Furano with Kids: What to Do and Itinerary
Last Updated on July 8, 2025 by Kay
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Furano, located in the middle of Hokkaido Prefecture, is a small, picturesque town I had visited several times before I had kids, so I knew I wanted to bring my daughter here. Renowned for its beautiful lavender fields, Furano is like stepping into a fairy tale. Best of all, there is plenty for kids to do and they’re fairly close to Sapporo, so it can easily be done as a day trip.
In this article, I’ll share my family’s experience visiting Furano for two days and include the best things to do in Furano with kids.
Table of Contents
How to Get to Furano
You’ll need to first get to Sapporo before heading to Furano. From Sapporo Station, it takes about 2.5 hours to get to Nakafurano Station.
The fastest route with the least transfers is taking the Lilac-Kamui Line from Sapporo to Ashikawa and then switching to the Furano Line.
Although I’ve visited Furano several times by using public transport, we decided to rent a car for this trip. (I have an article filled with tips about traveling by car in Japan with kids, so make sure to give it a read!)
Furano is only around 2 hours away from Sapporo by car and you’ll be able to easily make multiple stops like we did on the way, which is why I recommend exploring this area by car if you can.
When to Visit Furano with Kids
The best time to visit Furano is during late June and July, so you can see their famous lavender fields. We traveled at the end of August and missed the peak time for these flowers, but we were still able to see a few, and that was good enough for us.
However, know that if you visit during this time, it will be very busy since many other tourists will be thinking the same thing!
If you visit during winter, you can go to Furano Ski Resort.
Furano with Kids Itinerary
As mentioned earlier, this trip can be done in a day but I think when you’re traveling with kids, it’s best to space it out over two days.
If you don’t have time, consider doing a guided tour of Furano and Biei to see the highlights and not have to worry about transport.
Day 1
After flying into Sapporo-Otaru New Chitose Airport from Osaka, we headed straight for Furano as our first stop on our Hokkaido trip.
Since it was the late afternoon, we didn’t have much time, so we decided to have dinner before going to our hotel. Restaurants in Furano close fairly early, so we didn’t have many options. We went to Country Kitchen Kazamidori, and it was amazing.
This restaurant uses fresh ingredients from Furano and my family was blown away by how delicious the vegetables tasted. The beef stew was rich and nothing short of fantastic and I loved the cheese fondue.
When we were done, we went to our accommodation, Hotel Naturwald Furano. We chose this hotel because it’s kid-friendly with lots of amenities for little ones and an area for kids to play in.
I wish we had checked in earlier because they had some fun summer activities for kids, such as sparklers and all-you-can-eat sweets, but it was over by the time we got there at 8 PM.
However, we were still able to enjoy a glass of free beer while our daughter got a free popsicle.
After we enjoyed our treats, we headed for the public bath. There is a bathtub in the room if you would prefer not to bathe with other people, but we’re pretty used to onsen.
My main complaint about Hotel Naturwald Furano is that the public bath dressing room is way too small for the number of people there, especially since many guests had kids.
If you can, try to visit the onsen when it’s not busy. There’s a screen in the hallway of each floor that will inform you if the men’s onsen (男湯) or women’s onsen (女湯) is busy. The best time to go is when it reads 空いてる (not busy). If it’s full, it will read 混雑.
The hotel room is also dated (I wish they would get rid of the carpet, it’s quite hideous) and the walls are thin so you can hear other guests. Despite this, though, we slept well.
Day 2
In the morning, we had a buffet breakfast. Most of the food tasted pretty average (coming from someone who stays at hotels in Japan often), but the customizable Furano burger that’s cooked on the spot is really good.
The buffet breakfast also has fresh Hokkaido milk and Furano jam.
For those traveling with babies, they have packages of baby food and a microwave, as well as a bottle sterilizer.
Once stuffed, we took my daughter to the play area in the hotel, which was really great! They have a ball pit, a small slide, places for kids to climb, stuffed animals they can ride, and books. There are some comfy places for parents to sit, too!
My daughter didn’t want to leave, but we had a schedule to keep, so much to her dismay, we checked out. Her sadness was short-lived, though, because we visited the Furano Cheese Factory!
Furano Cheese Factory
Furano Cheese Factory is small with a limited number of unique cheeses that you can try for free — wine cheddar, Maison De Pierre, and cuttlefish ink.
Kids can also “milk” a fake cow for 100 yen. It was a little difficult for my daughter so my husband did it for her instead.
The best part of the factory, though, is making ice cream!
The Furano Cheese Factory has three different “making experiences” where kids can get hands-on — Butter (for 1200 yen per person), Ice cream (1200 yen per person), and Cheese (1300 yen per person). These are only offered at certain times during the day and can be booked on the day, depending on availability.
We chose ice cream making, which was a 40-minute course. We were lucky and were the only people there, so we had the whole class to ourselves!
My daughter got to wear an adorable apron and once she was ready, the staff explained the steps to make ice cream. It’s surprisingly easy! We basically only needed sugar and milk.
My daughter (age five) mixed everything together all by herself and then poured the mixture into the ice cream maker.
Afterwards, we made a waffle bowl to put the ice cream inside, although our bowls looked more like plates.
Then it was time to eat! Everything tasted so fresh and delicious, and best of all, my daughter was really happy. It was such a great family experience.
Note that I am not sure how much English the staff know because we did this in Japanese.
Farm Tomita
When we finished at the Furano Cheese Factory, we headed to Farm Tomita.
Farm Tomita is one of the most famous sightseeing spots in Furano, famed for its beautiful flower fields that feature lavender. There are so many great spots where you can take beautiful photos.
We arrived a little late to see the peak of the lavender fields but there were still enough that we were able to take some nice pictures of them.
Farm Tomita also has a building with various souvenirs and fun animal figures.
On the second floor, you can experience various lavender scents and make a free scented bookmark, which my daughter loved.
Farm Tomita has lots of delicious food, too. It’s most famous for its lavender ice cream, which has a refreshing floral taste to it. My daughter didn’t want ice cream since we enjoyed some that morning, so we skipped it this time.
Instead, we tried their lavender cream melon bun, which has limited quantities but unfortunately doesn’t taste that great, so skip it.
My daughter and my husband really like melon bread, and they eat it quite often but they said it was pretty awful. The outside is not that sweet, and the lavender cream inside tasted like uncooked batter. It didn’t have much of a lavender flavor to it, either, especially compared to all the other food lavender food products sold here.
The fresh-cut Furano melon was also disappointing. At 480 yen for a slice, it tasted pretty average and wasn’t as sweet or juicy as I had remembered it to be.
However, we did like the lavender Calpis drink. It was slightly sweet with a hint of lavender and overall very refreshing. My daughter especially liked it, so I think this will be a hit with kids because my child is quite picky when it comes to drinks.
The lavender cream puff was also really good. The cream filling was not that sweet, and had the perfect hint of lavender.
Nearby Farm Tomita is Tomita Melon House, which has some fun photo spots for kids featuring a huge melon and a tractor.
You can also try various kinds of melon desserts here, smoothies, and curry featuring Hokkaido meat.
I tried some Hokkaido Melonaide, which was again okay. It was drinkable but I wouldn’t get it again, and my daughter didn’t like it. I don’t typically like sweet drinks but I wish there was a little more sugar in it.
In total, we spent three hours at Farm Tomita and Tomita Melon House. If you’re short on time, I don’t think it’s worth going to see Tomita Melon House.
After this, we headed to Biei for the afternoon.
Where to Stay in Furano with Kids
As mentioned earlier, we stayed at Hotel Naturwald Furano. This hotel has lots of amenities for kids, including free diapers (one per child), stroller rentals, and an indoor playroom. They also offer rental snowboard/ski equipment in winter.
If you’re visiting in winter and want to do winter sports, I suggest staying at Shin Furano Prince Hotel. The location is fantastic since it’s smack dab on the Furano Ski Resort! It also offers both indoor and outdoor hot spring baths and has a variety of restaurants, making it very convenient.
Wrap-up: Exploring Furano with Kids
I hope this look at what it’s like to visit Furano with kids has been helpful for you. It’s truly a beautiful area in Hokkaido that’s a must-visit spot on any itinerary.