Anyone taken train from Sapporo to Kutchan before? Can this direction be done with IC Card, or is it also cash-only like if you go from Kutchan to Sapporo?

Flight lands in New Chitose at like 7am, don't really want to go to Niseko so early and have no room to check in / nothing to do. Planning to spend the morning and lunch in Sapporo before heading over but not sure what's the best way to go (ski busses don't really seem to depart from Sapporo, and I don't really want to take a ~1hr train back to the airport if I can help it).