At a glance
- Groups and families who want the van to themselves, with a pickup location at the start and a private group listing.[1]
- Listed stops are Ningle Terrace, a local restaurant, Shirogane Blue Pond, Shirahige Waterfall and the Christmas Tree.[1]
- Listed from US$599 for 10 - 12 hours, with reserve now and pay later and free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance.[1]
- Suspended aluminium hydroxide colloids in the water scatter blue light, a process called Rayleigh scattering that also colours the sky.[2]
- Shared coach days to Biei and the Blue Pond are listed from US$48.[3]
| Private day trip | Colored Hokkaido | Small group tour | |
|---|---|---|---|
| From | from US$599[1] | from US$48[3] | from US$43[4] |
| Duration | 10 - 12 hours[1] | 1 day[3] | 10 hours[4] |
| Group | Private group[1] | Coach day with a live guide[3] | Limited to 13 participants[4] |
| Main stops | Ningle Terrace, Blue Pond, Shirahige Falls | Blue Pond, Farm Tomita, Shikisai No Oka | Blue Pond, Shirahige Falls, Farm Tomita |
| Cancellation | Up to 24 hours in advance[1] | Up to 24 hours in advance[3] | Up to 24 hours in advance[4] |
The pond was created accidentally. In 1988, erosion control dams were built along the Biei River to protect against mudflows from the active volcano Tokachidake.
Our verdict: private beats coach for the Blue Pond
Pre-booking checklist
Why take a private tour to Biei and the Blue Pond
Sapporo sits on the coast, while Biei and the Blue Pond sit inland, past Asahikawa, in country that shifts from city streets to farmland to volcano foothills within a few hours. A coach shows you that landscape through a window on a set timetable. From Sapporo: Biei, Furano or Asahikawa Private Day Trip travels as a private group by van, starting from a pickup location at the beginning of the day.[1]
The listing is from US$599 and runs 10 - 12 hours, with starting times shown when you check availability.[1] Shared coach days to the same corner of Hokkaido are listed from US$48.[3] The private listing gives you a private group, a pickup at the start, and its own chain of stops: Ningle Terrace, a local restaurant, Shirogane Blue Pond, Shirahige Waterfall and the Christmas Tree.[1]
Private travel also changes how you use a camera. Rather than queueing at the same railing at the same minute as a full coach, you move through the pond and the waterfall on your own rhythm, and a lone tree in the open fields is the sort of stop that rewards ten unhurried minutes.
What the private day trip includes
Booking terms are simple. You can reserve now and pay later, and the listing offers free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.[1] The day lasts 10 - 12 hours and begins at a pickup location, with pickup details and starting times shown when you check availability.[1] It is sold as a private group, not as a seat on a shared coach.
Private days in this part of Hokkaido come at a range of prices. A customizable private tour with a driver is listed from US$446 for 10 hours[8], a private sightseeing day with hotel pickup from US$572[9], and From Sapporo: Biei, Furano or Asahikawa Private Day Trip from US$599.[1] Shared alternatives sit much lower: the Colored Hokkaido coach day is listed from US$48[3] and a small group flower and Blue Pond tour from US$43.[4]
Blue water, dead larch and birch trunks, and a short walk along the shore.
The Blue Pond: what you are looking at
Shirogane Blue Pond is not a natural lake. The pond was created accidentally in 1988, when erosion control dams were built along the Biei River to protect against mudflows from the active volcano Tokachidake.[10] The colour is the famous part. Suspended aluminium hydroxide colloids in the water scatter blue light in a process called Rayleigh scattering, the same effect that makes the sky look blue.[2]
Standing in the water are the dead trunks of Japanese larch and white birch, what was once a dry patch of forest and now looks like a sculpture garden.[11] The pond also appeared in Apple's WWDC 2012 MacBook Pro with Retina Display introduction.[12] It is a small, quiet place, and the light shifts through the day, from milky turquoise in flat light to deep blue under a clear sky.
The pond sits at Shirogane, close to Shirahige Waterfall, which drops approximately 30 meters into the Biei River and is a rare subterranean stream waterfall whose water flows directly from cracks in the rock face.[7] Both the falls and the pond are on the listed route, and on a private day you can linger at whichever one holds you longer.[1]
Furano flowers, Patchwork Road and Ningle Terrace
Furano and Biei are farming country as much as flower country. Wheat is one of the four main crops in Biei's crop rotation cycle, along with potatoes, beans and sugar beet, and those fields are the blocks of colour in the patchwork landscape on the hills.[13] Drive through in midsummer and the strips run one after another, each a slightly different shade depending on what is planted and how far along it is.
The flower season has its own calendar. At Farm Tomita's Traditional Lavender Field, lavender blooms from late June to late July, with the best viewing season from early to mid-July.[14] Shikisai-no-oka, the panoramic flower gardens at Oka-no-machi in Biei, spread across fifteen hectares of land.[15] Both appear on the Colored Hokkaido coach tour from Sapporo, which lists Patchwork Road, Shirogane Blue Pond, Shikisai No Oka, a local restaurant and Farm Tomita.[3]
The private day trip follows a different line. Its listed stops begin at Ningle Terrace and continue to a local restaurant, Shirogane Blue Pond, Shirahige Waterfall and the Christmas Tree.[1] Ningle Terrace is a cluster of timber cabins in the woods, an easy stop to rush and a better one to take slowly, and the pond and the waterfall that follow are the calm centre of the day.
from US$599
A private group day of 10 - 12 hours from a pickup location, with free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance.[1]
When to go: seasons and the Blue Pond in winter
Biei has a cold continental climate with warm summers and freezing winters.[5] Summer brings the flowers and a still pond that mirrors the bare trees standing in it. Winter brings the illumination: the Blue Pond winter illumination runs from October 24, 2025 to April 22, 2026, with the lights on until 9:00 PM.[16]
Lighting start times shift month by month, from 5:00 PM in October, November and January, 4:30 PM in December, 5:30 PM in February, 6:00 PM in March and 6:30 PM in April.[16] The weather up here comes off the mountains. Tokachidake, the volcano above the pond, has an elevation of 2,077 m (6,814 ft) and its last eruption was in 2004.[17]
Between the two seasons there are the shoulder months, when the hills are bare and the roads are quiet. Packing is the same exercise all year: layers you can shed, a shell that keeps off rain, and footwear that handles mud or snow depending on the date.
Private or shared: choosing your day trip
If the lowest price matters most, take a shared coach. The Colored Hokkaido day is listed from US$48, runs for 1 day, and has a live guide in English, Chinese, Japanese and Korean.[3] A small group tour limited to 13 participants is listed from US$43 for 10 hours.[4] A late departure tour that includes the Blue Pond and Ningle Terrace is listed from US$54.[18]
If you are weighing a private Hokkaido tour, Blue Pond days come in several shapes. From Sapporo: Biei, Furano or Asahikawa Private Day Trip is listed from US$599 for 10 - 12 hours as a private group with pickup.[1] A private sightseeing day with hotel pickup is listed from US$572[9], and a customizable 10-hour private tour with a driver from US$446.[8]
The real difference is space and pace. On a coach, the schedule is fixed and the seats are shared with a full group. On a private day, the vehicle is yours for the day and the stops are the ones on the listing, which for a family or a group of friends changes what the day feels like.
Getting there, pickup and what to expect
From Sapporo: Biei, Furano or Asahikawa Private Day Trip leaves from a pickup location, and the listing shows pickup details when you check availability.[1] If you would rather travel independently, the Blue Pond is about 20 minutes from Biei Station by Dohoku Bus route 39, and from Sapporo roughly 1 hour 25 minutes by JR Limited Express to Asahikawa plus 60-70 minutes by bus.[6]
Biei is a small town: its population was 9,775 as of 31 December 2020.[19] That means few shops and a very quiet evening; most visitors treat Biei as a day out from Sapporo or Asahikawa rather than a base for the night.
Bring layers, a rain shell and shoes that cope with wet ground. The listed route includes a stop at a local restaurant[1], and the walk along the water at the pond is short and easy, with a couple of viewpoints. Winter travellers should add warm boots and gloves, and keep in mind how early the light goes.
From-prices for Biei and Blue Pond days
From-prices in US dollars taken from the GetYourGuide listings[1][3][4][18][20].
Private and shared days, from-prices
All amounts are US dollar from-prices for the listings[1][3][4][18].
Best windows for flowers and lights
Plan your private day
Check the starting time
The private day trip runs 10 - 12 hours and its starting times appear when you check availability.[1]
Book with free cancellation
Reserve now and pay later, and cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.[1]
Plan around your pickup
Pickup is included and details are shown when you check availability; the day begins at a pickup location.[1]
Dress for the season
Pack for a cold continental climate with freezing winters: warm layers are essential outside summer.[5]
Know your stops
The listed route takes in Ningle Terrace, Shirogane Blue Pond, Shirahige Waterfall and the Christmas Tree.[1]
Make the Blue Pond the centre of your own day
from US$599
