So Many Stunning Views! 12 Must-See Attractions in Biei

So Many Stunning Views! 12 Must-See Attractions in Biei

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Written by :  GOOD LUCK TRIP

Biei is known for its beautiful natural scenery, shaped by vast rolling hills and majestic mountains.
It’s a little away from Hokkaido’s urban areas, and it also has hot spring areas, so you can enjoy a trip that soothes you with beautiful landscapes and onsen.
In this article, we’ll share useful travel tips, focusing on Biei’s popular sightseeing spots, recommended seasons to visit, and transportation options.

What is Biei Like?

Biei is located almost in the center of Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost island.
With the magnificent Tokachi Mountain Range as a backdrop, Biei’s charm lies in its beautiful natural scenery created by vast, gently rolling hills.
In spring, the town is colored by flowers and cherry blossoms, and in late spring it’s tinted by spring foliage. In summer, the hills are covered in wheat. In fall, autumn leaves paint the hills and mountains, and in winter, a snow-covered world of shimmering white spreads out.
You’re sure to feel refreshed by the beautiful scenery in every season.
It’s also home to the Biei Shirogane Onsen area, so you can relax not only in nature but also in hot springs.
The street in front of Biei Station, lined with cohesive-looking buildings, is also beautiful—making Biei a wonderful place where both the town and nature shine.

The beautiful area around Biei Station, including the station building
The beautiful area around Biei Station, including the station building

What is the best season to visit Biei?

If you’re visiting Biei, fall is recommended.
This is when flowers like dahlias bloom in vivid color, and the mountains gradually turn red and orange with fall foliage.
It’s also a great time to enjoy the autumn colors up close while trekking Mt. Tokachi.
For a very short period from late October to early November, the Japanese larch around Shirogane Blue Pond—one of Biei’s top scenic spots—turns a brilliant yellow.
You’ll see a Biei-only view where vibrant fall colors blend with a dreamlike landscape.

What to wear in Biei by season

  • Spring (March - May): Down jacket, coat, heavy sweater, scarf, gloves
  • Summer (June - August): Short sleeves, long-sleeve shirt, light sweater
  • Fall (September - November): Coat, jacket, sweater
  • Winter (December - February): Down jacket, coat, heavy sweater, scarf, gloves

How do you get to Biei?

From Tokyo to Biei, it takes around 2 hours by plane and bus.
From Osaka, you can also get there in around 2.5 hours using a plane and bus.
From New Chitose Airport, Sapporo’s gateway, it takes Approx. 3 hours by train. By rental car, it also takes about 3 hours.

Main ways to get around in Biei

If you’re sightseeing in Biei, the main way to get around is by bus.
In addition to local route buses, sightseeing buses are also recommended.
Depending on your plan, you can get around on foot, but considering travel time and physical effort, it’s not recommended.
If possible, rent a car and explore Biei.
Driving across Biei’s landscapes lets you enjoy an open, refreshing feeling along with beautiful views.

12 Popular Attractions in Biei with Spectacular Scenery in Every Season

Biei has many spots where you can take in beautiful, grand natural scenery.
Here are some carefully selected popular attractions where you can fully enjoy what Biei has to offer.

1. Shirahige Falls

One of the 대표 sightseeing spots of the Biei Shirogane Onsen area, this waterfall lives up to its name: white streams pour from the cliff face into the Biei River with a drop of Approx. 98 feet.
Minerals in the water flowing from Mt. Tokachi affect how light reflects, making the Biei River surface glow cobalt blue. The sight of the white waterfall splashing into it is truly impressive.

A waterfall with a drop of 30 meters, flowing into a cobalt-blue river and changing its look with the seasons
A waterfall with a drop of 30 meters, flowing into a cobalt-blue river and changing its look with the seasons

2. Shirogane Blue Pond

Shirogane Blue Pond, with its strikingly vivid blue, is famous as Biei’s top sightseeing spot.
It’s a man-made pond that formed by chance when water collected behind a block dam built on the Biei River as part of disaster prevention construction to protect against volcanic mudflows from Mt. Tokachi.
The mysteriously beautiful blue water, combined with the surrounding rich nature and standing dead Japanese larch trees, creates a fantastical atmosphere like a fairy-tale world.

Be moved by this dreamy blue world
Be moved by this dreamy blue world

3. Shin-ei Hill Observatory Park

One of Biei’s best scenic spots, with a magnificent landscape of rolling hills that line up like waves. This park is marked by a figure made of stacked hay bales, and from the hill you can take in a 360-degree panoramic view of Biei’s nature-rich scenery.
The park has a parking lot, restrooms, and a rest area, but note that it closes during the snowy season.

A hilltop park with stunning views in every direction, from mountains and flower fields to sunsets
A hilltop park with stunning views in every direction, from mountains and flower fields to sunsets

4. Ken and Mary Tree

A single poplar tree that appears in a peaceful meadow within the hilly area known as the Hills of Biei in Biei, Kamikawa District, Hokkaido.
A large tree over 90 years old, it’s nicknamed the “Ken and Mary Tree” and became famous after being featured in a 1972 Nissan Skyline commercial.

A popular driving route and photo spot made famous by a TV commercial
A popular driving route and photo spot made famous by a TV commercial

5. Tokachidake Bogakudai Observation Deck

A viewpoint where you can see Mt. Tokachi—one of Japan’s 100 Famous Mountains—up close, including the exposed rocky slopes and rising volcanic smoke unique to an active volcano. It’s located on the mid-slope of Mt. Tokachi at an elevation of 930 m, around 5 km from the Shirogane Onsen area.
Along with Mt. Tokachi, you can also see the peaks of the Daisetsuzan Mountains, including Mt. Asahi (Hokkaido’s highest peak), Mt. Biei, and Biei Fuji.

A view spot overlooking grand mountain scenery and the Furano Basin below
A view spot overlooking grand mountain scenery and the Furano Basin below

6. Hokusei-no-Oka Observatory Park

A nature park in Biei, Hokkaido, known as the town of hills.
The surrounding area is called the “Patchwork Road” because farmland and fields in different colors look like a patchwork pattern, and from the park’s observation deck you can enjoy the full view of the hilly landscape.
From the pyramid-shaped observation deck, you can also look out over the Tokachi Mountain Range and more, taking in Hokkaido’s vast nature.

Enjoy Patchwork Road and lavender fields from the pyramid-shaped observation deck
Enjoy Patchwork Road and lavender fields from the pyramid-shaped observation deck

7. Seven Stars Tree

Biei is famous as a town of hills. There are many well-known trees in Biei, and among them, the Seven Stars Tree is one of the most widely recognized.
It came to be called the Seven Stars Tree after it was used on the package of “Seven Stars” tourist cigarettes in 1976.
Together with the nearby birch-lined road, it’s a popular photo spot.

A beautiful photo spot used in commercials and on packaging for the Japanese cigarette brand “Seven Stars”
A beautiful photo spot used in commercials and on packaging for the Japanese cigarette brand “Seven Stars”

8. Patchwork Road

The vast hilly area spreading to the northwest of Biei’s downtown is called “Patchwork Road,” a view spot familiar from Hokkaido travel brochures and commercials.
It got its name because the way different crops are planted in separate plots looks like a patchwork quilt.

A colorful hilly landscape that looks just like a patchwork quilt
A colorful hilly landscape that looks just like a patchwork quilt

9. Shikisai no Oka

A scenic flower field on the hills of Biei, Hokkaido, where dozens of kinds of flowers bloom like a carpet from spring through fall. From June to September, the best viewing season, lavender, salvia, marigolds, cockscomb, and more bloom in beautiful stripes, creating a picture-perfect landscape.
During the green season from late April to late October, a tractor bus runs around the park. In winter, the flower fields transform into a snowy world, and snow activities like snow rafting and snowmobiling are popular.

A breathtaking flower park in Biei, with gradients of blooms spreading across the hills
A breathtaking flower park in Biei, with gradients of blooms spreading across the hills

10. Zerubu Hill / Atomu Hill

A tourist farm located on a hill along National Route 237.
With dramatic natural scenery like Mt. Asahi and the Tokachi Mountain Range in the background, you can enjoy seasonal flower fields. The farm features Approx. 3,000 lavender plants, plus sunflowers, poppies, and around 30 types of flowers throughout the year, adding color from spring through fall.

Enjoy seasonal flowers with Hokkaido’s vast nature as the backdrop
Enjoy seasonal flowers with Hokkaido’s vast nature as the backdrop

11. Biei Shrine

Located in Biei, a nature-rich town in Hokkaido, this shrine is known for blessings related to finding love and good relationships.
Along with the rare Shirahige Falls, where water flows through a crack in rock, and the Blue Pond, known for its dreamlike blue surface and standing dead trees, it’s popular as one of Biei’s “three major power spots.”

A power spot where every heart you find is said to boost your luck in love
A power spot where every heart you find is said to boost your luck in love

12. Farms Chiyoda Petting Zoo

Farms Chiyoda Petting Zoo is the perfect place to experience Hokkaido’s great outdoors.
It’s home to friendly animals including hardy Hokkaido horses called “Dosanko,” plus ponies, Jersey cows, goats, sheep, llamas, rabbits, and more.
Admission is free. If you buy feed for 100 yen, you can feed the animals directly.

Spend time interacting with animals surrounded by magnificent nature
Spend time interacting with animals surrounded by magnificent nature

3 Popular Attractions in Furano to Visit Along with Biei

Furano, around 40 minutes from Biei by train, is another popular destination with beautiful natural scenery.
Furano’s charm lies in its rural landscapes that change with the seasons, and its lavender fields—at their best in summer—are especially popular.
Be sure to visit it along with Biei.

1. Farm Tomita

A tourist farm in Nakafurano, Hokkaido, famous for its elegant lavender fields stretching across a massive landscape.
Along with the spectacular lavender fields, one of its signature sights is “Irodori no Hatake” (Colorful Fields), where vibrant bands of purple lavender, white baby's breath, red poppies, and more paint the gently sloping landscape like a canvas.

Be amazed by a world of colorful flowers filling your view
Be amazed by a world of colorful flowers filling your view

2. Roller Coaster Road

In a sparsely populated area of Furano, Hokkaido, there’s a road that runs Approx. 4 km and feels like a roller coaster—gently sloping, then dropping steeply, then rising sharply.
You can see the Tokachi Mountain Range in the distance, with rural scenery spreading out around you.
It’s such a popular attraction that many people say it was their favorite place they visited in Hokkaido.

Beautiful scenery is part of the appeal! A roller-coaster-like road stretching for Approx. 4 km
Beautiful scenery is part of the appeal! A roller-coaster-like road stretching for Approx. 4 km

3. Miyama Pass Art Park

Miyama Pass Art Park, located along a national highway at Miyama Pass on the border between Kamifurano and Biei, is a complex facility packed with playful attractions.
At its center is the Trick Art Museum, featuring mysterious trompe-l’oeil works—pieces that look like they pop out despite being flat, and works that change depending on the angle. It’s a hands-on museum where you can not only look, but also touch and take photos with the art—however you like.

An interactive complex where you can enjoy trick art and Furano’s sweeping landscapes
An interactive complex where you can enjoy trick art and Furano’s sweeping landscapes

FAQ about Biei Sightseeing

Q

When does Biei get snow?

A

Typically, there is snow cover from late October to early April.

Q

Can you sightsee in Biei without a rental car?

A

You can get around by local route buses and sightseeing buses, but renting a car makes it easier to plan a more fulfilling trip.

Summary

In this article, we introduced Biei’s popular attractions, recommended seasons to visit, transportation options, and more.
Visit Biei and refresh yourself with the beautiful natural scenery created by rolling hills and mountains.
In the article below, we’ve also carefully selected and introduced sightseeing spots across Hokkaido, including Biei.
Hokkaido is one of Japan’s top travel destinations, with plenty of appealing places to explore.
If you’re planning a trip to Hokkaido, be sure to use the article below as a reference.