Going from where to where?

TQ for the reply .From Tokyo to Hokaido,

Air passes are cheap at about usd$100 per trip.

Shinkansen will be quicker on Honshu.

JR Rail Pass may be more economic for all travel.

Dorayon, unless its free as part of a rail pass, air is the only way. Nobody takes rail to Hokkaido unless they have a lot of time for the journey.

Direct flight from Haneda to Chitose is about 1 hour 15 min. I understand this is most traveled air route in the world, so many flights every day. ANA, JAL, Skymark and Air Do all sell discount tickets for advance purchase. In particular, check Skymark and Air Do for cheap tickets.

Shinkansen only goes as far as Hachinohe, then standard rail for the long journey across (actually under) the Tsugaru straights to Sapporo.

The one redeeming feature of the rail journey is the opportunity to take get off at one of the underwater stations in the Seikan Tunnel and tour the bizarre underwater world JR has built there. I believe Tappi Kaitei station is in operation while the Shinkansen track construction is proceeding. I visited the other station a while back, Yoshioka Kaitei, which was really weird and unique. This requires advanced booking.

Air Pass is the way to go, typically around 12,000 Yen or so. Trains (JR) should only be considered if you 1) have a rail pass, but you'd still need to pay some supplemental fees; 2) if you have time and enjoy train travel which some people do. Otherwise, I believe the one way train fare is over 30,000 Yen, and if you ride in the Cassiopeia sleeper car, about 60,000 Yen.

airpass prices vary from 10000yen to 13000 yen per segment, plus 5% sales tax if it's not within 24 hours of your international flight. Actual price depends on which airlines you use to fly to Japan. Minimum purchase is either 1 or 2 segments, again depending on which airlines you use to fly to Japan.

http://www.jal.co.jp/yokosojapan/

802.flightlookup.com/rtw/rtw_1.php?region=AP6

We took the bullet train from Tokyo to Osaka, it was quick and you didn't have to worry about all that arriving 2 hours before your flight and checking in your luggage and all that stuff so we thought it was a much better option.

Bullet train or trains in general is not a good option from Tokyo to Hokkaido because you will be on the train for at least 12 hours from Tokyo to Sapporo.

There is no Bullet Train (Shinkansen) to Hokkaido. It only goes as far as Hachinohe in Aomori Pref.

Wait until 2015, and it should go all the way to Sapporo.