is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

located in

Kamikawa Subprefecture is a subprefecture of Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from ...

Hokkaido is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. As of May 2024, the town has an estimated population of 9,343, and a density of 14 persons per km². The total area is 677.16 km².

Overview

Biei is famous for its views of wide fields and hills, and is used as a backdrop for many Japanese commercials and TV programmes. The bright colours of its fields attract thousands of visitors in July and August. The town also houses the

Shinzo Maeda was a Japanese photographer famous for landscape photographs and movies. He published 46 photography books in Japan, and founded the Tankei Photo Agency Co. The Shinzo Maeda Photo Art Gallery in Biei, Hokkaidō, opened in 1987, and exhibits a ...

Photo Art Gallery. Since 1992, Biei has held the "Biei Healthy Marathon", which attracts runners from all around Japan.

Geography

Biei is located between the cities of

Asahikawa is a Cities of Japan, city in Kamikawa Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital of the subprefecture, and the second-largest city in Hokkaido, after Sapporo. It has been a Core cities of Japan, core city since April 1, 2000. The city i ...

and Furano, below the Tokachidake mountain range in northern

. The sloping hills of Biei are the product of

pyroclastic plateaus Pyroclast, Pyroclastic or Pyroclastics may refer to: Geology * Pyroclast, or airborne volcanic tephra fragments * Pyroclastic rock, rock fragments produced and ejected by explosive volcanic eruptions * Pyroclastic cone, landform of ejecta from ...

, which are the results of ash from volcanic eruptions. Biei has 676.78 km² of land, of which 70% is used for forestry and 15% is used for agriculture.

History

After the establishment of Hebetto, now

Asahi Asahi (Japanese 朝日, 旭, or あさひ 'morning sun') may refer to: Places in Japan Cities * Asahi, Chiba (旭市; ''Asahi-shi'') Wards * Asahi-ku, Osaka (旭区; ''Asahi-ku'') * Asahi-ku, Yokohama (旭; ''Asahi-ku'') Towns * Asahi, Aichi ...

, in 1894, Biei village separated from Kaguru village in 1900. Biei Town was established in 1940 and the

Agricultural cooperative An agricultural cooperative, also known as a farmers' co-op, is a producer cooperative in which farmers pool their resources in certain areas of activities. A broad typology of agricultural cooperatives distinguishes between agricultural servic ...

model was implemented in 1947. In 1950,

hot springs A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a Spring (hydrology), spring produced by the emergence of Geothermal activity, geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow ...

were discovered and the Tourist Association was established the following year of 1951. Mt. Tokachi had five eruptions, the first one recorded in the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

, which led to the establishment of measures in preparation for natural emergencies in Biei, which includes emergency response training by residents and organisations.

Demographics

As of May 2024, Biei's population stands at 9,343. The largest 5-year age cohort is the 70-74 year old group, with a total of 812 people, followed by the 50-54 year old group with 700 people. Nearly 40 percent of the population is age 65 or older.

Education

The Biei Town Board of Education Administration Division runs the schools, which include 5 elementary schools, 2 junior high schools and 1 high school.

Government

Biei is governed by a mayor and the a town council. The members in the council are elected every four years. There are 14 members as of 2024 until 30 April 2027.

Economy

The core industry in Biei is

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

Agriculture

Japanese Agriculture (JA) Biei, an entrepreneurial co-operative consists of 741 members and is a part of the Japanese Agriculture Co-operative. The main agricultural production was

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

until 1983 when

potatoes The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...

, beets,

beans A bean is the seed of some plants in the legume family (Fabaceae) used as a vegetable for human consumption or animal feed. The seeds are often preserved through drying (a ''pulse''), but fresh beans are also sold. Dried beans are tradition ...

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

and other seasonal crops were introduced and cultivated in

cycles Cycle, cycles, or cyclic may refer to: Anthropology and social sciences * Cyclic history, a theory of history * Cyclical theory, a theory of American political history associated with Arthur Schlesinger, Sr. * Social cycle, various cycles in ...

. Biei is providing direct payment

subsidies A subsidy, subvention or government incentive is a type of government expenditure for individuals and households, as well as businesses with the aim of stabilizing the economy. It ensures that individuals and households are viable by having acce ...

to have sustainable development in the agricultural sector and stimulate the interest in

farming Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

Tourism

The discovery of ''Shirogane Onsen'' hot springs in 1950 started Biei tourism and established the brand of the town as ''"Biei, the Town of Hills."'' The

were drilled out from 399m deep in the ground and are measured to be 48 °C.

Festivals A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...

such as "Dokanto Agriculture Festivals," "Biei Encounter Festivals," and "Nachi Biei Fire Festival" are hosted to increase

, which is a collaboration by the residents and local organisations. As of 2018, there were over 2.2 million

tourists Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

visiting Biei which increased incidents of

trespassing Trespass to land, also called trespass to realty or trespass to real property, or sometimes simply trespass, is a common law tort or a crime that is committed when an individual or the object of an individual intentionally (or, in Australia, ...

into

farms A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...

and causing trampling of crops. There are reports of illegal drones flying over private land as well as discussions regarding potential transfer of outside species introduced into the crops through trespassing tourists. The Biei council established the Biei Town Tourism Master Plan in 2020 that aims to improve the behaviour of visitors and improve Biei tourism

Local Attractions

Patchwork Road

Patchwork Road, named after the pattern of the field from

aerial perspective Aerial perspective, or atmospheric perspective, is the effect the atmosphere has on the appearance of an object as viewed from a distance. As the distance between an object and a viewer increases, the contrast between the object and its backgro ...

, is located in the northwest of the town centre. It is known for the green colour in the summer and the white from the layer of snow during winter. The field consists of trees specifically known for the image used in commercials: ''Mild Seven Hill, Ken and Mary Tree, Seven Star Tree'', as well as ''Parents and Child Tree'' which consists of oaks. ''Hokusei Hill Observatory'' is also located within the area, which is known for its pyramid-shaped form, next to the flower park called ''Zerubu Hill''.

Panorama Road

Panorama Road consists of fields that are explored with vehicles such as

cars A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...

bicycles A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. ...

. The field includes ''Shikisai Hill'', a flower park known for its

lavender ''Lavandula'' (common name lavender) is a genus of 47 known species of perennial flowering plants in the sage family, Lamiaceae. It is native plant, native to the Old World, primarily found across the drier, warmer regions of the Mediterranean ...

and other flowers and its trail within it; and ''Kanno Farm,'' which is a park located next to the main road between Biei and Furano.

Shirogane Blue Pond

Shirogane Blue Pond is known for its colour of the water and the Japanese larch trees that surround the area. The colour of the pond was the result of the

aluminium Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

added into the water to control the

mudslides A mudflow, also known as mudslide or mud flow, is a form of mass wasting involving fast-moving flow of debris and dirt that has become liquified by the addition of water. Such flows can move at speeds ranging from 3 meters/minute to 5 meters/se ...

Museum

The Misora Hillside Local history

Museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

focuses on

local history Local history is the study of history in a geographically local context, often concentrating on a relatively small local community. It incorporates cultural history, cultural and social history, social aspects of history. Local history is not mer ...

and

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

. It has "''Bichu''" the

observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysics, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. Th ...

, which holds a 400mm

reflecting telescope A reflecting telescope (also called a reflector) is a telescope that uses a single or a combination of curved mirrors that reflect light and form an image. The reflecting telescope was invented in the 17th century by Isaac Newton as an alternati ...

, 150mm

refracting telescope A refracting telescope (also called a refractor) is a type of optical telescope that uses a lens (optics), lens as its objective (optics), objective to form an image (also referred to a dioptrics, dioptric telescope). The refracting telescope d ...

, and a

telescope A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorption, or Reflection (physics), reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally, it was an optical instrument using len ...

for solar surface observation.

Transportation

The main access to Beiei is by train, bus, and car through

and Furano, or by plane from Asahikawa. There is also a train from

Sapporo Station is a major railway station in Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. It is served by Hakodate Main Line and other lines of Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido), and is also connected to the Subway Sapporo Station. Sapporo Station is the star ...

to Asahikawa Station.

Climate

Gallery

File:140724 Biei Hokkaido Japan01s8.jpg, The Patchwork Road file:Biei-tree2_2003.jpg, Tree of "Ken and Merry" file:Biei-tree2003.jpg, Tree of a parent and a child file:Biei-road2003.jpg file:Biei-many-trees.jpg file:Shikisai.jpg file:tree of philosophy.jpg, Tree of philosophy

References

External links

* *
Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Biei, Hokkaido Towns in Hokkaido