Sapporo-Furano Area Pass

The Sapporo-Furano Area Pass is a rail pass for exclusive use by foreign visitors to Japan, providing unlimited travel on JR trains in the area around Sapporo, Asahikawa and Furano on four consecutive days.

Purchase the Sapporo-Furano Area Pass

Below is a map of the JR train lines that can be used with the Sapporo-Furano Area Pass:

Validity

1. Unlimited use of JR trains in the area around Sapporo, Asahikawa and Furano as outlined on the map above, including local and limited express trains.
2. Seat reservations can be made for free (see details below).
3. The pass is valid on four consecutive calendar days (midnight to midnight).
4. Only foreign visitors to Japan (on temporary visitor status) can use the Sapporo-Furano Area Pass. It cannot be used by residents of Japan.

Points of sale

The Sapporo-Furano Area Pass can be purchased through online and offline travel agents outside of Japan and at Sapporo Station, New Chitose Airport Station and Asahikawa Station. When purchasing the pass outside of Japan, you will receive an exchange order, which has to be exchanged into an actual rail pass after your arrival in Hokkaido at one of the before-mentioned railway stations.

Purchase the Sapporo-Furano Area Pass

Assessment

The pass costs a little bit more than regular tickets for a round trip between Sapporo and Furano, but it is likely to provide some savings over regular train tickets for an excursion from Sapporo to the Furano region and back, if you visit also Biei and Asahikawa or if you add a side trip to Otaru.

Seat reservations

Free seat reservations can be made at seat reservation ticket machines in Hokkaido and at JR ticket offices. It is also possible to make online seat reservations on the JR East Train Reservation website; however, physical seat reservation tickets have to be picked up at a selected ticket office in Hokkaido before use.

Alternative tickets

For a simple round trip between Sapporo and Asahikawa, the S-Kippu for limited express trains (5550 yen) or a round trip ticket for highway buses (4350 yen) are considerably cheaper than the Sapporo-Furano Area Pass.