Updated 2002/6/10
TRAVEL

　 1. Arrival by Air

Shin-Chitose Airport can be accessed directly from several locations overseas, including Seoul (Korea), Yuzhnosakhalinsk (Russia), Guam (USA), Honolulu (USA), Sengyang (China), Hong Kong (China) and Shanghai (China). Sapporo is also within easy reach via major international/domestic airports in Japan:

Sendai - 8 flights per day
Tokyo (Haneda) - 47 flights per day
Tokyo (Narita) -3 flights per day
Nagoya - 13 flights per day
Osaka (Itami) - 10 flights per day
Osaka (Kansai) - 5 flights per day
Fukuoka -4 flights per day

Travel between Shin-Chitose Airport and the city center is an easy 36-minute train ride or a 70-minute ride on a shuttle bus.

From Shin-Chitose Airport to Sapporo
From 7:00 am to 10:00 pm, JR (Japan Railway) shuttle trains leave every 15 minutes from "Shin-Chitose Kuko" (= Shin-Chitose Airport) Station, which is located underground at the airport building. The fare is 1,040 Yen one way. You get off at Sapporo Station and take a taxi to the hotel where you will stay. Taxi fares cost between 500 and 700 Yen. The taxi ride will take about 5 to 10 minutes.
Limousine buses leave the airport every 20 to 30 minutes. The ride to Sapporo takes about 70 minutes, depending on the destination within the city. The fare is 820 Yen one way.
A taxi ride from the airport to Sapporo takes about one hour. The fare is approximately 15,000 Yen.

2. By Train

Japan's transportation system is renowned for its efficiency, promising easy access to every major region throughout the country. There are train services from virtually anywhere in Japan. For example, from Morioka, the northernmost Shinkansen station on the main island of Honshu, it takes 8 hours to Sapporo. Other connections are the JR "Twilight Express" from Osaka and Kyoto (21 hours) and the "Hokuto-sei" from Tokyo (16 hours). All trains pass through the world's longest subseafloor tunnel connecting Honshu and Hokkaido.
CLIMATE
　

The temperature in Sapporo during the Assembly is approximately 20°C with low humidity.

TRAVEL LINKS
　

Japan National Tourist Organization
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/

Sapporo City Information
http://www.global.city.sapporo.jp
VISA
　 To visit Japan, you must have a valid passport. A visa is required for citizens of countries that do not have visa-exempt agreements with Japan. Please contact the nearest Japanese Embassy or Consulate or visit the web site of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs at http://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/index.html for further information.