Getting To Furano

Getting To Furano

Where is Furano?

The town of Furano is located in Central Hokkaido, the north island of Japan. It sits smack bang in the middle of Hokkaido, so it’s sometimes referred to as the “belly button of Hokkaido” (and there is a festival in summer to celebrate belly buttons!).

Furano is 59km south of the city of Asahikawa and 141km northeast of Sapporo, and there are Furano bus options from these cities and corresponding airports.

The Kitanomine side of the Furano Ski Resort is 2.5km west of downtown Furano and 3km from the Furano train station, whilst the Furano side of the ski area sits 6km southwest of town. The Furano Ski Resorts sits on the flank of Furano-nishi-dake (Mt Furano-nishi), which shouldn’t be confused with Furano-dake (Mount Furano) that sits near Tokachidake to the northeast.

Flights

Common gateway airports for Furano are Asahikawa Airport (44km north of Furano) or the New Chitose Airport (128km southwest of Furano).

Flights into Asahikawa typically originate from Tokyo (Haneda), Taipei or Seoul. If coming via Tokyo Haneda, try to arrange an international flight that comes into Haneda where possible, as cross city airport transfers can be tiresome. See Skyscanner for options for routes.

Direct flights into Sapporo (New Chitose) come from Hong Kong, Taipei, Bangkok, Haneda Tokyo or from Narita Tokyo, or other Japanese cities such as Toyama.

Some flight options may necessitate a stopover in a Narita Airport hotel, Haneda Airport hotel, or New Chitose Airport hotel.

New Chitose Airport Transfer to Furano

Sapporo Airport to Furano Bus
Hokkaido Resort Liner (available for booking from August onwards) runs direct buses from the New Chitose Airport to Furano ski resort, with multiple departure times each day. The Furano bus conveniently stops at major Furano hotels (see below), and the trip takes about 3 hours depending on which hotel you get off at. You’ll need to pre-book your Furano bus at least 9 days in advance. Click here for timetables, bus stops, rates and reservations. The Furano airport bus stops at: [AdListings collection="Japan" category="Furano" subcategory="Scheduled Airport Transfers"]

Sapporo Airport to Furano Private Transport
On-demand door-to-door private Furano transfers between the New Chitose Airport and your Furano accommodation are available with Sky Station for up to 2 to 16 people. The trip takes approximately 2.5 hours and child booster seats are available on request.

Train to Furano

From the New Chitose Airport, Furano can be accessed by JR train in two ways. Either way will include a transfer at Sapporo Station. The first option is via Takikawa Station which takes approximately 2.5 hours. The second option is to come via Asahikawa Station. Check out the Japan Navitime or Jorudan websites for schedules and fares. 

If you’re staying near the ski area, you’ll need to catch a taxi from Furano Station to your accommodation which will take 5-10 minutes.

Driving to Furano
Car rentals are available at the New Chitose Airport, including cars with English GPS where you can just input the phone number of your Furano hotel (or the phone number of the Furano Ski Resort is 0167-22-1111). If you’ll be travelling around to visit some of the great nearby ski areas, having a car provides lots of flexibility. Having a car is also handy if you’re staying in downtown Furano so that you can easily get up to the ski resort.

The drive from the New Chitose Airport to Furano takes about 2:40 hours if the tollways are taken.

Travel From City of Sapporo to Furano

It’s possible to catch the train from Sapporo to Furano. See Navitime or Jorudan for timetables and fares.

Private door-to-door transfers between Sapporo City and Furano are available with Sky Station.

Getting to Furano from Asahikawa City or Asahikawa Airport

Train
The train from Asahikawa City to Furano is inexpensive and takes one hour depending upon how express it is.

Furano Bus
There are buses from Asahikawa City to the resort which take about 1 hour and 30 minutes. These drop you off at the New Furano Prince Hotel and the Kitanomine hotel area. There is one bus per day between Asahikawa Airport and Furano which takes about one hour. Here's an option for booking a transfer between Asahikawa Airport and Furano.

Private Transfer from Asahikawa Airport
Private transfers from Asahikawa Airport to Furano are available. These private shuttles can be booked as on-demand door-to-door transport. 

Car Rentals
If you’ll be travelling around a bit, the other option is to rent a car at Asahikawa Airport or Asahikawa City. It’s fairly well sign-posted and you can hit the R273 directly to Furano.

Getting Around Furano

The concept of what is and where is Furano can get a little bewildering. There is the Furano Ski Resort, of which one half is called the Furano Zone. The other side of the ski area is called Kitanomine and the corresponding village is where most of the Furano accommodation is located. There is also the town of Furano, which is a little way from the ski resort.

It’s about 2.5km between the Kitanomine gondola and the centre of Furano town. The road distance between the Kitanomine gondola and the New Furano Prince Hotel (the Furano side of the ski resort) is 3.8km, whilst it’s about 5 to 6km from the New Furano Prince Hotel to downtown Furano.

To get around Furano if you don't have a car, you can catch a taxi and thankfully Furano Taxi accepts credit cards (so un-Japanese!).

If you’re staying at one of the downtown Furano hotels, it’s ideal if you have your own wheels because bus transport between Furano town and the Furano Ski Resort is a little clunky. A couple of the hotels run a limited shuttle service, or Furano bus runs a shuttle between the Furano train station and the Furano Ski Resort approximately every hour. Your hotel will be able to help you with a timetable or you can get assistance from the Furano Information Centre at the train station.  

If you’re staying at the New Furano Prince Hotel or in Kitanomine, you’ll probably want to head to Furano town to go out for dinner some evenings. The Furano Evening Shuttle Bus travels mid December to mid March between the Furano train station, a few other downtown locations, New Furano Prince Hotel, North Country and a few Kitanomine hotels. Your hotel will be able to help you with a timetable. These buses are very inexpensive.

Ski Resorts Near Furano

Furano makes a great base from which nearby ski resorts can be accessed for a day trip or multi-day trip. It is possible to get around to other resorts via shuttle buses or as part of a guided tour, but you’ll have the most flexibility if you rent a car or catch a taxi.

Car Rental: There is a car rental outlet near the Furano station.

Taxi: Furano Taxi offers round trip charters to Tomamu and Kamui, either via a regular or jumbo taxi.

Buses: Buses from Furano to Kamui were ceased when Covid hit, but these didn’t arrive in time for first lifts anyhow.

Guided Tours: Day tours from Furano tend to book out very early in the season as do the multi-day tours, so if you plan to take a guided tour, pre-book it well in advance. See the multi-day tours that include or stay at Furano.

Ski Resorts Near Furano:
  • Tomamu is 68km southeast of Furano. Hokkaido Resort Liner has a bus service between the two resorts (between the New Furano Prince Hotel and three hotels in Tomamu) but the timing is only good for a multi-day trip. The bus trip takes about 90 minutes. Click here for schedules and to book (NB bookings generally only available from October onwards).
  • Asahidake is 70km northeast of Furano. Chuo offers a bus trip there on Mondays that takes about 2 hours.
  • Sahoro - 68km southeast
  • Kamui Links – 55km northwest - 60 minutes
  • Tokachidake (backcountry) – 60 minutes
  • Kurodake - 116km northeast - 2 hours
  • Mt Racey/Yubari - 105km southwest
  • Minami Furano is 41km southwest of Furano but in recent years the top lift has been closed, which is a major detractor from powder filled road runs.

There is also a local ski hill, Biei, but you can probably just leave it to the locals. 

Travel Between Furano and Niseko

Niseko is about 217km by road from Furano.

Private transfers with Sky Station provide door-to-door transport between your accommodation in Furano and Niseko.

Or there are scheduled bus transfers with Hokkaido Resort Liner between Niseko (or Rusutsu) and Furano that typically open for booking each October.
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