2023 Hokkaido Trip Day 06: KKDay Hokkaido Furano Day Tour - Farm Tomita, Biei Shikisai Hill , Blue Pond and Ningle Terrace

Tours in general are good BUT 

• you won't be able to view the spots at your leisure time 
• you have to wake up early 
• you have to deal with unruly/rude co-passengers (rare  BUT there that 1% chance)
• you have to fight for toilet time with a lot of co-passengers (including from other tour buses - just because.. so plan your break time wisely) 
• you do not have the time to eat lunch (packed your own food and eat at the bus. You just can't survive on ice cream - though somehow that day, we managed!). 
• you need to find your meeting point and remember the timing and your bus 
• you have to alight one too many times at points of interest (the more places you go, you will just see yourself go up and down the flight of stairs) 

IF you are fine with the above conditions, you are good to go on a tour. I find that most tours are offered in Klook and KKDay are only in Japanese, and Chinese (mostly catering to Taiwanese, HK and mainland tourists) and you will find it a gem if they are conducted in English! (So really, English is not really the choice of communication for most cheap tours.)  

(KKDay) Hokkaido Furano Day Tour｜Rainbow Flower Field at Farm Tomita & Biei Shikisai Hill & Platinum Blue Pond & Forest Elf Terrace｜Departure from Sapporo

Tour Language: Japanese and Chinese 

Tour Guide: 孫 喜浩

What I did not like about the tour 

Difficulty finding the meeting point

Since there was an ongoing construction, we couldn't find the east gate meet up point. (You need to trust your instinct and instead go to the nearest bus terminal). After going around the area, we managed to find the meeting point at the nick of time (Meet up point was 0740  and we were there at 0730, we also weren't the last people who reached it.) I also had to ask the friendly ojisan where other tours are meeting up (He said that he saw 1 tour that was inside the station. Thank God for the hint!) 

Less time in Farm Tomita (120mins),  Blue Pond and Shikisai no Oka

Granted that staying at Farm Tomita is the longest, however, it was still not enough time for you to grab a lunch, and go to other famous patches (You have to choose where you want to go, the upper portion or the lower portion of the farm)

and More time in Ningle Terrace 

If you are not much into woodwork and handicraft, you can just skip this part. There is also no photography while inside the hut 

No time for lunch 

We survived by snacking at intervals. so as a general rule, whenever you are on a tour, prepare to bring some sandwiches in and beverage (bottled water). There is a rule that you can't bring ice cream up (for the sole reason that in case there is an accident, kinda difficult to clean it up) 

No time to do some souvenir shopping (at the rest area) 
Rest area stops tend to only be 15-20mins long (unless you are not going to the loo, use that time to shop). 

Confirmation 

Confirmation on the tour was just 6 days before the tour. We aren't even sure that we will be able to go on this tour until the last minute. We booked it last Jun 2023, and only managed to get confirmation on Jul 19 2023. (But believe it or not, the tour didn't have trouble filling up all 44 passengers). It was a full bus.  

What I like about the tour

Transport 

They save you the trouble of looking for parking and maneuvering to the next place of interest. You just need to go up and down the bus. 

Tip: do remember the plate number of your bus (because there can be 1 too many of these buses. And they also look alike) 

So this is how the timeline looked like (once all passengers were accounted for)  

1022 - 1210 

Farm tomita 

The place is huge, you can't even cover things in just 2 hours. We need to choose our sections wisely. We managed to only go to the portion of the rainbow fields (Go up  the hill to see the peony, and then go down to the right side for better views of the rainbow field) 

Tip: Conquer the path with the more resistance first (like uphill and furthest) before you slowly go back to the meeting place. Always have Plan B, so we were in the midst of phototaking when there was a sudden downpour. We sought shelter at the souvenir shop (and planned our shopping), you can also eat ice cream too while waiting for the rain to stop. 

Eat your lavender x melon mix ice cream here (because this would give you the most time than in other spots), and yes, their ads do give justice on the size of the food. (It looks exactly like the picture!)  

Tip: DO 2 things at the same time, eat your ice cream and admire the view (go to the cafe near the poppy fields, as this one is uphill, not much people are eating at the area) .If you play your cards right, you can enjoy eating and souvenir shopping . 

On hindsight, we were not able to find the hedge of lavender (that was seen in those popular pictures), it was on the other side of the parking lot (for the tour buses). 

Tip: if you can find a map online,  research and know where you wanna go. (Cos you ain't got that much time) 

1210 - 1235 travel to Shikisai no Oka 

They were near each other thus it won't take long before reach it (25mins drive). If you are not on tours, i do suggest driving because doing this DIY, kind of difficult because the walk to reach a nearby bus stop is far.

1236 - 1325 Shikisai no Oka, biei (1hr)

It drizzled when we reached shikisai, so the pictures I took were with the overcast clouds.  Nothing much to do in the area. Just go to where the rainbow hills are and that's about it. 

The rainbow colored hills were still far from the parking lot. Thread with care. 

Basically, you will be walking in a plot of farm land. Be wary of the shoes you bring (best not to wear slippers or sandals) 

You need to pay to ride a tractor pulled train. Because we only have a short time, we were not able to ride it. 

1349 - 1420 then it was off to Biei for the blue pond 

I thought that the pond was only blue during winter. It's the sulphur in the pond that makes it blue. Also, it rained so the tracks were muddy. 

1421 - 1444  Travel to the rest area in herb garden 

1444 - 1455 break at rest stop. Best to buy souvenirs and food at this stop. 

 We bought some yubari melon juice 290 yen and 400yen melon (this was our lunch) 

1455 - 1524 travel to ningle terrace (New Prince Hotel Furano) 

If you are staying at New Prince Hotel Furano, this will be your oyster as this is just opposite the hotel. 

1525 - 1605 ningle terrace (50mins) 

Tip:There is a small bakery in New Prince Hotel where you can buy bread for your lunch (though Donguri Bakery still has best food), and also, near the hotel are air pumps where you can remove dust,dirt from your shoes. (If the shops and forest don't interest you so much, you can just take this time and rest) 

1607 - 1716 travel to sunagawa rest area 

1716 -1723 Final rest Area stop  (7-10mins) 

Tip: There is a stamp near the entrance of the rest area. 

1725 - 1820  bus to go back to Sapporo Station 

Tip: Sapporo Station has a litany of shopping malls, you can plan your dinner at the malls. 

For dinner, we had Tokachi butadon ippin in Stellar Place. Since the place is popular, you need to list down your name and no of people and  wait for the number to be called. Muji is nearby so you can shop there while you wait , typically it was some 30-45mins wait. (We were not in a hury so we just made the most of our time shopping in Muji)   

Butadon

Buta Zanmai 

Inside Butadon Ippin (you need to list your name and they don't accept reservation. Only walk-in)

The menu (they only have a few choices for the pork. I do remember they have a full menu too) 

To end the day, you can also just walk off your calories after dinner by shopping at Esta. We were at Bic Camera (at Esta) until they closed for the day!

Note: Esta is permanently closed for redevelopment.