How Big Is Hokkaido? Compare It With US States, Hawaii, Australia, Europe and Asia

Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost prefecture, covers about 83,422 km² (32,209 sq mi) — almost exactly the size of South Carolina or Austria. Its main island alone (about 77,982 km²) is about the size of Scotland, and it stretches about 494 km (307 miles) east to west. Overlay it on a place you know to get a feel for the distances.

Same scale, north up. The maps are simplified and small islands are omitted; for Hawaii (state), only the eight main islands are drawn. The Hokkaido map also shows the islands Japan calls the Northern Territories; east–west and north–south lengths are for the main island.

This is the true size, not the Mercator size

Google Maps and many other web maps use the Mercator projection, which enlarges places the farther they are from the equator. Next to Oahu (about 21°N), Hokkaido (about 43°N) looks about 1.6 times larger in area than it should. Scotland (about 58°N) is enlarged even more, so on a Mercator map it looks about 1.8 times larger than Hokkaido relative to their true sizes.

On this page, Hokkaido and each place you compare are drawn around their own centers (azimuthal equidistant projection), so their shapes and sizes stay close to reality. They are then overlaid at the same scale, showing their true sizes.

Hokkaido compared by area

Place	Area	Compared with Hokkaido
Hokkaido	83,422 km² (32,209 sq mi)	―
South Carolina	82,933 km² (32,021 sq mi)	About the same
Maine	91,633 km² (35,380 sq mi)	1.1× Hokkaido
New York State	141,297 km² (54,555 sq mi)	1.7× Hokkaido
California	423,967 km² (163,694 sq mi)	5.1× Hokkaido
Texas	695,662 km² (268,596 sq mi)	8.3× Hokkaido
Hawaii (state)	28,313 km² (10,932 sq mi)	Hokkaido is 2.9× larger
Oahu	1,548 km² (598 sq mi)	Hokkaido is 54× larger
Hawaii Island (Big Island)	10,434 km² (4,028 sq mi)	Hokkaido is 8.0× larger
Tasmania	68,401 km² (26,410 sq mi)	Hokkaido is 1.2× larger
Victoria	227,444 km² (87,817 sq mi)	2.7× Hokkaido
Scotland	77,925 km² (30,087 sq mi)	Hokkaido is 1.1× larger
Austria	83,878 km² (32,385 sq mi)	About the same
Hong Kong	1,115 km² (430 sq mi)	Hokkaido is 75× larger
Singapore	736 km² (284 sq mi)	Hokkaido is 113× larger

Hokkaido's area includes the Northern Territories (Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, as of July 1, 2026); its main island is 77,982 km². US states use total area, including water (US Census Bureau). Oahu and Hawaii Island use land area (State of Hawaii Data Book). Australian states: Geoscience Australia. Scotland: National Records of Scotland. Austria: Statistics Austria. Hong Kong: land area (Lands Department, Hong Kong SAR Government). Singapore: land area as of December 2024 (Singapore Department of Statistics); it changes slightly as land is reclaimed. 1 sq mi = 2.58999 km².

Distances in Hokkaido

Cities in Hokkaido are farther apart than many visitors expect. Sapporo to Nemuro is about 344 km in a straight line, and Hakodate to Nemuro is about 434 km.

Route	Straight-line distance
Sapporo – Otaru	About 33 km (21 miles)
Sapporo – Asahikawa	About 114 km (71 miles)
Sapporo – Hakodate	About 153 km (95 miles)
Sapporo – Obihiro	About 151 km (94 miles)
Sapporo – Kushiro	About 246 km (153 miles)
Sapporo – Abashiri	About 258 km (160 miles)
Sapporo – Wakkanai	About 263 km (163 miles)
Sapporo – Nemuro	About 344 km (214 miles)
Hakodate – Wakkanai	About 413 km (257 miles)
Hakodate – Nemuro	About 434 km (270 miles)

Straight-line distances between city halls, located with the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan's place-name search. Road distances are longer.

Driving times between cities

These are guide times from the Hokkaido Tourism Organization's transportation guide. The first time is for the main route in the guide, which often includes toll expressways. Allow extra time for breaks.

From Sapporo

To	Driving time	On ordinary roads
New Chitose Airport	About 45 min – 1 hr 25 min	About 1 hr – 2 hr
Otaru	About 45 min	About 1 hr
Cape Kamui	About 2 hr – 2 hr 30 min	About 2 hr 30 min – 3 hr
Niseko	About 2 hr 10 min	―
Hakodate	About 4 hr 30 min	About 5 hr – 5 hr 30 min
Wakkanai	About 6 hr	―
Asahikawa	About 2 hr	About 2 hr 30 min – 3 hr 40 min
Kushiro	About 4 hr 30 min – 5 hr	About 6 hr
Obihiro	About 3 hr – 3 hr 30 min	About 4 hr – 5 hr
Abashiri	About 4 hr 50 min – 5 hr 30 min	About 6 hr – 7 hr 30 min

From New Chitose Airport

To	Driving time	On ordinary roads
Sapporo	About 1 hr	About 1 hr 30 min
Otaru	About 1 hr 20 min	About 2 hr 30 min
Niseko	About 2 hr 10 min	―
Shiraoi	About 45 min	―
Lake Shikotsu	About 50 min	―
Hakodate	About 3 hr 30 min – 4 hr 10 min	About 4 hr 40 min – 5 hr 30 min
Asahikawa	About 2 hr 45 min	About 2 hr 50 min – 4 hr
Furano	About 2 hr	―
Biei	About 2 hr 40 min	―
Wakkanai	About 6 hr	―
Obihiro	About 2 hr 30 min	About 3 hr 30 min
Kushiro	About 3 hr 30 min	About 5 hr 30 min
Abashiri	About 4 hr 50 min – 5 hr 30 min	About 6 hr 10 min – 6 hr 40 min

From Hakodate

To	Driving time	On ordinary roads
New Chitose Airport	About 3 hr 30 min – 4 hr 20 min	About 5 hr – 7 hr 30 min
Noboribetsu Onsen	About 3 hr 10 min	About 4 hr 20 min
Sapporo	About 4 hr 30 min	―
Otaru	About 4 hr – 5 hr	―
Niseko	About 2 hr 30 min – 3 hr	About 3 hr – 4 hr
Lake Toya	About 2 hr 30 min	About 3 hr – 3 hr 30 min
Onuma Quasi-National Park	About 45 min – 1 hr	―
Esashi	About 1 hr 30 min – 2 hr	―
Matsumae	About 2 hr – 2 hr 30 min	―
Asahikawa	About 5 hr 30 min – 6 hr 40 min	About 7 hr – 9 hr 40 min
Furano	About 5 hr 30 min – 6 hr 30 min	―
Biei	About 6 hr 10 min – 7 hr	―
Kushiro	About 7 hr 30 min	―
Obihiro	About 6 hr 20 min	―
Abashiri	About 8 hr 20 min – 9 hr 20 min	―

From Asahikawa

To	Driving time	On ordinary roads
Sapporo	About 2 hr	About 2 hr 30 min – 3 hr 40 min
New Chitose Airport	About 2 hr 45 min	About 2 hr 50 min – 4 hr
Otaru	About 2 hr 20 min – 3 hr	About 3 hr – 4 hr 20 min
Niseko	About 3 hr 40 min – 4 hr 20 min	About 4 hr 20 min – 5 hr 30 min
Noboribetsu Onsen	About 3 hr – 3 hr 30 min	―
Toyako Onsen	About 3 hr 30 min – 4 hr	―
Shari / Utoro	About 4 hr 30 min – 5 hr	―
Hakodate	About 5 hr 30 min – 6 hr 40 min	About 7 hr – 9 hr 40 min
Onuma Park	About 5 hr – 6 hr	―
Wakkanai	About 4 hr – 4 hr 40 min	―
Sounkyo Onsen	About 1 hr 30 min	―
Rumoi	About 1 hr 30 min	―
Abashiri	About 3 hr 10 min – 3 hr 40 min	―
Obihiro	About 3 hr 10 min – 3 hr 40 min	―
Kushiro	About 4 hr 40 min – 5 hr	―

From Obihiro

To	Driving time	On ordinary roads
New Chitose Airport	About 2 hr 30 min	About 3 hr 30 min
Sapporo	About 3 hr – 3 hr 30 min	About 3 hr 50 min – 5 hr 10 min
Otaru	About 3 hr 20 min – 3 hr 50 min	About 4 hr 30 min – 5 hr 50 min
Niseko	About 4 hr 10 min – 4 hr 40 min	About 5 hr 10 min – 5 hr 50 min
Hakodate	About 5 hr 50 min – 6 hr 40 min	About 7 hr 50 min – 9 hr 20 min
Wakkanai	About 6 hr 30 min – 7 hr	―
Asahikawa	About 3 hr 10 min – 3 hr 40 min	―
Tokachigawa Onsen	About 20 min	―
Lake Shikaribetsu	About 1 hr 10 min – 1 hr 30 min	―
Kushiro	About 1 hr 50 min – 2 hr 20 min	About 2 hr 10 min – 2 hr 50 min
Abashiri	About 3 hr 30 min	―

From Kushiro

To	Driving time	On ordinary roads
New Chitose Airport	About 3 hr 30 min	About 5 hr 30 min
Sapporo	About 4 hr 30 min – 5 hr	About 6 hr
Otaru	About 4 hr 40 min – 5 hr 30 min	About 6 hr 40 min – 8 hr 10 min
Niseko	About 5 hr 40 min – 6 hr 20 min	About 7 hr 20 min – 8 hr 10 min
Hakodate	About 7 hr 10 min – 8 hr 20 min	About 9 hr 50 min – 11 hr 30 min
Wakkanai	About 7 hr 20 min – 8 hr 10 min	―
Asahikawa	About 4 hr 40 min – 5 hr	―
Obihiro	About 1 hr 50 min – 2 hr 20 min	About 2 hr 10 min – 2 hr 50 min
Abashiri	About 2 hr 40 min – 3 hr	―
Nemuro	About 2 hr – 2 hr 30 min	―

From Abashiri

To	Driving time	On ordinary roads
Sapporo	About 4 hr 50 min – 5 hr 30 min	About 6 hr – 7 hr 30 min
Otaru	About 5 hr 10 min – 6 hr	About 7 hr – 8 hr
Niseko	About 6 hr 20 min – 7 hr 20 min	About 8 hr – 8 hr 40 min
Hakodate	About 8 hr 20 min – 9 hr 30 min	About 10 hr 40 min – 11 hr 40 min
Asahikawa	About 3 hr 30 min	About 4 hr
Furano	About 4 hr 30 min	―
Biei	About 3 hr 45 min	―
Wakkanai	About 5 hr 30 min	―
Utoro Onsen	About 1 hr 30 min	―
Monbetsu	About 2 hr 10 min	―
Lake Mashu	About 1 hr 40 min	―
Lake Akan	About 2 hr 15 min	―
Kushiro	About 2 hr 40 min – 3 hr	―
Obihiro	About 3 hr 30 min	―