美瑛 | Blue Lapis Road

PATCHWORK ROAD & PANORAMA ROAD, Biei (美瑛), Hokkaido (北海道), Japan, 2019.06.21

Day 7 (4/5).

Famous for its rolling hills and agricultural fields under the shadows of Taisetsu (大雪山系) and Tokachi Range (十勝連峰), Biei has long been known for its beautiful rural scenery. Throughout the years, Biei has been a popular filming location for television commercials, TV shows and music videos. To promote tourism, local officials have designated two driving routes: Patchwork Road and Panorama Road for exploring some of the best scenery of Biei. These two routes bring visitors to meander between rolling hills and wheat fields and arrive at various lookouts, viewing towers, and parks. With the aid of a tourist map and road signs, we managed to drive along these two routes to explore the area causally.

Just a stone throw away from Bi.Ble restaurant, we made a brief stop at Tree of Ken and Mary (ケンとメリーの木). This poplar tree appeared on a 1973 Nissan Motor TV commercial, and has since then become a popular site for local visitors.

Known as a major attraction on the Patchwork Road, the pyramidal lookout at Hokusei-no-oka Observatory Park (北西の丘展望公園) offers visitors a 360 degree overview of the surrounding landscape.

At Hokusei-no-oka Observatory Park (北西の丘展望公園), a man-size raccoon sculpture greeted all visitors among the vending machines.

Some tourists preferred to visit Sanai no Oka Observatory Park (三愛の丘展望公園) by cycling.

In June, the fields surrounding Sanai no Oka Observatory Park (三愛の丘展望公園) are covered in lush green wheat.

Wheat field near Sanai no Oka Observatory Park (三愛の丘展望公園).

Chiyoda no Oka Observation Deck (千代田の丘見晴らし台) situates away from main roads and receives only a handful of visitors throughout the day.

From Chiyoda no Oka Observation Deck (千代田の丘見晴らし台), we were impressed by the surrounding scenery.

Cattle roamed freely on a green slope near Chiyoda no Oka Observation Deck (千代田の丘見晴らし台).

We stopped by one of the many rolling wheat fields.

Some fields had yet occupied by farmer’s crops.

Large crows stood at the ridge of the hill to search for food.

Like Tuscany of Italy, Biei is largely covered with green rolling hills.

With 15 hectares of land, Shikisai No Oka (四季彩の丘) is one of the busiest tourist attractions in Biei.

Again we were too early to see the full flower blossom at Shikisai No Oka (四季彩の丘).

The supposedly colourful hills of Shikisai No Oka (四季彩の丘) were mainly green.

Despite heavily edited, the poster reveals what all tourists want to see when they come to Shikisai No Oka (四季彩の丘).

A fox family were running around the Shikisai No Oka (四季彩の丘) while we were ther.

The hay man welcomes every visitor at Shikisai No Oka (四季彩の丘).

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Introduction
HOKKAIDO ROAD TRIP, Hokkaido (北海道)

Day 1 – from Tokyo to Shiretoko Peninsula
Day 1.1 TSUKIJI OUTER MARKET (築地場外市場)
Day 1.2 ARRIVAL IN SHIRETOKO, Utoro (ウトロ)

Day 2 – Utoro
Day 2.1 SHIRETOKO FIVE LAKES (知床五湖)
Day 2.2 UTORO FISHERMAN’S WIVES CO-OPERATIVE DINER (ウトロ漁協婦人部食堂)
Day 2.3 FUREPE FALLS (フレペの滝)

Day 3 – Rausu
Day 3.1 RUSA FIELD HOUSE (ルサフィールドハウス)
Day 3.2 JUN NO BANYA (純の番屋)

Day 4 – Rausu
Day 4.1 MOUNT RAUSU (羅臼岳)
Day 4.2 FANTASTIC ORCAS, Nemuro Strait (根室海峡)

Day 5 – Lake Mashu & Lake Akan
Day 5.1 SUNRISE AT LAKE MASHU (摩周湖)
Day 5.2 MOUNT MASHU TRAIL (摩周岳) , Teshikaga (弟子屈)
Day 5.3 SILENT NIGHT AT LAKE AKAN (阿寒湖)

Day 6 – On the road from Lake Akan to Furano
Day 6.1 FISHERMEN BELOW MISTY OAKAN (雄阿寒岳), Lake Akan (阿寒湖)
Day 6.2 TREATS OF OBIHIRO (帯広), Tokachi (十勝)
Day 6.3 ARRIVING IN FURANO (富良野)

Day 7 Furano & Biei
Day 7.1 LAVENDER BUDS, Nakafurano (中富良野)
Day 7.2 FARM TOMITA (ファーム富田), Nakafurano (中富良野)
Day 7.3 BI.BLE, Biei (美瑛)
Day 7.4 PATCHWORK ROAD & PANORAMA ROAD, Biei (美瑛)
Day 7.5 NINGLE TERRACE (ニングルテラス)

Day 8 – from Furano to Otaru
Day 8.1 CHURCH ON THE WATER (水の教会), Hoshino Resorts Tomamu (星野リゾートトマム)
Day 8.2 HILL OF THE BUDDHA (頭大仏), Makomanai Takino Cemetery (真駒内滝野霊園)
Day 8.3 SEAFOOD, CANAL, & HISTORY, Otaru (小樽)
Day 8.4 RAINY NIGHT IN OTARU, Otaru (小樽)

Day 9 – Yochi & Sapporo
Day 9.1 NIKKA YOICHI DISTILLERY (余市蒸溜所), Yoichi (余市)
Day 9.2 SOUP CURRY NIGHT

Day 10 – Sapporo
10.1 OKKAIDO SHRINE (北海道神宮 )
10.2 MORIHICO COFFEE (森彦珈琲本店)
10.3 KITAKARO SAPPORO HONKAN (北菓楼札幌本館)
10.4 SATURDAYS CHOCOLATE
10.5 GOTSUBO OYSTER BAR(五坪)
10.6 MOUNT MOIWA (藻岩山) & RAMEN HARUKA (ラーメン悠)

Day 11 – Sapporo
11.1 FORMER HOKKAIDO GOVERNMENT OFFICE (北海道庁旧本庁舎)
11.2 RED STAR & GENGKIS KHAN, Sapporo Beer Museum (サッポロビール株式会社)

November 6, 2019 | Categories: Furano and Biei, Hokkaido, Japan, Japan: Hokkaido 2019 | Tags: Biei, Chiyoda no Oka, 美瑛, Furano, Hokkaido, Hokusei-no-oka, Japan, Ken and Mary, Panorama, Patchwork, road, Sanai no Oka, Shikisai No Oka, 北西の丘展望公園, 北海道, 千代田の丘見晴らし台, 四季彩の丘, 三愛の丘展望公園 | Leave a comment

BI.BLE, Biei (美瑛), Hokkaido (北海道), Japan, 2019.06.21

Day 7 (3/5).

Driving north from Farm Tomita in Nakafurano (中富良野) brought us to Biei (美瑛町) in half an hour. We followed the GPS to look for Bi.Ble, a French restaurant that caught our attention while we researched for the trip. Recommended by a guidebook, we were attracted by Bi.Ble’s dishes made from local ingredients, its pleasant timber interiors, and its picturesque setting surrounded by wheat fields. The entire compound is consisted of four buildings: a culinary school and a staff/student dormitory occupying two former school buildings, a new one-storey hotel and a new restaurant facing a wheat field. With the aid from GPS and Google Map, we didn’t have trouble finding the place and arrived at Bi.Ble at around 11:30am. We didn’t make a reservation, and were lucky to get the last table available. Other than the seafood of Shiretoko, dining at Bi.Ble to sample some of the best ingredients from Furano and Biei turned out to be one of the most remarkable meals we had throughout the trip.

Occupying the former Hokuei Elementary School, the Ecole Hoteliere Etude is a culinary school affiliated with Bi.Ble Restaurant.

It is green everywhere in Biei, even the school building.

Across from the school building stands a minimalist building cladded with green metal panels. This new addition to the school complex serves as a hotel with several guestrooms facing the wheat field.

Each hotel room has a decent window.

Each room enjoys the view of the picturesque wheat field below.

Bi.Ble Restaurant is located at the far end of the compound.

Biei is well known for its high quality wheat and flour. In July, the wheat would turn yellow. By August, the wheat would be ready for harvest.

The first things that greeted our arrival at Bi.Ble was the famous bakery and its fireplace.

Almost all tables in the restaurant had been reserved. Came without booking, we arrived just in time to sit down at the last available table facing the wheat field.

Beyond the wheat field lies the distant volcanic mountain ranges of Daisetsuzan and Tokachi, whose ashes produce the highly fertile soil of the area.

Perhaps the easiest way to appreciate the taste of Biei is to sample the simplest and purest ingredient of all, freshly baked bread made from the wheat of Biei.

Appetizers made with local pork and produces decorated with a touch of nature.

The dining experience at Bi.Ble was a fusion of French culinary techniques and Japanese aesthetics with the palette of Hokkaido.

From the local volcanic soil, even the most ordinary ingredients like carrot and potato tasted better.

Each dish was like a minimalist painting to us.

Each dish came in small portions, but it ended up quite a filling meal after all the courses.

A fine dessert to ended a special meal.

After visiting the lavender farms and floral fields of Furano, Bi.ble has given us another brilliant way to appreciate what the unique landscape of Central Hokkaido has to offer.