Sato was born in Kasukabe on March 12, 1982. He joined J1 League club JEF United Ichihara (later "JEF United Chiba") with twin brother Yuto Sato from their youth team in 2000. In 2002, he moved to J2 League club Cerezo Osaka. In 2003, he moved to J1 club Vegalta Sendai and became a regular player. The club was relegated to J2 end of 2003 season. In 2004, he scored 20 goals in J2. In 2005, he moved to J1 club Sanfrecce Hiroshima. He played as regular player and scored more than 10 goals every season. However the club was relegated to J2 end of 2007 season. In 2008, the club won the champions in J2 and was promoted to J1 from 2009. He also became a top scorer with 28 goals. In 2012, the club won the champion in J1. He also became a top scorer with 22 goals and was selected MVP award. The club also won the champions in the 2013 and 2015 season. He played 383 matches and score 178 goals for the club in 12 seasons. He was also selected "J.League Fair Play award" in 2007, 2012 and 2013 season. In 2017, he moved to J2 club Nagoya Grampus. The club was promoted to J1 from 2018. In 2019, he moved to his first club, JEF United Chiba. He retired end of the 2020 season.