Born in Kasukabe, Saitama, Japan, Sato is a product of JEF United Ichihara's youth system.

Cerezo's coach Akihiro Nishimura rated him highly, as he had also managed Sato for Japan's youth team the previous year.

However, Sato suffered from Guillain–Barré syndrome at the beginning of the season, and found himself playing not many games with Akinori Nishizawa and Yoshito Okubo ahead of him in the pecking order.

His loan contract became a permanent one and he played 44 league games with 20 goals for Sendai in the 2005 season but failed to navigate the club to J1.

On April 22, 2006, Sato set the record for the fastest goal in J1 League history, scoring just 8 seconds after kick-off against Cerezo Osaka.

[4] After equalling the record, having spent 12 years in Hiroshima, Sato decided to sign for J2 club Nagoya Grampus.

His twin brother Yuto is also a professional footballer who plays for JEF United Chiba and has been capped once at international level.