Summer Sapporo Trip Day 1 Departure with My Sister! (Summer Sapporo Trip, Shin-Chitose to Susukino Station)

Departing for a summer trip to Sapporo with my sister~

DAY 1 Plan

We bought a travel agency package that included both flight tickets and accommodation at a cheaper price. The round-trip flight cost about 300,000 KRW, and the accommodation was the Mercure Hotel (4 stars, near Susukino Station) for about 400,000 KRW for three nights.

Our flight was at 2:50 PM on the first day, and we had to board at Incheon Airport Terminal 2 using Jin Air. We planned to use the city airport terminal, but we missed the check-in time, so we hurriedly took the regular airport train. The airport was crowded, and we were nervous as we almost missed our flight several times before.

How to use the city airport terminal

When we arrived at Terminal 2, it was surprisingly quiet. We felt lucky. After checking in, we waited about 15 minutes while our checked luggage was processed and then went through the departure procedure. We had a late lunch at Lotteria, and the tables were cute.

After lunch, we headed to the immigration check, which was almost empty, so we quickly passed through without waiting. This gave us plenty of time to browse the duty-free shops with my sister. We bought sunglasses for both of us and boarded the plane. Although the airport was not crowded, the plane was packed, and we had to wait an hour before departure. We arrived at the airport around 7 PM.

Due to the later-than-expected arrival time, we were worried that the soup curry restaurant might close. Many things happened during our wait; we tried to activate the eSIM but accidentally activated the one bought last year, so we had to use Wi-Fi to activate the new one. Also, the QR code for the pre-customs declaration didn't work, so we had to fill out a paper form again. This made us the last ones to leave the airport.

In Fukuoka, it took us two hours to get out of the airport due to long lines at the immigration check, but this time it felt like our flight was the only one there. We seemed to have succeeded in the timing game.

From Shin-Chitose Airport to the Hotel

There were several ways to get to the hotel from the airport, but since our hotel was near Susukino Station, we decided to take the airport bus. The bus fare was 1,300 yen, and if you go to the right from Lawson, you'll find an elevator to the first floor, and then go right again to see a signboard showing the bus arrival times. We boarded at gate 84.

In Japan, airport bus staff handle all the luggage loading, and you pay the fare upon getting off. We safely arrived and checked in. The hotel room was spacious and nice by Japanese standards. It provided gowns and all necessary amenities. The complimentary water was adorable.

After dropping off our luggage, we were hungry and immediately headed to a soup curry restaurant. We went to Soup Curry Bar Dan, recommended by my sister’s friend. It was on the second floor, and the name was "bar Dan," not just "Dan."

There were about two groups waiting, and after about 10 minutes, we could get in. The menu had English and pictures, making it easy to order. We ordered the No. 1 and No. 3 popular dishes. We like spicy food, so we chose level 4 spiciness and 200g of rice.

The soup curry was incredibly delicious. We thought it would be just regular curry, but it was amazing. If our trip had been longer, we would have liked to eat it again. We highly recommend trying it.

After a hearty meal, we celebrated the first day of our trip by doing some small shopping at the convenience store below the hotel. End of day one~

We need to go on a BA tour early in the morning, so we should go to bed soon.

The next post will be about Summer Sapporo Trip DAY 2: BA Tour and Yakiniku Dinner Review.