What to remember
- One-day coach trip from Sapporo, from US$48, rated 4.56 from 122 reviews, taking in Patchwork Road, the Blue Pond, Shikisai no Oka, a local restaurant and Farm Tomita.[1]
- Families who want the flower fields without driving, and travellers who prefer a set itinerary with a guide who speaks English, Chinese, Japanese or Korean.[1]
- Two other Sapporo day trips are listed as wheelchair accessible. The Furano and Biei listing does not state it.[1][2][3]
- There is a lunch stop at a local restaurant between the flower stops, so the day has built-in breaks; ask the operator about child fares when you book.[1]
- Furano is about a two hour drive from Sapporo using the Doo Expressway, and the tour runs for 1 day, so plan for a full day out with plenty of coach time.[1][4]
- Top choice Furano & Biei Blue Pond from US$48 Duration1 day[1]Rating4.56 from 122 reviews[1]Guide or driver languagesEnglish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean[1]Group styleBus or coach tour[1]Free cancellationup to 24 hours in advance[1] Check availability
- Cape Kamui & Otaru Trip from US$56 Duration10 hours[2]Rating4.55 from 87 reviews[2]Guide or driver languagesChinese, English, Japanese[2]Group styleBus or coach tour[2]Free cancellationup to 24 hours in advance[2] See this tour
- Biei Furano Flower Sea Tour from US$43 Duration10 hours[5]Rating4.76 from 51 reviews[5]Guide or driver languagesChinese, English, Japanese, Traditional Chinese[5]Group stylePrivate or small groups available[5]Free cancellationup to 24 hours in advance[5] See this tour
The panoramic flower gardens of Shikisai-no-oka provide spectacular views across fifteen hectares of land on Oka-no-machi Biei.
The verdict for families and slower walkers
Pre-booking checklist
- Book early for the flower season rather than leaving the date to the last week.
- Confirm your start point and your drop-off point when the booking is made.
- Groups with mobility needs should compare the wheelchair accessible listings first.
- Prices on the listings are from-prices in US dollars, so set the budget with room to spare.
On the day
- Settle into your coach seat and keep a small day bag with you for the stops.
- Summer sun in open flower fields is strong, so bring hats and sunscreen.
- Mornings and evenings are cooler than midday, so pack a light layer.
- A spare set of clothes for small children and a basic first aid kit are worth packing.
Infants and young children: seating, food and fares
The tour is a one-day coach trip from Sapporo into the flower country of Biei and Furano, with a from-price of US$48 and a rating of 4.56 from 122 reviews.[1] The route runs through Patchwork Road in Biei, the Shirogane Blue Pond, Shikisai no Oka, a local restaurant and Farm Tomita, with 2 starting location options and 2 drop-off locations.[1] Nobody has to drive, and every passenger has a seat for the long stretches between the fields.
The listing quotes a from-price of US$48, and the sensible move for families is to ask the operator about infant and child fares when you reserve rather than assuming the headline figure covers everyone.[1] Ask, too, how a baby should travel on a coach day trip, since the coach is your base right through the day and everyone returns to the same seat after each stop. Free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund gives you room to change your mind.[1]
Plan the rhythm of the day rather than the individual stops. Between the coach hops there are short walks at each place, so snacks, water, wipes and a spare set of clothes for the smallest traveller earn their space in the day bag. The live guide speaks English, Chinese, Japanese and Korean, so your family can ask questions directly as the day goes on.[1]
Managing strollers on a full-day coach itinerary
A stroller is manageable on a coach day trip if you plan for two things: where it lives while the coach is moving, and what happens under the wheels at a stop. A compact fold that goes into the luggage hold, with the day bag staying at your seat, is the usual answer. A stroller you can fold one-handed in the rain is worth more than a bigger one with better suspension.
The surfaces at the stops are mixed. Garden viewpoints generally have paved or packed-gravel paths with gentle slopes, while farm roads in the Biei hills can be rough at the edges and soften after rain. Small hard wheels struggle on gravel, so slightly larger wheels, or a baby carrier for the shorter walks, keeps everyone moving at the pace of the group.
Coaches run to a timetable, so travel light at each stop. Leave bulky extras on board, carry only what you need for the next hour or so, and be back at the meeting point a few minutes early rather than exactly on time.
Flower rows near Biei, one of the stops on the coach route.
Wheelchair access and limited mobility at each stop
Accessibility details differ between the day trips that run out of Sapporo. The Cape Kamui and Otaru highlights trip and the Noboribetsu and Lake Toya trip are both listed as wheelchair accessible.[2][3] The Furano and Biei listing does not carry that line, so if step-free travel is essential for someone in your group, confirm it with the operator before you pay.[1]
On the ground, the stops on this route are mostly outdoor and mostly gentle. The Shirogane Blue Pond has a viewing area beside the water, Shikisai no Oka is a wide panoramic flower garden, and Farm Tomita mixes paved paths, gravel and a few slopes between the beds. Patchwork Road is farmland seen largely from the coach, and the Biei and Furano hills tilt even where there are no steps.
For slower walkers, everything comes down to time and seating. Ask for a seat near the front of the coach if the walk to the back is difficult, keep a folding stick or rollator with you rather than in the hold, and let the group's schedule set your pace. Both of the trips listed as wheelchair accessible run for 10 hours.[2][3]
What children enjoy at Shikisai no Oka
Children rarely need entertaining in a flower field. They need space, colour and something to look for. Shikisai no Oka is a panoramic flower garden in Biei covering fifteen hectares of land, and the scale is the point.[6] Rows of colour run away over the hills, so a child who is unimpressed by one bed of flowers will usually still run to the top of the next rise. For families building a Hokkaido for kids summer plan, this is the stop that does the heavy lifting.
The colour comes with a story that lands well with kids. The lavender Furano is known for starts blooming from late June to mid-August, and lavender has been cultivated in Hokkaido since the 1940s.[7][8] Farm Tomita covers 29 hectares and welcomes over a million tourists annually, so there is plenty to walk through between the beds.[9]
The Blue Pond gives the day its best science lesson. The pond appears blue because suspended aluminium colloids scatter light, and it formed when emergency erosion-control dams backed up water after the December 1988 eruption of Mount Tokachi.[10] Mount Tokachi stands 2,077 meters high above the country the coach crosses.[11]
from US$48
A one-day coach trip from Sapporo to Patchwork Road, the Blue Pond, Shikisai no Oka, a local restaurant and Farm Tomita.[1]
Motion sickness on winding hill roads
Furano is about a two hour drive from Sapporo using the Doo Expressway between Sapporo and Mikasa.[4] The opening stretch is motorway, which most stomachs handle easily, and the roads get more interesting as the coach climbs into the Biei and Furano hills. Expect curves, gentle rises and plenty of stopping and starting as the coach works between viewpoints.
If someone in your family is prone to travel sickness, the usual measures help here. Sit near the front, keep a view of the horizon clear, put screens away, and eat a light breakfast rather than a heavy one. Ginger sweets and plain water work for some children, and a bag plus wipes in the day bag works for everyone.
The stop-and-go rhythm is an advantage. Several stops across the day give a queasy traveller time on solid ground between legs of the drive, and fresh air at a flower field resets most people. With a very young child, aim the nap at the longest driving stretch and take the walks gently.
Terrain and surfaces at Patchwork Road and Farm Tomita
Patchwork Road is farmland, not a theme park, and that is why it looks the way it does. The area around the Seven Stars Tree is known as Patchwork Road, where different crops are planted in each plot.[12] In summer the views shift between golden wheat, purple potato flowers, green bean fields and brown plowed earth.[13] Most of it is seen from the coach, with photo stops where the road allows.
Farm Tomita is the other end of the spectrum: a working flower farm that became a destination, with 29 hectares of ground and footpaths threading between the beds.[9] Paths near the main beds are surfaced and easy to walk, and the further beds sit on slightly rising ground. Lavender blooms from late June to mid-August.[7]
Footwear does a lot of work on a day like this. Flat shoes with a little tread cope with gravel, packed dirt and damp patches, and a light layer handles the difference between a warm field and a cool coach. The average temperature in Furano in July is 22.1°C, comfortable for walking but not warm enough to leave the jacket behind.[14]
Departure options and planning your day
The tour runs for 1 day, with 2 starting location options at the beginning and 2 drop-off locations at the end.[1] That structure is what makes the day work with children: you meet the coach, you are carried between stops, and you are returned to the city without a long drive home. Check availability for starting times, and note that you can reserve now and pay later.[1]
If you need a step-free option, two other Sapporo day trips are listed as wheelchair accessible: the Cape Kamui and Otaru trip from US$56 and the Noboribetsu and Lake Toya trip from US$47, both of them 10 hours long.[2][3] The Biei and Furano flower sea tour is from US$43, runs 10 hours, and offers private or small groups.[5]
Whichever you choose, treat the booking as a plan you can still change. Free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund applies to these listings.[1][2][3] Pack layers, bring a carrier as well as a stroller if you have a toddler, and decide in advance which stops are musts for your family and which you will happily watch from a bench.
From-prices for Sapporo day tours
Each bar is the from-price stated on the GetYourGuide listing for that day tour.[1][2][3][5]
From-prices for the day trips in this comparison
Only adult from-prices are given on these GetYourGuide listings, so no child figure is shown.[1][2][3][5]
When to travel on this route
Your family day plan
Match the tour to your group
Decide who is travelling and what they need. This tour runs for 1 day with 2 starting location options.[1]
Pack for coach and field
A day bag with water, snacks, wipes, layers and a spare set of clothes covers both the short walks and the coach stretches between stops.
Set the pace at each stop
Coaches run to a timetable, so agree which stops are musts and which you will watch from a bench, then be back at the meeting point early.
Keep the plan flexible
Free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund means you can hold a place now and still change plans later.[1]
See the Furano and Biei day, then decide together
from US$48Reserve now & pay later
