Planning a trip / Where the snow falls
Nonstop to Sapporo From San Francisco and Vancouver, 2026/27: The Flight Dates Against Hokkaido's Snow, Right Through to March
For 2026/27, United flies San Francisco–Sapporo and Air Canada flies Vancouver–Sapporo, both three times a week on 787s, both from mid-December to late March. Neither has been announced beyond this winter. We set the flight window against Hokkaido's opening and closing dates, and against how fast the snow tails off by March.
Until this winter there was no nonstop to Sapporo from the US mainland or Canada. For 2026/27 there are two into New Chitose Airport, one from each side of the border.
The two routes
| United | Air Canada | |
|---|---|---|
| From | San Francisco (SFO) | Vancouver (YVR) |
| First flight | 11 December 2026 | 17 December 2026 from YVR, 18 December from Sapporo |
| Last flight | 27 March 2027 | 25 March 2027 from YVR, 26 March from Sapporo |
| Flights a week | 3 | 3 |
| Aircraft | Boeing 787-9 | Boeing 787 |
| Sources | United | Air Canada, Japanese release |
United calls its route the first nonstop between the continental US and Sapporo, and says it connects travellers from nearly 80 US cities through San Francisco. Air Canada’s flights leave Vancouver on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays and Sapporo on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays, and Air Canada says ski and snowboard bags count as part of the normal checked allowance, except on Basic fares. Check exact times with the airline when you book; both schedules can change.
Book for this winter rather than counting on the next one. Both airlines describe these as winter seasonal routes for 2026/27, and neither has announced a second season. An Air Canada vice-president told the Hokkaido Shimbun that year-round service could come into view if the route takes hold. No date has been given.
Open when you land, and when you leave
Each of the main Hokkaido ski areas below opens before the first flight on 11 December. The end of the window is where they differ.
| Ski area | Opens | Closes | Typical winter | Rank in Japan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Niseko Grand Hirafu | 28 Nov | 5 May | 289 cm | =160th |
| Kiroro | 28 Nov | 5 May | 331 cm | =125th |
| Furano | 28 Nov | 5 May (season pass period) | 220 cm | =237th |
| Tomamu | 1 Dec | 5 Apr | 228 cm | 226th |
| Sahoro | 1 Dec | 4 Apr | 194 cm | =272nd |
| Kurodake | 1 Dec | not announced | 396 cm | 79th |
| Rusutsu | 28 Nov | 31 Mar | 212 cm | =249th |
Dates from each resort’s own site (full list). Snowfall is the December–March mean over twelve winters on our model; ”=” marks a shared rank.
Rusutsu closes on 31 March, four days after United’s last flight. If you are on one of the late-March departures, it is the one resort here where your last days are also its last days.
March is where the resorts part ways
A December trip to Hokkaido is well covered elsewhere (opening dates and December snow, how reliable December is). The flights also run to the end of March, and that is where Hokkaido’s resorts differ most.
| Ski area | January | March | March as share of January | Leanest March of 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tomamu | 55 cm | 58 cm | 105% | 18 cm |
| Sahoro | 49 cm | 48 cm | 98% | 15 cm |
| Kurodake | 95 cm | 91 cm | 96% | 37 cm |
| Rusutsu | 60 cm | 48 cm | 80% | 18 cm |
| Furano | 57 cm | 44 cm | 77% | 19 cm |
| Kiroro | 96 cm | 69 cm | 72% | 32 cm |
| Niseko Grand Hirafu | 85 cm | 52 cm | 61% | 21 cm |
Average new snow per month over 2014/15 to 2025/26 (ERA5 model), and the lowest March in those twelve winters.
Niseko, the name most visitors book, tails off fastest: by March it gets about 61% of its January snowfall. Inland, Tomamu, Sahoro and Kurodake hold almost level with January. On our figures, a late-March trip is better placed in central Hokkaido than on the Niseko side.
The leanest Marches are a caution everywhere. Every resort in the table has had a March with under 40 cm, so a March trip needs a resort that is also open when the snow is thin, not only one that gets plenty in an average year.
Kurodake, reached by ropeway from Sounkyo Onsen in the Daisetsuzan mountains, gets the most snow of any resort here in every month.
From the airport
Rusutsu runs its own shuttle buses from New Chitose. Airport coaches and private transfers run to the other resorts; our transport page lists the options.
Comparing with Whistler or Tahoe
On our model the North American resorts come out higher, but we can check the model against weather stations only in Japan, where it reads about half in Hokkaido; North America is unchecked. So a direct comparison of centimetres can mislead. We set out what can and cannot be compared in Japan vs North America snowfall.
Sources and method
Flight details are from the airlines’ own announcements (United, 14 May 2026; Air Canada, 21 January 2026). Opening and closing dates are from each resort’s own site, checked up to 24 October 2026. Snowfall is the monthly total at each ski area’s coordinates from ERA5 reanalysis via the Open-Meteo Historical Weather API, over the twelve winters from 2014/15 to 2025/26; it runs below what resorts report (why), so compare months and resorts rather than reading the centimetres as depths.
Sources: United announcement; Air Canada announcement; Open-Meteo historical weather data, based on the ERA5 reanalysis (Copernicus Climate Change Service).
Questions
Is there a nonstop flight from the US to Sapporo?
Yes, for winter 2026/27. United flies San Francisco to Sapporo (New Chitose) three times a week on a Boeing 787-9 from 11 December 2026 to 27 March 2027. United says it is the first nonstop between the continental US and Sapporo.
When does Air Canada fly Vancouver to Sapporo?
Three times a week from 17 December 2026 to 25 March 2027 out of Vancouver, and from 18 December 2026 to 26 March 2027 out of Sapporo, on a Boeing 787, according to Air Canada.
Will the Sapporo flights run again next winter?
Neither airline has announced that. Both routes are described as winter seasonal service for 2026/27. An Air Canada executive told the Hokkaido Shimbun that year-round service could follow if the route takes hold; no date has been given.
Which Hokkaido ski areas are open while the flights run?
All the main ones. Niseko, Rusutsu, Kiroro and Furano open on 28 November and Tomamu, Sahoro and Kurodake on 1 December, before the first flight lands. Niseko and Kiroro run to 5 May and Furano's season-pass period to 5 May, after the last flights; Rusutsu closes on 31 March.
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