Chitose

Chitose, city, west-central Hokkaido, northern Japan. It lies about 22 miles (35 km) southeast of Sapporo, on the railway to Tomakomai, which is about 12 miles (19 km) to the south.

Because of the extension of Sapporo and the growth of the commercial and industrial harbour of Tomakomai after World War I, Chitose grew rapidly. A Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force base was established in the city in 1962. A new international air terminal at Chitose, opened in the late 1980s, is one of Japan’s larger airports and serves Sapporo. The city is a tourist centre for Shikotsu-Toya National Park, which is located just west of Chitose. Pop. (2005) 91,439; (2010) 93,604.