Arriving at New Chitose Airport on a Day of Heavy Snow in Sapporo | A Personal Report on What Happened Until I Could Get to Sapporo
I boarded the flight to Sapporo the day after the news broke that
“heavy snow paralyzed the transportation network, and about 7,000 people stayed overnight at New Chitose Airport.”
The previous day, it was reported that JR trains and buses had almost completely stopped, and that person after person had become stranded at the airport, with New Chitose Airport being described as being in a state of “isolation.”
A flight to Sapporo departing the day after that.
Honestly, I had quite a bit of anxiety, thinking,
“Is it really okay to go?”
At the boarding gate at Haneda Airport, an announcement was made: “Even if you arrive at New Chitose Airport, there is a possibility that you will not be able to travel to Sapporo.” Just then, I heard some people who looked like salarymen standing in line behind me saying, “If we can't move once we get there, it'll be a problem, so let's cancel this time,”
and I remember the events from the news suddenly feeling very real.
Even so, the plane started moving as scheduled.
The day after the “chaos” I had seen on the news, what was New Chitose Airport actually like?
I would like to record my experience of this day in chronological order.
At least it flies. At least it arrives.
I was on JAL flight 505, departing Haneda Airport at 8:05 and arriving at New Chitose Airport at 9:40.
• 8:16 The aircraft starts moving
• 8:32 Takeoff
• 9:45 Arrival at New Chitose Airport
There was an announcement that the outside temperature was -13°C.
• 10:06 Baggage claim completed
Here was the first sign of trouble.
The JR information board was completely blank. Nothing was displayed.
In other words, it was a state where
“the JR is not running yet.”
The time to just “wait” at the airport begins
Since there was nothing I could do, I decided to kill time at the airport.
• 10:13 I lined up for Ebisoba Ichigen to eat ramen. It was delicious.
After that, I tried to look for souvenirs, but my suitcase was heavy and I didn't feel like buying much.
I tried lining up for Kinotoya's soft-serve ice cream.
I waited for about 20 minutes and successfully bought it.
However, it was delicious but the portion was huge. It was packed all the way to the bottom.
I got an upset stomach and couldn't finish it.
When will the JR run? The never-ending “wait and see”
• 12:03 Resting on a chair on the 1st floor. Honestly, I'm already tired.
Looking at the information, the JR would start running at:
• Earliest around 13:20
• It might start running in earnest from 14:00 onwards.
“I guess I'll arrive in Sapporo after 15:00...”
At this point, I started thinking about Triton and Otaru, which I had planned.
Inside the airport, there were also shops that were
• closed
due to the snow, or
• with an undecided opening time.
Royce and Kitakaro were not open.
The JR line was hell
The escalator to the JR was stopped.
In front of it, a long line had formed.
• 13:27 The number of X marks on the operation schedule increased (the 14:00 hour became even more uncertain)
“Can I go to Asahikawa tomorrow?
Is the Biei bus tour okay?”
I started to feel anxious even about the next day's plans.
• 13:49 The information board was displayed
• 13:51 The JR line started moving little by little
• 14:13 I finished using the restroom and got in line
I'm sleepy.
I brought a book, but I don't have the energy to read it.
• 14:59 The line barely moved, but it just kept getting longer behind me.
I was at the level where I was about to fall asleep while standing.
I thought it moved all at once, but then it got jammed again
• 15:02 Suddenly the line moved all at once
• 15:08 I went down, but the area near the escalator was extremely crowded
It seemed like the return train was delayed.
• 15:27 Another zone where I had to stand and wait
I'm sleepy to the limit.
I finally got on the train
• 15:51 Finally boarded the train
I thought, “There are so many people,” but in reality, it was better than the morning commute rush in Tokyo.
After getting off the escalator to the platform, people getting off and people getting on were colliding, and honestly, it was quite dangerous.
The station staff were saying,
“Please don't stop!”
but I couldn't move forward.
Looking again,
most of them were foreign tourists. • 15:56 Departure (Section Rapid)
→ 47 minutes late
• 16:31 Arrival at Shin-Sapporo
• 16:42 Hotel check-in
I gave up on all my plans for this day
Originally, I planned to:
• Have ramen & ice cream at the airport
• Get to Sapporo by around noon
• Go straight to Otaru
However,
I had to give up on that because trains between Sapporo and Otaru were not running properly either.
In the end,
I couldn't make it to Otaru on this trip.
Subsequent operational status and my honest thoughts
By the way,
• 1/27: Operations were still in total disarray
• 1/28: There were some delays, but things had largely recovered
There were moments when the train stopped due to snow removal on the tracks near Naebo Station
• 1/29: The train from Shin-Sapporo to the airport was running on schedule
I feel like I just happened to
hit the worst possible timing.
But,
the food in Hokkaido is truly delicious, and
my desire to visit again hasn't changed.
However,
I sincerely thought that next time I should choose a different time of year.
Summary | Thoughts on traveling to Sapporo on a day of heavy snow
• You can't choose the weather
• Plans can easily fall apart
• But it's important to accept the situation before you feel like you're "stuck"
If anyone is going to
New Chitose Airport on a day of heavy snow in the future,
it will probably be easier if you go with the mindset of
"It's okay if I can't travel today."