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Lavender rows at Farm Tomita, Furano
Furano & Biei · guides + day tours

Lavender first. Then everything else.

Farm Tomita’s purple rows, Biei’s patchwork hills, the pond that photographs bluer than it should, snow that hangs around till May. A valley guide written on the ground, plus the day tours that actually reach it.

Start with the best days Browse the valley →
The shortlist

The valley, door to door.

Furano sits two hours from Sapporo and the day tours solve the hard part: getting here, linking the farms, the pond and the zoo, and getting you back before the last trains thin out. Start with these.

Everything we’ve reviewed →
The day most people book first

【Private Car】Asahiyama Zoo, Blue Pond, Shirahige Falls, Ningle Terrace (from Sapporo)

Private day trip from Sapporo to Asahiyama Zoo, Blue Pond, Shirahige Falls, and Ningle Terrace with a dedicated car and flexible stops.

From $465 per person

Read the review →
★ 5.0Safe bet[Biei/Furano] One-day sightseeing by private car!From $59643 reviews ★ 4.0Fills up in JulySapporo: Furano Flower Sea & Biei Blue Pond Tour w/ PickupFrom $7740 reviews ★ 4.0Crowd favouriteHokkaido Highlights of Flower Blossom, Asahiyama Zoo& Blue pond「Aoi-ike」!From $8734 reviews ★ 4.5Easy dayHokkaido Lavender farm & Furano Flower Tour from SapporoFrom $6928 reviews ★ 5.0Local favouriteSapporo Winter : Asahiyama Zoo (Penguin Fun & Snowmobile)From $5828 reviews ★ 4.6Worth the yenSapporo: Furano Lavender & Biei Blue Pond Tour with LunchFrom $9413 reviews
July’s main event

The purple weeks go fast.

Peak lavender runs roughly mid-July, the farms fill by ten, and the good tours sell out ahead of the bloom. These are the ones that pair Farm Tomita with Biei’s hills and the Blue Pond while the light is still right.

01Hokkaido Asahiyama Zoo and Blue Pond Elf Terrace Day Trip★★★★★★★★★★10 reviews · from $163→ 02Hokkaido Day Tour from Sapporo: Asahiyama Zoo, Blue Pond Japan★★★★★★★★★★10 reviews · from $105→ 03Shikisai-no-Oka and Furano Tour with buffet lunch from Sapporo★★★★★★★★★★8 reviews · from $94→
Compare the flower days →
The planning question

Which Furano did you book flights for?

The valley changes costume by the month. Match the day tour to your dates and the rest of the trip falls into place.

June to September The flower day from $77 Tomita’s rows, Shikisai-no-oka’s stripes, the Blue Pond on the way back. The classic summer loop, best booked before you land because July does sell out. See the flower days → All year The zoo day from $465 Japan’s most inventive zoo pairs naturally with Biei: penguins parade in winter, the pond glows in summer, and the bus does all the thinking. The easiest full day in the region. See the zoo days → December to March The snow day 9 hours - 1 day · from $58 Snowshoes over silent hills, ski hours on Furano’s famous dry powder, an onsen while the flakes keep falling. The valley’s other high season, quieter and colder. See the snow days →
The other high season

The valley doesn’t hibernate.

When the lavender sleeps, the snow takes over: powder the ski world rates among Japan’s best, snowshoe trails through birch, and hot springs that work hardest below zero. These winter days earn their layers.

01Snowshoe Adventures and Onsen Bliss Winter Escape in Furano★★★★★★★★★★12 reviews · from $78→ 02Hokkaido Asahiyama Zoo, Icebreaker GARINKO GO Sunset Tour★★★★★★★★★★3 reviews · from $161→ 03Snowshoeing on a Sparkling Biei Hill & Winter Cafe Time★★★★★★★★★★3 reviews · from $64→ 04Winter Asahiyama Zoo and blue pond “Aoi-Ike” 1 Day bus tour★★★★★★★★★★3 reviews · from $85→
Plan a winter day →
The valley guides

Read before you ride the Norokko.

Where to sleep, how the buses actually run, what the Belly Button Festival is, and why a nineteen-eighties TV drama still fills pensions here every summer.

All guides →
Flowers & NatureShikisai no Oka and Zerubu Hill in BieiIf you've ever seen those photos of rainbow-striped flower fields rolling across hills with mountains in the background — the…5 min read Things to DoFurano Outdoor ActivitiesFurano isn’t just lavender fields. I mean, the lavender is incredible -- but if that’s all you do here, you’re…10 min read SeasonalFurano Belly Button FestivalI’m going to tell you about a festival where 4,000 people paint giant faces on their bare bellies and dance…8 min read Where to StayWhere to Stay in FuranoFurano accommodation is not complicated, but picking the wrong area can wreck your trip. The town is spread out, and…11 min read Getting AroundHow to Get to FuranoFurano sits right in the middle of Hokkaido, which sounds convenient until you realize there is no bullet train, no…10 min read Things to DoFurano Onsen GuideFurano is not the first place most people think of for onsen in Hokkaido. Noboribetsu and Jozankei get all the…8 min read
The valley, tiled

Six doors into Furano & Biei.

Flowers, hills, penguins, powder. Every tile leads to days out already priced and timed.

Furano17 tours Biei13 tours Lavender & Flowers6 tours The Blue Pond9 tours Asahiyama Zoo14 tours Winter & Snow6 tours Onsen2 tours
If you have three days

Three valley days, in order.

Flowers while your legs are fresh, the zoo-and-pond loop in the middle, and an onsen finish. Swap day one for snowshoes between December and March.

Day 1 The flower morning Tomita before ten, Shikisai-no-oka after, melon soft-serve somewhere in between. The photographs plan themselves. Pick the flower day → Day 2 The zoo & pond loop Asahiyama’s famous enclosures, then Shirogane’s Blue Pond and the falls on the way home. The bus does the maths. Pick the loop → Day 3 The slow finish Ningle Terrace’s craft huts in the woods, then an outdoor bath with the hills going gold. Leave the afternoon empty on purpose. Pick the onsen day →
31day tours reviewed & priced
32valley guides written here
4seasons, each worth the trip
Fresh from the valley

New on the site.

Everything we’ve reviewed →
★ 5.0Furano & Biei 4 hour Tour: English Speaking Driver only, No GuideFrom $3461 reviews Asahiyama Zoo & Biei Blue Pond Day Trip in HokkaidoFrom $901 reviews ★ 5.02 Day Tour to Icebreaker Mombetsu and Asahiyama Zoo in HokkaidoFrom $2972 reviews ★ 5.0Hokkaido│Kurodake Ropeway, Asahiyama Zoo Autumn Leaves TourFrom $1192 reviews ★ 4.5From Sapporo: Biei, Furano or Asahikawa Private Day TourFrom $5992 reviews ★ 4.5Private Hiace & Simple English Driver in Hokkaido(Sapporo Otaru Toya Furano)From $7122 reviews ★ 1.0Hokkaido Day Trip From Sapporo: Asahiyama Zoo to Ningle TerraceFrom $852 reviews ★ 4.5Hokkaido Asahiyama Zoo, Furano and Biei Bus TourFrom $854 reviews