[Départ tardif] Biei Best 5 Tour d'une journée incontournable au départ de Sapporo

We had a good day on this small group tour. We felt our guide Wakana navigated the bilingual tour really well (English and Korean speaking participants). We got picked up at ~9:15am and dropped off at 8:10pm. It's actually a pretty ambitious day considering ~300km of travel with several stops. It's an itinerary only a small-ish group in a mini van can pull off, not a whole tour bus. I'd advise future participants that each stop isn't going to be, understandably, very long with the given itinerary. Some stops (e.g. mild seven hill) are really photo-ops and some are "technical" stops only (eg service areas); they shouldn't require much time but they do add up to eat up time throughout the day. We specifically felt Shikisai no Oka stop was too short since we are paying extra 500jpy for admission and 40minutes didn't do it justice. Our lunch stop at Biei station felt sufficient, but we did opt for fast food, had we opted for a sit-down place (likely with a queue, as the area was very popular with tour busses that day) it may have felt rushed. Other than the above pacing issue, overall the day was worthwhile, seeing some precious scenaries, cute towns, and trying out cuisine. The info the guide added was meaningful too, with bonus suggestions for dinning options in Sapporo, which we took advantage of after.

Our tour guide Baku provided useful information during our tour.Many sites visited were amazing and this tour provided good value. I would have preferred more time at some places (the Flower Farm and Lunch in town to explore/shop town) and less time in some (small hill and the first stop with cows). Really didn't need 15 minutes at the small hill since there was no bathroom there and nothing to do but take a pic of the hill and one group of trees. Also would have been helpful to be notified that we will be in a small van that had no window curtains/shades and to bring a neck pillow for the 2.5 hour ride. Buses in Japan usually have curtains and seats that lean back. But a small van does not, so knowing would have allowed me to prepare. Also, in a small van, body odor could be an issue.

A fantastic and well planned tour. Yoshi, our guide, was very helpful and friendly. He shared information about the sights and the things to experience, which was wonderful. Highly recommend this tour to see the beautiful sights and enjoy a relaxing day in the nature of the region. The waterfall with the volcano in the background was special.

Akane was a great guide who always shared helpful recommendations on what to see and do at each stop. I also appreciated that this was a smaller tour, as it allowed for more flexibility and made it easier to adapt when plans changed. For example, one of the stops was closed due to active bear sightings, so we adjusted the itinerary without any issues. One thing to note is that this tour is often shared with groups speaking Korean, Chinese, Japanese, and other languages. The guides provide a brief introduction at each destination, then give you free time to explore on your own. If you’re looking for a highly personalized or in-depth guided experience, this isn’t that type of tour. However, if you want convenient transportation to several scenic spots around Hokkaido with the freedom to explore independently, it’s an excellent choice. The guides are also happy to offer recommendations if you need them.

I joined this Biei tour and had a very good experience. The group was small, and everyone was punctual throughout the day. Our guide was a native Korean speaker but also spoke very good English, so I could understand almost everything, and he was also friendly and willing to chat. Overall, this was much more comfortable than a large mixed-language bus tour. Good pacing, good guide, and a pleasant group. I would recommend it if you want an easy day trip from Sapporo without dealing with a big chaotic tour group.

I wasn't going to leave a negative review for how lame this tour was but, after the experience of the return drive down the mountains from it, I have to warn future travelers to avoid this tour company. The tour "guides" (one spoke Chinese & English; his partner spoke Japanese), I suppose, did what they could. Nice people, but they were just there as baby-sitters: 'here's where we are stopping, here's when to be back on the bus." There would be 1-2 sentences of info about the place & that was it. The first stop (Biei Station), 4 hours in, was for lunch. Guides said, here's a town, go find food, be back in an hour - oh, and the station was built in the 1920s. After that stop, the places we stopped were beautiful - glorious mountains, rivers, countryside. The real issue was the DRIVER. I noticed his excessive speed leaving Sapporo on the highway going toward the mountain and thought, wow, he's really driving fast, but OK. However, coming back down the mountain to return to the city was when things got dangerous and absolutely terrifying. I used to be a professional driver (Class CDL & chauffer's license) for both freight & passengers and I would NEVER drive even myself in my own car as recklessly as this driver did with a full mini-bus full of people, including 1 small child. He actually accelerated going downhill and around the many, many sharp curves on the road. It was also raining and getting dark (this was around 5pm), so the conditions required caution. I watched the driver - he had his left hand casually resting on the gear shift and was only driving with his other hand, on the bottom of the steering wheel. At every curve, I could feel the bus tilting - I was leaning as hard as I could the other direction, just out of instinct. On the left side of the bus, where I was sitting, there was a steep vertical drop-off next to the road, with only a small retaining fence (steel cables) between us and a drop so deep you couldn't see the bottom. That fence might've stopped a tiny Japanese car from going over the side, but not this bus. If we had hydroplaned or had the slightest skid, this driver would've lost control of the vehicle and that would've been it for us all. Our lives were in the ONE HAND that this driver was using. For 30 minutes, this went on. I looked at my fellow passengers to see how they were reacting & they were looking at their phones, napping - and I'm thinking, WTH!!??? I've never been so scared in my life. I thought we'd never get off that mountain alive. Arriving back in Sapporo, the guide asked us to clap for the driver, "Sato-san." I did not clap. I just wanted off the bus. So, if you take this tour and they introduce the driver by that name, RUN AWAY. GoTours needs to better vet their drivers and require a minimum of safety standards. Until then, I absolutely cannot recommend anyone trust their lives to this company.

Wow such a lovely experience on this trip. Our tour guide Andy was phenomenal, such great energy and lots of knowledge about the sights we saw. Loved the cows and ice cream. Would've probably done this trip later in the season when the flowers were further in bloom but other than that no complaints. Thrilled I got to see more of Hokkaido than I would have otherwise if I just stayed in Sapporo

Wonderful day trip to central Hokkaido with tour guide Yushi. Best way that I could find to see the cows, flowers, and beautiful Shirahige Falls of the Biei area. About 3 hours one-way drive so no way would drive that myself. Yushi was funny, friendly and easy to talk to. The other great tour guide, Carrie, took care of the larger Korean group with us. Seeing the “cow parade” up close was the highlight. I would highly recommended this tour! 😄

I think the experience on this tour can vary greatly with the season and weather. While it was nice to get out of the city and spend time in nature, the flowers weren't in bloom much yet in May, and it wasn't quite sunny enough to see the Blue Pond at its finest. One area that can be improved is better communication on some things about the tour. I didn't realize lunch was going to be so late (it was close to 3pm) so I ended up snacking in some of the earlier stops, only to be too full to eat a proper lunch when we were finally alotted the time and place for it. I was also a bit unsure of the schedule in general and didn't know when we would get back to Sapporo. One thing I really liked though were the guides. They were very friendly and reached out to me here and there. I was traveling alone so it was nice to have conversations with them.

Everything is good. Lucky to see some lavenders and tulips in the flower farm. Waterfall is nice as well.