Sapporo eSIM
In Sapporo you connect to KDDI or SoftBank, whichever is performing better where you are standing. The typical speed across the country is 74 Mbps. Your data starts working the moment you land, before you reach the immigration hall.
- Networks
- KDDI and SoftBank
- Typical speed in Japan
- 74 Mbps typical, 21 Mbps at busy times
- 5G
- yes, standalone and non standalone
- Throttle
- None on metered plans
- Tethering
- Allowed on every plan
Plans that cover Sapporo
| Data | Validity | Price per GB | Price | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 GB | Never expires | $5.89 | $5.89 | |
| 3 GB | Never expires | $2.96 | $8.89 | |
| 5 GBMost travellers | Never expires | $2.18 | $10.89 | |
| 10 GB | Never expires | $1.59 | $15.89 | |
| 20 GB | Never expires | $1.19 | $23.89 | |
| 50 GB | Never expires | $0.94 | $46.89 |
How Japan compares across Asia
- Regional typical speed
- 42.95 Mbps
- Upstream networks
- 2, KDDI, SoftBank
- 5G
- Yes, standalone and non standalone
- Next fastest nearby
- Macau, 84 Mbps
- Next slowest nearby
- Malaysia, 61 Mbps
- Cities with their own page
- 5: Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Sapporo, Fukuoka
Landing at New Chitose Airport (CTS)
- Airport
- CTS / RJCC
- Distance
- 50 km from the centre of Sapporo
- Wifi on arrival
- Free wifi in the terminalSSID NewChitose_Airport_Free_Wi-Fi, in the domestic terminal, the international terminal and the connecting path. You connect by accepting the NTT Broadband Platform terms of use. The network is not encrypted and the airport recommends a VPN.
- SIM on arrival
- SIM counters or vending in the terminalThe airport lists prepaid SIM vending machines in both terminal buildings and the connecting corridor, selling prepaid data SIMs and eSIMs, plus wifi router and mobile phone rental.
- Also serves
- Okadama Airport (OKD)
Getting into Sapporo
- JR Hokkaido Rapid Airport service to Sapporo Station (CTS), about 37 minutes
Underground and on the metro
Sapporo Municipal Subway runs 3 lines. It opened in 1971. The operator does not publish whether the tunnels carry a mobile signal, so we do not claim either way.
Worth knowing about Sapporo
- New Chitose Airport is about 50 km from Sapporo, in a different city (Chitose) altogether; the fastest Rapid Airport train reaches Sapporo Station in 37 minutes.
- The Sapporo subway is Japan's only entirely rubber-tyred system, and apart from the Namboku Line south of Hiragishi every track and station is underground and even the above-ground stretch is fully enclosed against the snow.
- Sapporo also keeps a streetcar line, one of only two operational circular tram systems in Asia.
- A second, smaller airport Okadama sits closer to the city but handles only regional flights within Hokkaido and parts of Japan.
- Sapporo City Wi-Fi uses the SSIDs Sapporo_City_Wi-Fi and Sapporo_City_Wi_Fi_2G. You register once, either with an email address confirmed by a link, or by signing in with an SNS account.
- Each Sapporo City Wi-Fi session lasts 30 minutes. Reconnections are unlimited and the registration stays valid for 365 days, but changing device means registering again.
- Sapporo City Wi-Fi covers 16 subway stations across all three lines, including Sapporo, Odori and Susukino, plus Odori Park, Maruyama Zoo and the Jozankei hot spring area.
- The Chi-Ka-Ho underground walkway carries Sapporo City Wi-Fi at its intersection plazas and Akaplaza, running since 1 February 2016 in place of an earlier separate network.
- Subway fares accept SAPICA plus Kitaca, Suica, PASMO, manaca, TOICA, PiTaPa, ICOCA, Hayakaken, nimoca and SUGOCA. The transport bureau lists no contactless bank card option.
- SAPICA works on the subway, streetcar and area buses, reaching Otaru, Ebetsu and New Chitose Airport, but the bureau uses a deliberately incompatible system code, so SAPICA does not work in Suica or Kitaca territory.
- NTT Docomo publishes a map of subway stations where 5G is available and lists all three Sapporo lines, Namboku, Tozai and Toho, while warning parts of a station may still lack service.
- New Chitose Airport's free wifi is NewChitose_Airport_Free_Wi-Fi, in both terminals and the connecting path. You connect by accepting the NTT Broadband Platform terms. It is unencrypted and the airport suggests a VPN.
- New Chitose Airport lists prepaid SIM vending machines in both terminal buildings and the connecting corridor, selling data SIMs and eSIMs, alongside wifi router and mobile phone rental.
- JR New Chitose Airport Station sits on floor B1F of the terminal building, reached from the domestic terminal's second floor centre plaza, about 30 minutes from Sapporo with no change.
- Since 1 April 2026 a night in Sapporo carries both city and Hokkaido accommodation tax: 300 yen per person under 20,000 yen, 400 yen from 20,000 to under 50,000 yen, and 1,000 yen above that. Bookings made before April were taxed too.