Hokkaido

Biei: Majestic Hills in Hokkaido

Gentle hillside landscape and the patchwork of fields

Takako Sakamoto Sep 07, 2014 - 1 min read

<p>Shin-ei Hill is known for its beautiful sunsets among the hills of Biei</p>

<p>Rolls of hay left casually on a hillside - a common sight in Hokkaido</p>

<p>When the sun goes down, the strips of corn begin to glitter in gold</p>

<p>Burning-red sky at sunset makes spectators speechless in awe</p>

<p>Early morning scenery I encountered on a side road a little bit off the Hanabito Kaido 237 (Flower Road) on the way to Mt. Asahi</p>

<p>Tree of Ken & Marry seen from Zerubu Hill (Herbs Hill)</p>

<p>Overwhelming landscape of gentle hills spread out endlessly</p>

<p>The sky is blue, white clouds are floating, and when you look down, pretty trees are standing at the far end of these vast corn fields - how picturesque!</p>

<p>Shuujitsu Hill near Asahikawa. I tilted my camera in desperation in order to broaden the horizontal sight as much as possible</p>

<p>Corns growing in abundance under the blue sky that looks like a smudged watercolor painting. They must be delicious when harvested</p>

<p>Shuujitsu Hill again! This place is hard to locate and I had to follow a local's car to reach it. There are no signs or directions to be found on the way</p>

<p>'Hill with Larch Trees and House with Red Roof' at the end of the dramatic sunset show</p>

<p>Beautiful patchwork of fields on gentle hills. Bewitched by the landscape, I vowed to myself to come back again next summer</p>

Biei is one of my most favorite places to visit in Hokkaido, which is known for its majestic, gentle hills, and in which the headquarters of 'The Association of The Most Beautiful Villages in Japan' is located. I used to visit Furano and Biei in summer, but since the number of tourists in Furano has been growing each year, I only visit Biei in recent years.

Visiting only Biei takes up almost my entire summer vacation, since this hillside area is as large as the whole 23 wards of Tokyo combined. You can enjoy large-scale nature here as though you were in a foreign country. Feel the blissful fresh summer breeze on the winding pathways running through the patchwork of fields and revive yourself!

Magnificent Nature of Hokkaido

Takako Sakamoto @takako.sakamoto

I was born in and grew up in Tokushima prefecture, and have lived in many places since then: Nishinomiya, Kyoto, Nara, Mie, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Fukuoka and Fukui. I am currently living in Yokohama City. All the places I lived, all the places I visited, I have loved dearly. The histor...