| Admission | Free admission |
| Opening Hours | All day |
| Closed | - |
| Contact | 0166-94-3355 0166-92-1181 : sightseeing taxi service 'Biei Hire' |
| Notes | Parking available Rental car recommended to visit |
| Location / Getting There | It takes about 20 minutes by car from JR Biei Station. A 2 and a half hour drive from Sapporo Shirogane, Biei-cho Kamikawa District, Hokkaido 071-0235 |
Beautiful colors
The Blue Pond (known as Aoi-ike in Japanese) is a man-made pond that can be found in the scenic province of Biei. After the eruption of Mount Tokachi in 1988, work was carried out on the Biei river dam to prevent the destructive effect of volcanic mudflow on the town of Biei. The Blue Lake is just one of a number of ponds that were artificially born as a by-product of the dam construction. The amazing blue color of the pond comes from minerals in the water, colloidal aluminium hydroxide. This means absolutely no swimming, but you can enjoy the beautiful scenery of the pond.
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Peaceful
The blue hue of the water has subtle changes depending on the weather and the season. In the winter you can get some beautiful photos of the pond in the snow. And on a nice sunny day the blue sky is reflected stunningly in the Blue Pond waters. To get to the pond you can drive, but if you don’t have your own access to transport, then there are tour buses that run during the summer. Alternatively, a rental car is a good choice as there is plenty to see while in Biei and the Furano area. For trains, the JR Furano Line connects Furano with Biei and Asahikawa. Trains run roughly once per hour, and the one way trip between Furano and Biei takes about 40 minutes, costs ￥640 and is covered by the Japan Rail Pass and Hokkaido Rail Pass.
Getting there from Sapporo
From Sapporo get on the Hokkaido Expressway at the Sapporo interchange (IC) and get off at Mikasa IC, then go pass Katsurazawa Dam and through Furano (about 150km).
A smooth journey here will take around 2½ hours.
Getting there from Chitose Airport
From the New Chitose Airport, use the Dōtō Expressway and get off at Shimukappu, then head north through the town of Furano.
Getting there from Chitose Airport
From the New Chitose Airport, use the Dōtō Expressway and get off at Shimukappu, then head north through the town of Furano. The distance of this route is around 160km, and will take about 3 hours.
Getting there from Asahikawa
From Asahikawa, drive south towards Furano and go through Biei to reach the Blue Pond. From Asahikawa Station, it takes around 1 hour 10 minutes (about 45km), and from Asahikawa Airport, it takes roughly 40 minutes (about 30km).