As the location for the illustrious TV drama Kita-no-Kuni Kara (From a Northern Land), Furano, to most Japanese, is synonymous with Hokkaido. But now thanks to a joint venture by JTB and Hokkaido Chuo Bus, Hokkaido's Biei and Furano are about to become the world's Biei and Furano.
Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from July to September, a multilingual-guide day-trip bus tour will operate, taking passengers to the central Hokkaido area of Furano and Biei accompanied by narration in English, Chinese, Korean and Japanese, thanks to a portable transceiver system developed by JTB subsidiary Sun Support Hokkaido- the first of it's kind in Hokkaido - enabling passengers to hear commentary both inside and outside the bus.

However, what makes this tour even more unique is not the hardware, but the contents of the narration. Instead of translating the standard Japanese guide contents, the multi-lingual guide system relies on commentary from the viewpoint of native speakers of the respective languages, including quizzes and anecdotes of life in Hokkaido, and its customs. Even the Japanese commentary is written and narrated by a non-Japanese, providing Japanese tourists with a fresh view of their own land.
Convenient for both tourists and residents of Sapporo alike, the multi-lingual tour departs from the Park Hotel before stopping at the Grand Hotel and Sapporo Station Bus Terminal to pick up passengers, and then heads northwards out of Sapporo via the Do-oh Expressway. As the expansive scenery of the Ishikari Plain unfolds on either side, the passengers are treated to various snippets of facts and figures about Sapporo, Hokkaido's history and the Ainu people, and even - believe it or not - gambling in Japan.

After a brief but welcome stop at the Iwamizawa Service Area, the bus leaves the expressway and travels east past the beautiful Lake Katsurazawa and Sandan Waterfalls and on to the first destination at Farm Tomita in Nakafurano. Farm Tomita was responsible for introducing lavender to the Furano area, with which it is now synonymous, and farm is now a popular destination for flower-lovers, with more than 150 varieties of flowers blooming throughout the season, as well as perfume and potpourri workshops and souvenir shops selling a variety of goods made from or associated with the flowers grown there. A range of stalls and kiosks also do a brisk trade in lavender-flavoured ice cream, melon and the like. The Furano Milk Puddings, too, are highly recommended, but with lunch less than 30 minutes away, the insulated dry-ice pack- provided at the time of sale - to preserve the contents until later, is maybe a good idea.

As lunchtime approaches, the bus makes the short trip to Kamifurano, taking in the sights of the Tokachidake Mountains in the background, and on arrival at Flowerland Kamifurano passengers are escorted to what only can be described as a huge greenhouse for a lunch of chan-chan yaki, a traditional Hokkaido dish. The huge windows of the glass house provide an unhindered view of the Tokachidake Mountains (or on some days an unhindered view of the low cloud over the Tokachideke Mountains) while you tuck into a truly memorable feast of salmon and vegetables cooked in miso sauce on a plough-shaped hot-plate, accompanied by a seasonal side dish and as much rice and miso soup as you care to help yourself to. At Flowerland Kamifurano the meal, entrance to the flower fields and a ticket to ride the tractor bus are all included in the price of the tour. Provided that you're not tempted into returning for too many helpings or rice, the time allotted at Flowerland Kamifurano is more than enough to enjoy a ride around the vast flowers fields in the tractor bus, as well as take part in one of the hands-on activities such as aromatic-pillow made of potpourri and aromatic candle making and wall-plate making which are available to multi-lingual guided tour passengers at discount prices. For those who brought a little more money along (and perhaps ate a little less rice at lunchtime), a helicopter flight above the fields and surrounding countryside is also available and highly recommended, if only to allow you to appreciate the comfort and stability of the bus, thereafter.


For those who are unaware, lavender is said to have sedative effects to aid sleep - as is a stomach full of miso-flavoured salmon and rice! Passengers who choose to make lavender-fragrance aromatic pillows as souvenirs of there trip to Furano, or passengers who likewise choose to eat too much rice as a souvenir of their trip to Furano, may face an uphill struggle to remain conscious in the afternoon as the bus winds its way over the undulations of Biei's countryside. But those who do manage to stay awake are rewarded with the soothing sights of rural Hokkaido at its best, as the breathtaking beauty of the work of mother nature - so magnificently captured in the photographs of Maeda Shinzo - roll by on either side. Road names like the Rollercoaster and Patchwork roads, and even tree names like Seven Star and Ken & Mary, are proof that the area is extremely famous for ... well, being famous. As the majority of visitors to Biei nowadays are oblivious to the TV commercials of over a generation ago that sparked the initial interest in the region.

As the bus makes its way towards the suburbs of Asahikawa, the commentary invites passengers to take off their earphones, freeing everyone from the struggle against their increasingly heavy eyelids, and a common peace is bestowed upon the interior of the bus as it heads south along Route 12 before joining the expressway back to Sapporo. The peace is punctuated by one last stop at the Sunagawa Highway Oasis to shop for snacks and souvenirs, or for those with no money left, a tour around the stalls to taste the delicious and abundant samples.
Arriving back in Sapporo at approximately 7 pm, the bus drops passengers off at the Sapporo Bus Terminal, the Grand Hotel and finally the Park Hotel, whereupon the suitably refreshed day-trippers are then free to sample the charms of downtown Sapporo at night.
For residents of Sapporo, the tour provides a fresh insight into the delights of Hokkaido in summer, allowing them to relax with a beer as the bus takes the strain. Overseas tourists, on the other hand, are provided with an excellent way of seeing (as well as hearing about) Hokkaido, which will surely leave with them with an appetite for more.

Which reminds me, where did I put those milk puddings?