Flight
New Chitose Airport is located about an hour outside of Sapporo and is the main international airport in Hokkaido. It is connected to Sapporo through JR rail, the main public transportation system which connects to all important destinations.
Flight
Their website is clunky, and you can book flights through Expedia instead, though you will not have the option to select better than the lowest economy class if you do so, and be unable to upgrade later. Selecting which seats you are in is an additional cost. This is the cheapest airline to travel to Japan; JAL and ANA will have the best amenities and seats and I recommend looking at them if cost isn't an issue. I personally ask that you do not consider Hawaiian Airlines, as they may cancel your flight a month prior to takeoff without warning, without rebooking, and without refund and require you to call their understaffed customer service line during particularly inconvenient hours to resolve the issue (from personal experience). This issue cost Yae and I $2,200 when we had to rebook at significantly higher costs. Our flight information (via China Airlines) is as follows: SFO to Taipei by CI3, April 22, 2023 at 1:05am Taipei to CTS by CI130, April 23, 2023 at 8:35am (landing in CTS at 1:30 pm) CTS to Taipei by CI131, April 30, 2023 at 3:00pm Taipei to SFO by CI4, April 30, 2023 at 11:30pm If you wish to arrive on the same day as we arrive and are uncomfortable with possible travel troubles like language barriers, we will wait for you at the airport to help guide you through the travelling process. If you arrive later but still need help, I can personally come to the airport and help you, as long as you land on April 26 or before.
Train
When you land in CTS and want to board the train, you will have to get your tickets at a ticket kiosk. This machine is where you should buy your Kitaca, which is the regional transit card. (Please note, Kitaca is regional specific to northern Japan. If you decide to stay in Tokyo, then buying a Suica there will work nationwide. Any other "___ca" card will not work in Hokkaido.) Kitaca functions as a mini debit card; you input cash at machines in train stations and can use Kitaca to buy tickets and even pay for items at convenient stores and shopping malls. I will be sending a Google Earth map out later with major stops and rails lines by color that you can use on your phone.
Hotel
This is an example of a Capsule Hotel you can find in Japan. This is a suitable place to stay for single travellers who don't want to spend much money. At $35 or less a night, this provides good amenities but minimal sleeping space. Please look at this video to see what this particular place is like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XyA_je39mc
Travel Note
Hotels are fairly cheap in Japan, as are airbnb's. I recommend either. I recommend staying nearby a train station, as this will help you travel about the city. The best places in town to stay are downtown Sapporo and Susukino if you are interested in fun activities and night life. Susukino is the night life side of town and also has all the good stores and a lot of the best food places; you really can't go wrong here.
Travel Note
In order to use cabs in Japan, you will need a Japanese phone number to call the cabs, or request a clerk at a store to contact the cab for you (Japanese service industry staff are incredibly polite and will definitely do this for you). There is no Uber or Lyft in Japan. You cannot use your Kitaca to pay for this, but can use Visa or Mastercard or cash. This is a fairly inconvenient mode of travel; I recommend the trains and subways, or the buses. Use this if the location you want to travel to cannot be reached otherwise, or if you missed a bus that only arrives once every hour (if you're in the boonies).