Biei with Kids: What to Do and Itinerary
Last Updated on July 8, 2025 by Kay
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In the central part of Hokkaido lies a lovely little town called Biei, renowned for its stunning nature. If your child is a nature-lover like mine is, they will fall in love with this magical place in Japan.
In this article, I’ll share what my family did on a recent trip there.
Table of Contents
How to Get to Biei
Biei is located about two hours by car and three hours by public transport from Sapporo. If you’re coming from Furano, it will take about 45 minutes by car and 1.5 hours by public transport to get there.
This town is best explored by car, which is what we did, but it is possible to see the sights using public transport. However, this will take twice as much time compared to a car, so if you have kids, I highly recommend renting a car.
When to Visit Biei with Kids
I think Biei is beautiful any time of year. During winter, you can see famous spots dusted with snow, which looks magical, but it is also very cold. In spring, you can see cherry blossoms, and in autumn, you’ll be able to enjoy the fall foliage.
I’ve always visited Biei in summer because I want to escape the heat of Japan’s main island (Honshu). However, in recent years, even summer isn’t that much cooler than Honshu. This didn’t stop us from enjoying our time there, though!
Biei with Kids Itinerary
We visited Biei for the afternoon after staying the night in Furano and exploring that particular town in the morning.
As you’ll see by this itinerary, the top sights in Biei can easily be seen in only half a day.
1:30 – 2:00 PM
Our first stop in Biei was the magical Shirogane Blue Pond, called Aoiike in Japanese. This was my second time seeing it, but I was just as blown away as the first time.
The pond’s name comes from its bright blue color (even more spectacular on a very sunny day) due to certain minerals in the water.
It’s a fantastic place to take photos and marvel at a unique sight in nature, but I’m not going to lie, my daughter was disappointed she couldn’t see any fish in the water.
If coming by car, make sure you have cash for the parking lot (500 yen last I checked).
The one part about the visit that was disappointing to me was seeing the huge parking lot, which wasn’t there when I visited over a decade ago, and the small shops selling blue food. I understand this makes it more convenient for tourists and the city wants to make money, but I couldn’t help but feel sad for the trees that were cut down for this.
2:15 PM to 2:30 PM
We spent about 30 minutes at Shirogane Blue Pond before heading to Shirahige Waterfall. This waterfall was born from volcanic eruptions in the area dating back 300,000 years.
Shirahige means “white beard” in Japanese, and indeed, the waterfall looks like an old man’s beard descending into a bright blue river. It’s really beautiful and peaceful watching the waterfall from the bridge — I wanted to stay there all day!
Admittedly, my five-year-old daughter’s attention couldn’t be held for very long but she enjoyed hanging on the rails and shaking her butt for some reason. (Don’t worry, I kept a close eye on her.)
We only spent about 15 minutes here before we were off to our next destination, Tokachidake Observatory.
2:50 PM to 3:15 PM
Tokachidake Observatory is a “potentially active” volcano that last erupted in 1926. The views of the valley below and the surrounding mountains are very beautiful, but the main reason we came here was to recreate a photo my husband and I took when we last visited back in 2013.
Unlike the last time we visited, the weather was quite foggy, so we weren’t able to see the view. However, that didn’t stop us from having a good time.
The walk up to the famous rock formation only takes about five minutes, so my daughter had no trouble at all. She also liked playing with the volcanic rocks and stacking them to make little towers.
There’s also a very interesting information center near the parking lot that shares the history of the observatory and photos from when it last erupted.
When we were done, we headed back to Furano.
Where to Stay in Biei with Kids
We stayed in Hotel Naturwald Furano, which is about a 40-minute drive from Biei. I write more about this hotel in my Furano article, but overall, it’s a child-friendly hotel that I recommend to families traveling with younger kids.
Wrap-up: Visiting Biei with Kids
I hope this look at what we did on a family trip to Biei with our child has been helpful for you. Biei is absolutely a place you should visit when in Hokkaido, especially if you’re going to Furano.
Make sure to read my article about what to do in Furano with kids, too! I also have an article on visiting Sapporo with kids.