"Wheat, Potato, Flowers" Biei by akikonomu

A visit to Biei is never complete without cycling through the area. There are two main routes - Patchwork Road and Panaroma Road where sights of rolling fields are aplenty.

A word of warning - some of the paths are very steep so going downhill requires precaution and going up requires lots of energy.

If you're not well trained, I'd suggest renting a motorised bicycle. Although the rental fees are high, at least you will enjoy the route. I'd rather be concentrating on the sceneary than the next challenging slope.

Shikisai no oka

I took the Panaroma route. With a motorised bicycle and pitstops, I only managed to cover two sights (Shikisai no oka and Shinei no oka)of interest in about 3 1/2 hours. This includes making many small pitstops along the way to snap pictures.

The former boosts beautiful flowers maintained in a farmlike environment. There is no entrance fees and donations for the maintenance of the flowers are appreciated.

The latter gives a good view of the surroundings.

The rolling fields are mostly planted with beer wheat, potato and yam. The flowering potato and yam plants create beautiful sights.

The beer wheat's yellow contrasted with the white and purple flowers are a sight.

Potato and yam fields

Took the Patchwork Road this time round via car. Can't exactly do a comparison since it has been 5 years apart. Along the way, we enjoyed making pitstops at the resting stations - each resting station sells different snacks, some of which are really good (like wasabi pumpkin seeds), parks with panaromic views of the area and of course, rustic restaurants.