Hokkaido
How to ride the Hakodate city tram: board in the middle, pay ¥250–300 by distance
函館市電の乗り方
Board through the middle door and take a numbered ticket — or tap your IC card. Fares go by distance (¥250–300, children half) and are paid at the fare box by the driver as you get off. Suica, Kitaca, PASMO and the other nationwide cards work; SAPICA doesn't.
- Board in the middle
- Exit at the front
- Pay when you get off
- IC cards OK
- Fare by distance
Hakodate's city trams, run by the Hakodate City Transportation Bureau, link Hakodate Station with Jujigai, Suehirocho, Goryokaku-koen-mae and Yunokawa Onsen.
Unlike most city trams in Japan, Hakodate charges by distance: ¥250 up to 2 km, ¥270 up to 4 km, ¥290 up to 7 km and ¥300 beyond (children ¥130–150). From Hakodate-ekimae, Jujigai or Suehirocho is ¥250, Goryokaku-koen-mae ¥270, and Yunokawa Onsen ¥290.
乗り方の流れ
Step by step
01Get on through the middle door
Board through the door in the middle of the tram. You pay when you get off.
02Paying cash? Take a numbered ticket
Take a numbered ticket (整理券) from the machine by the door as you board. When you get off, the number on your ticket tells you the fare on the display at the front.
03IC card: tap when you board and when you get off
Don't take a ticket — tap your IC card on the reader by the door as you get on, and again on the reader at the fare box as you get off. ICAS nimoca, nimoca, Kitaca, Suica, PASMO, ICOCA and the other nationwide cards work. SAPICA (Sapporo's card) does not.
04Press the stop button
When your stop is announced, press the stop button.
05Cash: exact fare only
Put your numbered ticket into the fare box first — the fare then appears on the display — and pay the exact amount. No change is given: change ¥1,000 notes and coins at the changer next to the driver while the tram is stopped. ¥2,000, ¥5,000 and ¥10,000 notes can't be changed.
Day and 24-hour passes
The tram one-day pass costs ¥800 (child ¥400) and covers every line from first to last tram. Buy the paper pass on board or at sales points, or a smartphone version in the web app. Scratch off the date (scratching more than one date makes it invalid) and show it to the crew as you get off. The pass also gets you discounts at listed shops on the day you use it.
A 24-hour pass (¥1,130, child ¥570) is sold only as a smartphone ticket paid by credit card — show the screen to the crew when you get off.
Good to know
- At ¥250–300 a ride, the ¥800 day pass pays off on your third ride — for example Hakodate-ekimae → Jujigai → Goryokaku-koen-mae → Yunokawa Onsen.
- Top up ICAS nimoca at a convenience store (24 hours) before you ride.
- The JAPAN RAIL PASS covers JR lines only, so it isn't valid on Hakodate's trams.
Sources
- Hakodate City: Tram fares (from 1 Dec 2025) (Japanese)
- Hakodate City: How to ride the tram (Japanese)
- Hakodate City: IC cards (ICAS nimoca and nationwide cards) (Japanese)
- Hakodate City: Tram passes (Japanese)
Rules differ between railways and change from time to time — last checked 7 Nov 2026. Follow signs and staff on the day.