My Wonder Years: Off to the Land of the Rising Sun! (Part 5)

If you only have limited number of days in Hokkaido, you must put Furano & Biei as your priority place to visit. Located in the center of Hokkaido, Furano & Biei is known for their beautiful picturesque landscape. At time of visit, it was the height of the flower season, in which many different types of flowers are in bloom. The best way to see most of Furano & Biei is also to drive on your own as public transport is very limited in this rural area.

The views and flowers in this place is so beautiful that I'm posting all pictures in extra large size! Hehe :)

4 August 2013: Exploring Furano & Biei

First drive in Japan. Easy navigation, well planned roads and friendly signages. Most importantly, we're driving on the same side like in Malaysia :) It took us about 2 hours from Sapporo to Furano via the trunk road (which was supposedly the shortest route). No regrets using this route during the day as you can see the country side views. You can also opt to use the Expressway - the journey is shortened by 30minutes (we used this route to get back to Sapporo at night) but the toll is very costly Y3500 (that's about RM120!).

Scenic drive along the way

Some views of the flower fields. Lavender is in season during Summer. At time of visit, it was almost the tail end of it already, but we still got to see some very nice lavender.

Views from one of the most popular flower field in Furano - Farm Tomita.

The different types of flowers you will see this time of the year

Another popular flower field - Land Kamifurano

Biei on the other hand boasts of vast fields and gentle rolling hills. We drove along narrow roads and literally hop on and off at whichever scenic point we desire. Views were just breathtaking. One of the most photographed places were at the Mild Seven Hill, with its famous row of larch trees. It was named Mild Seven after the cigarette company used this spot for its commercial.