Hokkaido Revisit 2017 三回目の北海道の旅 - Bibaushi JR Station 美馬牛駅, Christmas Tree クリスマスツリーの木

Bibaushi JR Station 美馬牛駅 (F38), is an unmanned train station on JR Furano line 富良野線 and is located in the countryside of Biei-cho 美瑛町. What came to my mind when I first heard of its name was whether this train station was surrounded by lush pastures where horses and cows gaze around here freely (as the name was made up of the three kanji characters meaning beauty, horse and cow). Found out later that the name came from the phrase "pipa-us-i" which means a river with abundance of mussels in Ainu language (spoken by the indigenous people of Hokkaido).

From here, trains travel northwards for Biei 美瑛駅 and Asahikawa 旭川駅 and southwards for Kamifurano 上富良野駅, Nakafurano 中富良野駅 and Furano 富良野駅. During the summer season (from Jun to Aug), a special sightseeing themed train named Furano Biei Noroko go 富良野･美瑛ノロッコ号, commutes between Biei and Furano and stops at Bibaushi, Kamifurano, Lavender Batake ラベンダー畑 (the train station closest to Farm Tomita ファーム富田 and only operates when this particular train is in service) and Nakafurano, along the Furano line.

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What’s nearby?

(1) Guide no yamagoya ガイドの山小屋, a travel agency which offers rental bicycle service (between May to Oct) and is located 1 minute walk away from east exit.

For my trip, I rental an electric bicycle from here and followed a cycling map to explore the surrounding area. In the recommended route, I passed by Bibaushi Elementary School 美馬牛小学校, Shikisai no oka, Takushinkan 拓真館, Fureai Farm ふらあい牧場, Sanai no oka Observatory 三愛の丘展望台, Shinei no oka Observatory 新栄の丘展望台 and Christmas Tree クリスマスツリーの木 and the entire route took me about 4 hours.

Rented an electric bicycle from Guide no yamagoya to cover the sightseeing spots around Bibaushi JR Station. 

Admiring the countryside scenery while cycling.

Captured a shot of the lone Christmas tree during sunset.

(2) Christmas Tree クリスマスツリーの木, about 2 km away from the train station.
This tall and sturdy spruce tree stands right in the middle of the fields by itself and its name came about because of its resemblance to a Christmas tree. Do take note that this tree is actually located in a privately owned area, so please refrain from trespassing the fields to get close to the tree.

(3) Shikisai no oka 四季彩の丘, a flower park located about 2.5 km away. Takes about 25 - 30 minutes by foot.