Furano

城市概覽

Furano is known as Heso no Machi (the Belly Button Town) due to its central location. Furano's inland location (almost 100 km -- about as far inland as Japan gets) and high elevation result in a continental climate, the reason behind Furano's successful ski hill and wine industries. There is a very large temperature variation, so a light jacket is recommended even in the summer. Summer midday temperatures may exceed 30 °C, and midwinters will drop below -30 °C. Furano has very heavy snowfall in the winter. The population is approximately 26,000, including the incorporated communities in the outskirts. The population of the main municipal area is said to be about 16,000. Don't expect to meet a large number of English speakers outside of the major hotel and tourist areas. There has been a substantial increase in foreign skiers and snowboarders, particularly from Australia. Furano seems set to enjoy the same skiing success that Niseko has. Meanwhile, the Furano Basin has become more and more famous for its summertime lavender fields, which draw multitudes of visitors from Taiwan and China as well as from all over Japan.

Tourist information Guide sites by local tourism associations:

Furano City: Furano Index, multilingual guide site. Nakafurano Town: bilingual. Kamifurano Town: multilingual.

如何抵達

By plane The nearest airport to Furano is Asahikawa, which has flights to major Japanese cities but only limited seasonal connections elsewhere. Furano Bus has around 7 services per day directly from the airport (1 hour, ¥840). During the ski season, Hokkaido Access Network also runs direct buses from Sapporo's much larger New Chitose Airport (3 hours, ¥5000).

By train Furano is the terminus of the JR Furano Line from Asahikawa. There are 12 direct local trains daily, leaving between 05:44 and 22:34 (as of Aug 2025). The journey from Asahikawa takes just under 1½ hours. Alternatively, the sightseeing train Furano Biei Norokko operates the same route, taking just over 1½ hours. Services operate irregularly; check the timetable. Service ends in 2026. Furano is also on the JR Nemuro Line from Takikawa. In the summer (Jun–Sep), the Furano Lavendar Express makes one round-trip daily from Sapporo at 07:41, which begins its return departure from Furano at 16:54 (Aug 2025). In the winter ski season, there is one daily Ski Express Train from Sapporo at 08:04. When these trains do not operate, you'll need to connect via Takikawa. Local services to Takikawa leave 8 times a day and take 1 hour. An onward connection to Sapporo aboard a Limited Express also takes 1 hour. All services eastward towards Nemuro have been discontinued.

By bus

Furano express, Chūō Bus (中央バス高速ふらの号). 08:00–19:20 (departure time at Sapporo). This bus connects Sapporo and Furano in 2½ hr. Approximately hourly service from Sapporo Station bus terminal. 2700¥. (updated Aug 2025) Lavender Express Bus (ふらのバス). from Asahikawa: seven departures per day, 09:55–19:30. This line provides connections from Biei, Asahikawa Airport, and JR Asahikawa Station. Approximately hourly service. Take care not to confuse this with the JR Lavender Express train. The journey between Asahikawa and Furano takes 2 hours, or 1½ hours from Asahikawa Airport. Asahikawa Airport–Furano Station ¥770, Asahikawa Station–Furano S

當地交通

By train The JR Furano Line runs north to Asahikawa, through the scenic Furano Valley, full of flower fields in the summer. The Furano-Biei Norokko tourist train runs daily from June through August and on weekends into the fall. It stops at Nakafurano with its lavender slopes, at the seasonal Lavender Field station near Farm Tomita, and at Kamifurano near Flower Land Kamifurano. Yamabe Station on the JR Nemuro Main Line east (toward Obihiro) offers access to mountain-climbing trails on Mount Ashibetsu, which is located within the Taiyou no Sato park, about 45 minutes' walk from the station.

By bus

Furano Bus provides most local bus services. The office is located directly across the street from the entrance to JR Furano Station. Conveniently, their office is shared with the Furano Tourist Association, which can provide advice on how to reach tourist attractions by bus. Overall, the bus service is poor, with only a few buses each day going to many of the major destinations.

By taxi Due to the lack of effective public transportation, taxi services in Furano are very good. The largest carrier, Furano Taxi, has a cell-phone interpretation system which can provide service in English, Chinese, and Korean. Their fleet also contains wheelchair-accessible and other special-needs vehicles. For a small group, taxi can be quite affordable, with fares to many tourist attractions under ¥2,000 per trip. There is a 20% fare increase for late night (22:00 to 05:00) or winter (Nov 25 to Mar 31) services.

By car Furano has a high traffic accident rate and one of the highest fatality rates for accidents in Japan. Rights of way are often confusingly marked on back and rural roads, where locals will often drive in excess of 100 km/h. Driving is not recommended during the peak summer holidays (o-bon or local festival periods) due to the severe traffic congestion. If you are unfamiliar with winter driving in Japan, do not start here. A four-wheel drive vehicle is hig

必看景點

Furano's main attractions are outdoors, though there are a few other options.

1 Furano Cheese Factory (富良野チーズ工房 Furano Chizu Kobo), 字中５区 (near the New Furano Prince Hotel), ☏ +81 167 23-1156, [email protected]. Apr-Oct 09:00-17:00, Nov-Mar 09:00-16:00. This factory and small museum was built in the 1980s. You can see the cheese getting produced downstairs, while upstairs you can buy from the shop. A specialty item is the cuttlefish ink cheese, Camembert-style with white mold and black cream colored by cuttlefish ink. If you have time, a hands-on project — making cheese or ice cream — could be fun. Tours are free; workshop prices vary. 2 Furano Winery (3 km from Furano Station), ☏ +81 167-22-3242. Watch the bottling of wines, sample the locally made wines, and buy bottles to take home. 3 Kami-Furano Pioneer Memorial Museum (上富良野町開拓記念館 Kamifurano-cho kaitaku kinenkan), North 28, West 3, Kami-Furano (on the east side of Highway 291, 200 m S of the junction with Highway 237), ☏ +81 167-45-3158. May Jun Sep Oct: Sa Su 09:00-16:00; Jul-Aug: Tu-Su 09:00-16:00. This small museum is dedicated to the history of Kami-Furano, the northern part of the greater Furano area. There are photos of (locally) famous people and of volcanic eruptions that impacted the region in the last century. The garden outside has lavendar and other flowers, and also some shaded picnic tables. Free.

Flower gardens

In Furano area, there are many flower farms and tourist flower gardens. The best time to see is around July.

4 Farm Tomita (ファーム富田), KisenKita-15gō, Nakafurano (中富良野町基線北15号) (near the "Rabendā Batake" train station), ☏ +81 167-39-3939. 24 hr. Fields of lavender and oth