Shikisai no Oka (A hill of the colors of the four seasons)

A Carpet of Flowers Across the Hills

From spring through autumn, around 30 varieties of flowers bloom across the garden, transforming the rolling landscape into a vibrant carpet of color. The flowers change with the seasons, including tulips, lupines, lavender, cosmos, sunflowers, and many other varieties.

The lavender fields are especially impressive in summer, when their vivid colors spread across the hills against the backdrop of the Daisetsuzan mountains. Because different flowers reach their peak at different times, the scenery changes throughout the green season, offering something new with every visit.

Exploring the Panorama Flower Garden

There are several ways to enjoy the expansive grounds. The Shikisai Norokko-go, a tractor-drawn sightseeing bus, slowly travels through the flower fields, allowing visitors to admire the scenery without having to walk across the entire garden.

Visitors can also rent a buggy and drive around the flower fields surrounded by white birch trees, or use a four-person cart to move freely to their favorite viewpoints. These rides provide an easy and enjoyable way to experience the colorful hills and take photographs along the way.

Restaurants, Local Produce, and Biei Flavors

The garden complex includes a restaurant, farm-produce shop, and souvenir store, making it easy to combine sightseeing with a meal or shopping. The restaurant prepares most of its dishes from scratch, using locally produced vegetables and rice from Biei.

One of the popular treats is the garden’s original soft-serve ice cream, made with fresh milk collected in Biei that same morning. From the restaurant, visitors can also enjoy expansive views across the hills and toward the Daisetsuzan mountain range while taking a relaxing break.

Alpacas and Other Attractions

At the alpaca farm, visitors can meet gentle alpacas with their relaxed personalities and endearing expressions. Their presence adds another charming attraction to a visit beyond the flower fields.

The Flower Calendar: Spring to Autumn

The Panorama Flower Garden can be enjoyed from late April through late October, with different flowers appearing as the seasons progress.

Spring Flowers

Tulips, muscari, pansies, Oriental poppies, and campanula bring fresh colors to the garden as the green season begins.

Summer Flowers

Summer brings an especially rich display, including lupines, peonies, liatris, Iceland poppies, snapdragons, lavender, California poppies, dwarf snapdragons, godetia, and salvia.

Autumn Flowers

As summer fades, the garden takes on new colors with marigolds, celosia, cleome, phlox, cosmos, sunflowers, kochia, petunias, dianthus, dahlias, zinnias, stock, yellow mustard, and Japanese anemones.

Winter at Shikisai no Oka: Snowland

When winter arrives, the flower fields are covered in snow and Shikisai no Oka transforms into Snowland. The colorful summer landscape gives way to a vast white winter scene, creating a completely different atmosphere.

Snow activities are available for beginners as well as experienced visitors. Guests can enjoy snow rafting, snowmobile rides, banana boat rides, sledding, and tubing, providing an exciting way to experience the snowy hills of Biei.

Winter Adventures on the Snow

Snowmobiles allow visitors to race across the snow-covered landscape and enjoy the exhilarating feeling of riding through Hokkaido’s winter scenery. Snow rafting and banana boat rides offer another fun option for those who want to experience the snow in a more relaxed and playful way.

Whether covered in colorful flowers in summer or blanketed in snow in winter, Shikisai no Oka offers a different face in every season. Its combination of panoramic Biei scenery, seasonal flowers, local food, and outdoor activities makes it one of the area’s distinctive destinations.