Classic Hokkaido One-Day Tour: Asahiyama Zoo & Ken & Mary Tree & Shirahige Waterfall & Biei Shirogane Blue Pond & Ningle Terrace

See photos for full review of Tour J88 Bus no. 6227 Jan. 23, 2026 I highly recommend booking a similar tour like this if you are visiting in winter. It’s so hard to DIY things. It’s cold, trains and buses get delayed, and the streets are slippery. 1. Tour guide: while he shared helpful tips, he is not accommodating and friendly. He was dismissive saying that those who had a hard time coming because it’s cold should not be an excuse. He said it’s already a warm day in Sapporo today. I understand that he is coming from the perspective of someone who lives in a cold country. However, he is talking to tourists from different countries (Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, etc.) and not everyone is used to the cold. What’s easy and normal for him might not be for his guests. 2. Tour guide again: I find him impatient and lacking understanding to the customers/tourists. I am aware that Japanese culture is very strict with time. However, other tourists might not be familiar with it.

This is probably one of those impossible sightseeing missions you can only accomplish with a group tour. We quickly ran through everything. If you want a deeper experience, find another opportunity to enjoy the beautiful scenery and fresh air. The zoo is small and cute, and many of the installations and decorations are full of human touch. You really need to move quickly to see the Blue Pond and waterfall. The flower fields are meticulously maintained man-made attractions; 30 minutes there felt sufficient. The tour guide and driver were also very attentive throughout the entire trip. Kudos to them!

After a 2-hour ride, the first stop is Asahiyama Zoo. Since it's not yet time for the penguin parade, we can only see the other animals. Next, we quickly visited Shirogane Blue Pond, Ningle Terrace, and Shirahige Falls. Because these locations aren't large and are close to the parking area, we only spent 30 minutes at each. Finally, another 2-hour ride back.

Overall, it was a great experience. Our tour guide, Mr. Lin, was very kind and friendly. Unfortunately, we couldn’t spend much time at Ningle Terrace due to the tight schedule. Perhaps the itinerary could skip the Blue Pond to allow more time at Ningle Terrace, as our parking spot was quite far and it took a long time to walk to the area.

The whole trip was perfect. The scenery was beautiful, the weather was great, and our guide, Xiao Pan, was very nice, super funny, and told us a lot about Japanese culture, scenery, and food 👍👍👍

Overall the trip was well managed. Guide and driver were very professional. Guide was fully fluent in English, Japanese and Mandarin, and did an excellent job providing info, context and history about the sites and Hokkaido in general. The trip would have been excellent if it hadn't rained a ton, and if the agricultural sites had been in season, but that was just timing and not due to the tour company at all. The sites we did get to see went very well.

Nice tour guide and had a nice trip

The scenery was beautiful, and the tour guide told many stories. Thumbs up!

We had an amazing time exploring Hokkaido thanks to our wonderful tour guide, Hong. The itinerary was well planned, the pacing was comfortable, and we got to visit so many beautiful places without feeling rushed. Our guide was incredibly friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful throughout the entire trip. He shared interesting local stories, recommended great food spots, and made the experience feel very personal and memorable.

Mila is very good guide. She give a lot of information of the attraction place. I will recommend to my family and friends.