Shikisai-no-oka: A Grand Garden in the Heart of Hokkaidō

Shikisai-no-oka is a 14-hectare flower garden in Biei, a town located in central Hokkaidō. A 15-minute ride in the canopied cars of Norokko, the garden’s tractor bus, takes visitors on a circuit of the grounds, where 50 types of ornamental plants are displayed in rotation from May through October. The pretty blossoms of June include poppies and bellflowers. In July and August lavender and snapdragons are among the plants that turn entire fields into multicolored carpets. And from mid-September to October the garden showcases autumn flowers like marigolds and plumed cockscombs.

(Originally published in Japanese. Created in cooperation with Sapporo Television Broadcasting.)