"I want to drive through nature," "I yearn for a location surrounded by plants and flowers," "I want to taste Hokkaido's local specialties"—if you have even one of these desires, then the spots known as the "Hokkaido Garden Road" will fulfill those wishes.

Hokkaido, the 21st largest island in the world, offers a wide variety of travel destinations, from cities and leisure activities to nature and gourmet food. Among these, the "Hokkaido Garden Road" is an area that focuses on "nature" and "gourmet food."

In fact, "Hokkaido Garden Road" is the nickname for a road that connects several tourist destinations. This page will explore the charm of the "Garden Road," including the reasons and meaning behind why this nickname was given to the road!

<Contents>
1. What is the Hokkaido Garden Road?
2. Features and Highlights of the Eight Gardens
2-1. Daisetsu Forest Garden
2-2. Ueno Farm
2-3. Garden of the Wind
2-4. Tokachi Millennium Forest
2-5. Manabe Garden
2-6. Tokachi Hills
2-7. Shichiku Garden
2-8. Rokkanomori

4. About access
4-1. How to get to gardens in the Asahikawa/Furano area
4-2. How to get to gardens in the Tokachi area
Summary

1. What is the Hokkaido Garden Road?

The approximately 250km-long road running north-south through the center of Hokkaido was named the "Hokkaido Garden Road" in 2009.

Generally, when people think of "landscapes typical of Hokkaido," they picture the vast natural landscapes of Biei, Furano, and Tokachi. In travel programs and other media, the scenery shown when Hokkaido is introduced with the caption "Hokkaido" almost always features images from these three areas.

▲Lavender blooming by the roadside

The "Garden Road" passes through Tokachi, Furano, and Biei, connecting Asahikawa, which is attracting attention for its zoo, and Kamikawa, famous for its hot springs.

▲Roads near Kamifurano Town

The most important point is that this road is not merely a transit route connecting various tourist destinations, but rather a location so attractive that it can be called a tourist spot in itself.
The "Garden Road" offers a unique luxury: you can enjoy nature while traveling and also take in gardens in various locations.

2. Features and Highlights of the Eight Gardens

2-1. Daisetsu Forest Garden

"Daisetsu Forest Garden" is mainly composed of four areas.

The area known as the "Forest Flower Garden" features gardens designed around various themes such as "A Garden of Friendship" and "A Dwelling Place for the Four Seasons," allowing visitors to enjoy nearly 500 varieties of flowers in different ways.

The "Forest Guest House" area also features gardens designed according to their respective themes. While the "Forest Flower Garden" focuses on deepening one's interest in flowers and enjoying them themselves, the "Forest Guest House" is an area where visitors can relax and feel the tranquility of the trees.

Satisfy the pleasant hunger you feel while walking in nature in this superb location. At "Garden Cafe," you can enjoy a variety of dishes that take advantage of Hokkaido's rich supply of ingredients. This stylish cafe offers a variety of options, including soup curry made with plenty of vegetables from Kamikawa, hot dogs made with free-range pork, gelato, and authentic coffee.

The "Garden Shop," located next to the "Cafe," is filled with a variety of goods that seem to have sprung from the heart of nature. From items featuring trees and leaves to practical goods for plant cultivation, you're sure to find something you'll want.

Daisetsu Forest Garden
Location: 841-8 Kikusui, Kamikawa-cho, Kamikawa-gun, Hokkaido (Daisetsu Kogen Asahigaoka)
・ Phone number: 01658-2-4655
• Business hours: 9:00 AM - 18:00 PM (Last reception at 17:00 PM)
・Regular closing days: No regular closing days during the opening period.

2-2. Ueno Farm

This place, named "Farm," is also a lovely garden that gives off a distinct Hokkaido vibe.

Ueno Farm, which originally sold rice, wanted its customers to enjoy the rural scenery, so they worked hard to create a beautiful landscape by planting lupines and chamomile.

Furthermore, with the desire to let visitors enjoy the farm scenery, we will create paths in the fields, plant flowers, and create an environment where people can enjoy strolling around. The dynamic "Mother's Garden," located in the center of Ueno Farm, is the symbol of Ueno Farm and the "starting point of garden creation."

Additionally, the vast hill known as "Shatekiyama," which offers panoramic views of the rural landscape and basin, will be an excellent photo spot.

And in 2016, the natural-style garden "Gnome's Garden," surrounded by a lake, is scheduled for completion. We can't take our eyes off Ueno Farm, which continues to evolve.

Ueno Farm
Location: 186, 16-chome, Nagayama-cho, Asahikawa City, Hokkaido
・ Phone number: 0166-47-8741
・Business hours: 10:00-17:00
・Regular closing days: Open every day during the garden's open season.
• Garden open period: April 21st to October 14th

2-3. Garden of the Wind

Many people will likely recognize that name. In "Kaze no Garden," which was also made into a television drama of the same name, you can experience the nature of Furano firsthand.

The theme is "A garden in nature."
While it's a "garden," you can enjoy a location with Furano's vast sky and landscape as a backdrop.

Its distinguishing feature is that it shows a different face depending on the season, so you're sure to enjoy it with a fresh feeling no matter how many times you visit.

Those who have watched the drama should definitely visit "Greenhouse." At Greenhouse, the sets used in the drama have been recreated, and you can take a thorough look around inside.

Additionally, "Gabriel's House" sells original drama merchandise as well as artificial flowers. If you're looking for seedlings, you can choose from a wide variety of products, including flower seedlings, at "Louis and Gaku's Nursery."

Wind Garden
• Location: Approximately 3 minutes by shuttle bus from the New Furano Prince Hotel (Wind Garden reception)
• Phone number: 0167-22-1111 (New Furano Prince Hotel)
• Business hours: 8:00 AM - 18:00 PM (Last reception at 17:30 PM)
・Closed days: Open every day during the period
• Garden open period: April 29th to October 15th (cafe is open year-round)

2-4. Tokachi Millennium Forest

Tokachi Millennium Forest is built with the concepts of forest, garden, agriculture, and art in mind.

This vast site, which could only be realized in Tokachi, is equipped with a variety of facilities including gardens, forests, hills, and pastures.

Regarding the garden, it received the first-ever "Grand Award" from the British Association of Garden Designers and was also hailed as "the most beautiful garden."

However, the potential of "Tokachi Millennium Forest" doesn't end there.

At the ranch, you can see animals such as goats and horses, and the foxes that casually inhabit the grounds will give you a real sense of Hokkaido's unique character.

Tokachi Millennium Forest also offers "Segway Guided Tours," where you can comfortably explore the area using a futuristic mode of transportation.

Beginners can get a feel for the terrain in the open grasslands, and once they're comfortable, they can run along forest paths where they can hear the babbling of the river, and explore the Forest Garden.

Tokachi Millennium Forest
・Location: 10th Line, Hanemachi Minami, Shimizu-cho
・ Phone number: 0156-63-3000
・営業時間：9:30〜17:00（7/1〜8/31は9:00〜18：00、9月以降は、16:00まで）
・Closed days: Open every day during the period
• Garden open period: April 28th to October 21st

2-5. Manabe Garden

Among the gardens along the "Hokkaido Garden Road," Manabe Garden stands out for its particularly unique gardening. Its appearance is so fairytale-like that it is sometimes described as "like something out of a fairy tale."

Manabe Garden, which has been operating in this location for nearly 60 years since 1966, boasts a collection of over 1,000 plant varieties. Beyond its distinctive gardening, it is a charming botanical garden loved by people both within and outside Hokkaido.

Within the 24,000 square meter grounds, you can see three types of gardens: a Western-style garden, a Japanese garden, and a landscape garden.

Moreover, the management of such a large site is handled by only a few dozen employees, and this extraordinary space is created by a small but highly skilled team of landscape architects.

This secluded space, far removed from the hustle and bustle of the city, will surely soothe your daily fatigue.

Manabe Garden
Location: 6-banchi, Higashi 2-sen, Inada-cho, Obihiro City
・ Phone number: 0155-48-2120
• Opening hours: 8:00 AM to sunset *Last entry during summer is 6:00 PM
・Closed days: Open every day during the period
・Garden opening period: April 21st onwards

2-6. Tokachi Hills

"Gardens," "Food," "Farms," ​​"Shops"... Tokachi Hills, taking advantage of its location, is a spot that can be enjoyed from a variety of approaches.

The concept is "a theme park for agriculture and food." Numerous events are held where visitors can see, touch, and enjoy themselves, making it a garden that families can enjoy.

Tokachi Hills is home to approximately 1,000 varieties of flowers and plants, with lilacs and azaleas being among the highlights.

Furthermore, in the "Vies Potager" garden, which is themed around food, edible flowers are cultivated, allowing visitors to not only enjoy looking at them but also to experience eating them.

Stepping away from the garden surrounded by lush greenery, you'll find a "natural oasis" area featuring a dragonfly pond where you can enjoy seeing a variety of flora and fauna, such as damselflies and daffodils, all at once.

With several dining options available within the park, you can enjoy Tokachi's agriculture and cuisine at your preferred time and location.

十勝ヒルズ
Location: 13-5 Nisshin, Makubetsu-cho
・ Phone number: 0155-56-1111
・Business hours: 9:00-18:00
・Closed days: Open every day during the period
• Garden opening period: Late April to late October

2-7. Shichiku Garden

Born from the desire of one woman to "create a landscape like the wildflower fields where she played as a child," Shichiku Garden is also known as the "Garden of Happiness."

The person who transformed approximately 15,000 tsubo (about 50,000 square meters) of land in the Tokachi Plain into a magnificent "flower garden" is a woman affectionately known as Grandma Shichiku.
The beauty of the lush Shichiku Garden and the efforts of Grandma Shichiku have become widely known through television programs, books, and other media.
Unusually for a garden, no pesticides or disinfectants are used. Furthermore, for the past few years, watering has been omitted, and the gardening has been conducted with the concept of truly growing plants in a natural environment.

Grandma says that this is possible thanks to the "safe and healthy soil" of Tokachi. The power of this soil, which was created after much trial and error, allows the plants to grow vigorously and healthily.

Shichiku Garden is a one-of-a-kind garden that we recommend to anyone who wants to be energized by nature.

Shichiku Garden
Location: 107 Nishi 4-sen, Mieicho, Obihiro City
・ Phone number: 0155-60-2377
・Business hours: 8:00-18:00
・Closed days: Open every day during the period
• Garden open period: April 21st to October 30th

2-8. Rokkanomori

Operated by a famous local confectionery company, the garden "Rokka no Mori" spans 10 square meters.

In particular, the park focuses on the six flowers known as the "Tokachi Six Flowers," which are familiar from confectionery packaging: marsh marigold, Ezo gentian, large-flowered trillium, dogtooth violet, Japanese anemone, and Japanese rose. Visitors can stroll through the park and see these wildflowers as well as a variety of other plants.

Furthermore, the grounds contain several art museums and memorial halls where visitors can appreciate works of art, and sculptures can also be seen on the vast hillside. Many of these are related to the confectionery company, making it an enjoyable experience for those interested in a company tour.

The "Rest House & Shop" sells products from the confectionery shop as well as original goods. The adjoining cafe offers a relaxing dining experience in a spacious setting.

Rokka no Mori
Location: 249-6 Tokiwa Nishi 3-sen, Nakasatsunai Village
・ Phone number: 0155-63-1000
・営業時間：10:00〜17:00（6/1〜8/31は、9:00〜、10月は、16:00まで）・定休日：期間中無休
• Garden open period: April 27st to October 14th

4. About access

4-1. How to get to gardens in the Asahikawa/Furano area

■If traveling by train from New Chitose Airport
It takes approximately 2 hours and 20 minutes to reach Asahikawa.

■When using a car or taxi from New Chitose Airport
The straight route (passing through Kuriyama Town and Iwamizawa City, etc.) takes about 2 hours and 10 minutes.

On the other hand, even if you take the expressway from New Chitose Airport and travel via Sapporo to Asahikawa, the travel time will be approximately 2 hours and 10 minutes.
It's best to choose the option that best suits your travel purpose.

■ If coming from Asahikawa Airport
You can access the city center of Asahikawa and Ueno Farm within the city in about 30 minutes.
From Asahikawa Airport to the New Furano Prince Hotel (Kaze no Garden reception), it takes about 1 hour and 20 minutes by train, or about 1 hour by car or bus.

■When using central Asahikawa as your base for your trip
It takes about 26 minutes by car and about 53 minutes by train to get to Ueno Farm from the city center. On the other hand, it takes about 2 hours and 6 minutes to get to Furano Wind Garden from the city center.

4-2. How to get to gardens in the Tokachi area

■ Access to Tokachi Hills
It takes approximately 20 minutes by car or 42 minutes by bus from Tokachi Obihiro Airport. It is accessible from New Chitose Airport in 2 hours and 10 minutes.

■ Access to Tokachi Millennium Forest
Tokachi Millennium Forest has a free parking lot with 200 spaces, and visitors are encouraged to come by car.
It is accessible by car in about 60 minutes from Tokachi Obihiro Airport and about 2 hours and 30 minutes from New Chitose Airport.

If you choose to take a taxi, it takes about two hours by bus and train from Tokachi Obihiro Airport to JR Tokachi Shimizu Station, and then a 15-minute taxi ride from there.

■When using the central area of ​​Obihiro as your base for your trip
It takes 48 minutes by bus and 34 minutes by car from Tokachi Obihiro Airport to the center of Obihiro.

■By the way
Tokachi Hills is about an hour's drive from Tokachi Millennium Forest.

Summary

The "Hokkaido Garden Road," with its abundance of flowering gardens, is sure to satisfy those interested in gardening, and even those without a deep interest in gardening will find solace in its open and relaxing atmosphere.

Why not unwind and relieve your daily stress in this area that embodies the essence of Hokkaido?

【Related article】
~Asahikawa's must-see attractions to enjoy along with "Ueno Garden"~

~We introduced gardens in the Tokachi area~
・Gardens in Tokachi eagerly await the blooming of spring! [Spring in Obihiro and Tokachi]
~Furano's lavender fields to enjoy along with the garden~
Let's go see the lavender in Furano! Everything you need to know about the best time to see it and the highlights!
~Recommended hotels in Furano, right in the heart of Hokkaido Garden~
・If you're staying in Furano, here are our top 6 recommended hotels for different purposes!

For those who want to visit Tokachi, Hokkaido, home to many beautiful gardens, we recommend checking out our package tours here.

We also offer a variety of local experiences that you can enjoy in Tokachi, Furano, Biei, and other areas.

Recommended accommodation booking sites when visiting the Hokkaido Garden Road.
[Jalan] Hotel and accommodation reservations in Hokkaido　　　

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