo on the Ou line.)
As the previous poster's link shows, jorudan's search in Japanese has a seishun 18 search.
The route indicated on that is the fastest route.

Actually, the itinerary showed by Jorudan is not the fastest. By connecting through Morioka and Sendai instead of Akita and Yamagata, it is possible to leave Aomori one year later (7:00 instead of 6:00) and arrive in Toko at the same time.

(Also, it is possible to go all the way up to Aomori from Tokyo within one day.)

I don't usually do this, but Firas. Nice joke there.

Surely you meant one hour and not year.

Hmm.. I replied to this but it hasn't come up.

You might be right that you can go the whole way down the Pacific side. The Aoimori line, which is a third party line, is part of that route. Usually you can't use a seishun 18 on a private line but there is an exception for the Aoimori line. I thought it was only for part of the Aoimori line, not for the whole length, but I might be wrong.

At any rate, the route suggested is significantly more scenic than the Tohoku honsen (Pacific side) route which goes through a lot of built up suburbia.

Others may be able to confirm or deny the following.

When the line from Akita to Hakodate has been fully changed to the Shinkansen it will no longer be possible to use the 18 Free Kippu between Honshu and Hokkaido. I don't know if this is happening soon or in a couple of years.

Akita to Hakkodate?
Do you mean Hakkodate to Aomori?

I've just checked and Aomori-Hachinohe on the Aoimori sen is traversable on seishun 18, but Morioka-Hachinohe is IGA Rail where it can't be used. Please double check though.

The initial Shin-Aomori to Shin-Hakodatehokuto run will be March 26, 2016.