Furano, located in central Hokkaido, about 115 kilometers from Sapporo, is known for its spectacular lavender fields spreading across the hillsides like colorful carpets and for the breathtaking views from the valiant Mount Tokachi(Tokachidake).
Unlike cherry blossom season that stays less than a week at a particular hanami spot, lavender season stays for more than a month from late June to early August. In fact, Hokkaido’s weather is quite favorable to cultivate lavender.
Furano has a long tradition for lavender cultivation. The idea of starting to cultivate lavender for essence use in this area started in 1948. It expanded until the 1970s, then in 1976, Japan Ntional Railways chose a scenery of a Furano lavender field at Farm Tomita as a location to be displayed in its yearly calendar and curious people started to visit the city to get a glimpse
of the beautiful sight.
Famous flower farms―such as Farm Tomita, Saika no Sato, and Kanno Farm―dot the scenery along the National Route 237, of which the part passing Furano city is also known as The Flower Road. In Furano, there are two small towns located, they are known as Nakafurano, and Kamifurano, in which picturesque lavender farms can be enjoyed during the peak season. Most of the lavender cultivation can be seen in these small towns.
Biei is a small town that is surrounded by a picturesque landscape of gently rolling hills with
rainbow fields. It does seem very a pleasant and charming place to travel to. It attracts number of visitors in summer when lavenders are in full bloom.
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