New Chitose Airport is transforming into a destination for travelers and local visitors alike after passenger numbers reached a record 26 million in 2025, with new direct flights to North America, upgraded security facilities and a major anime-themed commercial area planned for summer 2027.
Hokkaido Airports President Masao Yamazaki said the operator wants to make New Chitose more attractive and encourage people who are not flying to visit the airport for entertainment and shopping.
The airport's international network is also expanding. From December 2026, United Airlines will operate direct flights to San Francisco, while Air Canada will begin direct services to Vancouver.
They will be the first nonstop routes linking New Chitose Airport with North America. Both are scheduled to operate three round trips a week through March 2027.
Until now, passengers traveling from Hokkaido to North America generally needed to connect through Tokyo, with journeys taking at least 13 hours and sometimes requiring an overnight stay before departure.
The new nonstop services are expected to reduce travel time to about nine hours.
Yamazaki said the choice of San Francisco and Vancouver is closely connected to growing business activity surrounding Rapidus, the next-generation semiconductor manufacturer expanding mass-production preparations in Chitose.
The San Francisco Bay Area includes Silicon Valley, home to a large concentration of technology companies, creating expectations for increased business travel between Hokkaido and the region.
Travel agencies are also reporting increased inquiries about trips to North America.
HIS has already produced travel brochures offering packages including aurora viewing, ski resorts and sporting events, with five-day, three-night trips starting at 250,000 yen.
Facilities inside New Chitose Airport are also being upgraded.
Smart security lanes were introduced at passenger screening areas in April. Using CT scanning technology, the system allows passengers to leave items such as bottled drinks and laptop computers inside their bags during screening.
The new system has doubled passenger-processing capacity compared with the previous screening method.
A shared office space also opened at the airport in August.
The airport operator is meanwhile experimenting with entertainment designed to make the terminal itself a destination.
An event running through August 30 transformed part of the airport into a collaboration with the Nintendo game Animal Crossing, offering photo spots and limited-edition merchandise.
One visitor said the event felt like stepping inside the game.
A larger redevelopment will begin in September in the passage connecting the domestic and international terminal areas on the third floor.
The Hello Kitty Happy Flight attraction, an interactive theme park where visitors could take photographs with characters and enjoy other experiences, closed on August 23 after 10 years of operation to make way for the redevelopment.
Hokkaido Airports said numerous customers left messages expressing regret over the closure.
The space will be replaced with what the operator describes as one of Hokkaido's largest anime-themed facilities, along with specialty merchandise stores and other businesses.
Around 20 stores are expected to open in the area, with completion scheduled for summer 2027.
New Chitose is also preparing events that would once have been considered unusual for an airport terminal.
New Japan Pro-Wrestling is scheduled to hold an event at the airport's Center Plaza in September, part of efforts to broaden the range of entertainment available to visitors.
Younger Hokkaido Airports employees are also developing their own initiatives to promote lesser-known attractions inside the airport.
Employees from different departments operate the company's official YouTube channel, Happu Channel, producing videos largely by themselves using smartphones and action cameras.
One forthcoming video features seven ice creams available exclusively at New Chitose Airport.
Among the products highlighted is the popular Inca no Mezame Butter Soft W, made with generous amounts of potato.
Hokkaido Airports employee Kaede Sasaki said, "If you eat it with potato chips, the sweet and salty flavors work really well together. It is available only at the airport, so I hope people will try it."
The video introducing New Chitose Airport's exclusive products is scheduled to be released in early September.
Another employee involved in the channel said producing the videos helps staff discover attractions they may otherwise have overlooked, while the team said they are learning about production as they work together.
The initiatives form part of New Chitose Airport's broader effort to evolve from a transportation hub into a place where visitors can shop, eat and enjoy entertainment even when they have no flight to catch.
Source: 北海道ニュースUHB
