Chuo Bus Tour to Furano

What?
Sapporo's Chuo Bus Company (北海道中央バス) organizes a bunch of bus tours for those who do not have their own wheels. I took the P-1; Farm Tomita, Blue Pond and Biei Tour (ファーム富田と青い池・美瑛コース). The tour's main focus is on the lavender fields of Farm Tomita in Furano, extremely popular in especially Asian countries for its beautiful colours and backdrops. The whole central of Hokkaido is dotted with natural and agricultural gems, and this tour only visits a few of them.
Where?
The center of Hokkaido is difficult to reach with public transport. The Chuo Bus Tours start at the Sapporo bus terminal (バスターミナル) right next to the Sapporo Station (札幌駅). The ticketing office for the tourist tours is on the second floor and it as also there that you have to gather. Guides will come and pick you up and lead you to the correct bus stop.
URL
Japan Guide Outline Chuo Bus Tours

For those that do not possess their own wheels like me, the bus tours that Chuo Bus organizes from the Sapporo Station are really interesting. They have an abundant offer of different tours varying from local tours of a few hours to whole day trips far into the vastness of the Hokkaido island.
If not for these bus tours, it would have been very hard for me to experience the beauty of the Patchwork Road and the lavender fields in Furano.

The bus departed early in the morning, but as the first 2 hours are just boring concrete highway roads, you can sleep a while without missing anything. The real trip starts when the bus leaves the highway in Asahikawa to get on the Patchwork Road, a road of rolling hills dotted with fields of changing colours.
The first stop of the bus was at Hokusei no Oka, a very strange pyramid-like structure in the middle of nowhere. While the vista’s are pretty from this pyramid, it doesn’t match the previous views on the Patchwork road. Moreover, the nearby souvenir stalls block the view to a nicer patch of nature. The reason for this stop is a bit of a mystery to me, but as a part of the bus tour you cannot choose.

Next stop is the breathtaking blue pond. Other than this pond – which is blue – there is absolutely nothing to see, but if you manage to block out the other tourists it is a truly mesmerizing sight. This place would be absolutely great in the early morning and I’m pretty sure it’s a winner in every kind of weather: gloomy in rain, fairytale-like in snow, postcard beauty with blue and sunny skies.

At this point noon has come, and for the Japanese who painstakingly want to have lunch between 12 and 13 o’clock, it must be hard to wait until after 1 to have their lunch at the restaurant on the 2nd floor of the Sumio Goto Museum. No problem for me, I’ll just enjoy the fresh vegetables with a stunning view on farming fields and a mountain range I do not know the name of. Having finished lunch it was time to actually visit the museum. Not having heard of Sumio Goto before I was barely interested, but I must say that the man has some outstanding talent, and I will not forget his name from now on. This museum is not too big, has some fantastic paitings and is really worth the visit.

Riding on the patchwork Road.

Vista near Hokusei no Oka.

The Blue Pond. It's a pond. And it's blue.

The Sumio Goto Museum.

After the museum stop the main part of the bus tour finally arrived: a visit to the flower fields of Farm Tomita. While a real tourist circus with mainly noisy Asian visitors, and while not all flowers are fully in bloom yet at the end of June, this place is still quite impressive. The play of colours in combination with a clear blue sky is really mesmerizing.
On the other hand, cookies and icecream and the lot made from lavender are not really anything I can recommend; after all, lavender is not grown for its taste. But luckily for us Farm Tomita has a Melon House right next door. And those melon snacks are way more refreshing than any of its lavender counterparts.

All in all a very worthwhile trip, but as it is a bus tour you cannot choose which places and the hours you will visit. If that is not a giant obstacle for you, I can really recommend the Chuo bus Tours.