Biei Patchwork Road, Hokkaido: Famous Trees and a Driving Loop

Biei Town (美瑛町), near the middle of Hokkaido, is known as the "Town of Hills" (丘のまち). Its rolling farmland draws visitors all year, and nowhere more than the Patchwork Road (パッチワークの路, Patchwork no Michi), the hill country northwest of the town center. Farmers here grow different crops in neighboring plots, so the slopes look like a quilt of color spread across the land. The view has been the backdrop for many TV commercials and posters, and it now brings sightseers and photographers from all over Japan and abroad.

This guide explains what the Patchwork Road is, introduces the famous trees that made it known, suggests a driving loop from JR Biei Station, and covers the seasons, parking and the practical details that make a visit go smoothly.

1. What is Biei's Patchwork Road?

"Patchwork Road" is a nickname rather than the name of a single road. It refers to the wide area of rolling hills in Biei Town, Kamikawa District (上川郡), mainly the country lying between National Route 237 and National Route 452. There is no one address for it; instead, you drive between a handful of well-known landmarks scattered across the hills.

The farms here grow wheat, potatoes, sugar beet and buckwheat (soba), among other crops. Because the color of each field depends on what is planted, how far it has grown and when it is harvested, neighboring plots turn different shades of green, yellow and brown. Lined up together across the hills, they look like a handmade patchwork quilt, which is how the area got its name.

The hills look different with every season and every hour of the day, so no two visits are quite the same. Lone trees standing in the middle of the fields give the scenery its focal points and its quiet, pastoral character. Together they make a landscape found only in Biei, one that tourist brochures and commercials have used again and again, and one of Hokkaido's signature views.

Patchwork Road at a glance

2. The famous trees of the Patchwork Road

Dotted across the Patchwork Road are trees that became famous almost overnight after they appeared in TV commercials and on posters. Standing alone in the wide landscape, each has become a symbol of the area and a stop in its own right. All of them are free to visit at any time.

Ken and Mary Tree (ケンとメリーの木)

The tree takes its name from Ken and Mary, the characters in a Nissan Skyline TV commercial in which it appeared. A single large poplar rising from the middle of the fields, it is one of Biei's best-known views. Dusk is the favorite time for photos, when the tree stands out in silhouette against the evening sky.

• Address: Ōkubo Kyōsei, Biei Town, Kamikawa District, Hokkaido (approximate)
• Access: About 10 minutes by car from JR Biei Station
• Parking: Dedicated car park (about 50 cars and about 5 buses)
• Hours: Open at all times
• Fee: Free

Seven Star Tree (セブンスターの木)

The tree got its name after it was photographed for the packaging of Seven Stars cigarettes in 1976. It is a single Japanese emperor oak (kashiwa) standing on a small rise, and together with the fields around it, whose colors change with the crops, it makes a sweeping panorama. It is most striking in the lush green of early summer and summer, and again in winter, when it stands alone in the snowfield.

• Address: Hokuei 3, Biei Town, Kamikawa District, Hokkaido
• Access: About 15 minutes by car from JR Biei Station
• Parking: Dedicated car park (about 20 cars and about 3 buses)
• Hours: Open at all times
• Fee: Free

Parent and Child Tree (親子の木, Oyako no Ki)

Three kashiwa oaks stand close together here, like a parent and child side by side, which is how they got their name. Out on the open hillside they give the view a gentle warmth, and the scene is at its most picturesque when the colors of the crops stand out against the sky.

• Address: Bita, Biei Town, Kamikawa District, Hokkaido (about 5 minutes by car from the Seven Star Tree)
• Access: About 15 minutes by car from JR Biei Station
• Parking: Roadside space nearby
• Hours: Open at all times
• Fee: Free

Mild Seven Hill (マイルドセブンの丘)

This hill is known for appearing on posters and packaging for Mild Seven cigarettes in 1977. A windbreak of larches once stood in a straight line along the crest and made the view famous, but the trees were cut down in April 2018 because of the risk that they might fall. The view from the hill is still superb, with Biei's wide landscape spread out around you.

• Address: Bita, Biei Town, Kamikawa District, Hokkaido (the former Mild Seven Hill)
• Access: About 15 minutes by car from JR Biei Station
• Parking: Space for a few cars at the foot of the hill
• Hours: Open at all times
• Fee: Free