Summer Field Flowers - A Complete Guide to Biei and Furano, Hokkaido
Summer, Hokkaido, lavender, these eight words together are so lethal that I left my beloved Kyoto and headed north (I won’t say it’s because Kyoto’s summer is as hot as an oil pan).I stayed in Biei for a month and basically traveled around Furano and Asahikawa. Biei is an idyllic hilly town. Furano is famous for its lavender farm. The various flower fields, parks, and observatories in the Biei-Fu area are dazzling. Where should flowers be seen?
Here is a summary of a guide to attractions, with short reviews and recommendation indexes for your reference. Welcome to Hokkaido in summer.
The area is small and it is located next to the only driveway from Biei to Asahikawa. The biggest advantage is convenient transportation. Another feature is that you can drive go-karts in the flower fields. The speed is very slow, children may like it.
Recommendation index: ★★★
【Four Seasons Color Hill】
The largest and most famous flower field in Biei, so it is also the place with the most tourists. The crowds of people under the scorching sun, the Chinese welcome speech over and over again on the radio, and the flying dust scattered on the flowers, really can't feel any beauty. Everyone is crowded in front of the few flower fields at the entrance to pose. If you are not afraid of the hard work and walk to a farther place where there are no people, you will see a different scenery.
Recommended index: ★★
Located near the Mibau Station, it is far from the patchwork road and not on the super wide angle road, so there are few tourists and you can finally see the flowers quietly. It's just a glance, and there are not many visual changes. You can stop by if you drive by.
Recommendation index: ★★★
【Sanai Hill Observatory Park】
The characteristic of Sanai Hill is the view of snow-capped mountains. I really like the Tokachidake mountain range. The thin strips of snow on the top of the mountain look like white rice fish or silver threads embroidered by someone with a needle, shining in the sun. But to appreciate it, it is enough to go to Biei. You can see it when you look up while riding on the road. You may be disappointed if you go there specially. Because there is really nothing special here.
Recommendation index: ★
【Shinei-no-Oka Observatory Park】
Famous for its best sunset in Japan. A sunset lover rode 15 kilometers to see it, but missed the most beautiful moment in order to get down the mountain before dark. I can't say whether "Japan's best" is an exaggeration. If you want to come here, I recommend you to drive yourself, even though my legs are almost broken from riding.
Recommendation index: ★★★★
【Seven Star Trees (and other trees)】
The various "trees" in Biei are famous, but they are not worthy of their reputation. The Seven Star Trees, Ken and Mary Trees, and Gentle Seven Star Hill are some kind of collective memories for the Japanese because they have been used in commercials. The Philosopher's Tree and the Parent-Child Tree are named because of their pictographic shapes, which are similar to the Couple Embracing Child Stone in China. They are all human-imposed meanings. When you come to see them with great interest from a long distance, you will find that - to be honest, they are just trees.
Recommended index: ★
There are too many artificial traces. A pyramid suddenly rises in the pastoral painting. I don’t know what the designer was thinking. But this is one of the most famous attractions in Biei, so tourists are pulled here in cars, rushing to the observation deck, taking messy photos, and then leaving. The user experience is very bad. Bad review.
Recommendation index: ★
The private spot that the host mother brought us to is her favorite, and then it also became the favorite of me and the Hawaiian girl. As soon as I got here, I wanted to write a poem, such as the vast sky and the vast wilderness, and the wind blowing the grass and seeing the cows and sheep. The Café at the ranch sells ice cream made from its own milk. Hokkaido's milk ice cream is already famous, and this one is the richest and sweetest I have ever eaten, no doubt about it. Walking up the hillside, watching the cows grazing with relish while slowly licking the ice cream, I was in a very good mood. The most important thing is that there is no guide mentioned here, and there are almost no tourists, just like an unknown hidden level on the map. I am afraid that too many people will destroy this beauty, so I will only tell you secretly here. The only disadvantage is that you have to drive yourself.
Recommendation index: ★★★★★
If you come at the right time, you can see the wheat fields being harvested in Biei. The wheat stalks are rolled into balls, called rolls in Japanese, and they are very cute squatting in the fields. After the harvest, the ranch will buy them to make nests for cows. Looking at them scattered on the hillside, it always feels like a secret signal to aliens.
Recommendation index: ★★★★★
【Blue Pond】
The pond was formed accidentally due to volcanic sand control works. The water in the pond contains aluminum particles and reflects sunlight, giving off a clear blue color. A photographer who lives nearby took a photo of the Blue Pond in winter and sold it to Apple, which became the desktop of Mac. The Blue Pond became famous because of this. The weather was gloomy on the day I went there, which was already charming. It must be even more so when the weather is sunny.
Recommendation index: ★★★★☆
The most beautiful scenery in Biei is actually on the road. Riding a bicycle through the spliced farmland, through the tractor, through the clouds in the mountains, through the hills, the wind pours into the body from all directions, and the whole person seems to be flying. But riding a bicycle in summer is very hard. Not to mention the scorching sun, going up and down the hills can take half of your life. The second best way to play is to rent a car and drive yourself. It is really convenient to rent a car to play in Hokkaido. There are few trains and the distance between attractions is far. Self-driving can make everything under control. Driving in the countryside, I feel like I am in a car advertisement. The moving scenery outside the window is like a pastoral poem, and the feeling changes when I stop to take pictures. So just keep driving and keep driving, pretending that there is no end and keep going forward in this painting.
【Farm Tomita】
The largest flower field in Furano, it became famous throughout Japan in the 1970s because it was featured on the JR calendar, and began to attract tourists until today - there are more people than flowers. So many that you don't know whether you are here to see the flowers or the people. The farm is surrounded by various melons, ice cream, and souvenir shops, and the commercial atmosphere is also very strong. It is best not to drive here. The queue of cars outside the farm is so long that you can't see the end, and you have to wait until the end of time to find a parking space.
Recommendation index: ★★★
【Nakafurano Town Camp Lavender Garden (Machibu Lavender Garden)】
It is built on a mountain with a steep slope. It is also the only lavender field with cable car service. Sitting on the cable car from bottom to top, the angle of viewing the flowers gradually changes, which is very interesting. The view from the top of the mountain is wide, and the lavender fields spread out, as if they are connected to the town in the distance, giving it a sense of life that is not found in other flower fields. It is one of the most distinctive flower fields I have ever visited.
Recommendation index: ★★★★
Nakafurano Station is home to Tomita Farm and the town-run lavender garden, which is more like a hidden gem. Places with fewer people always have a better impression. If you come here before 9 o'clock, there will be almost no tourists. Lavender is in full bloom, so you can stroll leisurely in the flower fields and let your camera take as many photos as you want.
Recommendation index: ★★★★
My favorite lavender field is Sunrise Park in Kamifurano Station. The most important reason is that there are not many people there (have I already said it three times). When the whole world flocks to Farm Tomita, coming here is like discovering a treasure. There is also a little red house standing in the flower field. The blue sky, red house, and lavender make it feel like being in a fairy tale. There is a clock on the top of the mountain. If you shake it hard, the sound will be bright and penetrating. It will spread along the lavender fields. It feels like your friends in the distance can hear it.
Recommendation index: ★★★★☆
The best flowering period for lavender is from mid-July to late July. I went to Sunrise Park on the 14th, and the early-blooming varieties were the most abundant. I went to Tomita Farm, the town-run lavender garden, and Caixiang no Sato on the 20th, and the late-blooming varieties were the most abundant. Here is a reference for everyone. However, no matter how beautiful lavender is, you will get aesthetic fatigue if you see it too much. Don't disbelieve it, the flower fields are still artificial, and they don't have the natural beauty of Biei from the heart. The latter is the beauty that you will never get tired of looking at left and right, up and down.
You need to discover the beauty of Biei yourself. Don't hold on to the map tightly, and try to walk an unknown route. I ran to the back mountain of my residence on a whim during a run. In front of me were only rolling hills, corn fields, roads, and the sky, but it was so beautiful that I was speechless. In an hour, only three cars passed by me. The rest of the time seemed to be the only one left in the world. There was no destination, only the front, and I ran over one slope after another. I was filled only with happiness. I was filled only with freedom.
Thank you Biei. Thank you Hokkaido.
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