Nakafurano, Japan: Farm Tomita and the Furano Lavender Fields - Hokkaido's Purple Valley Grown from a Near-Failed Gamble

Step into the valley that turned a near-failed rice farm into one of Hokkaido's most photographed landscapes. This episode of Walking Tour of Japan takes you through Farm Tomita in Nakafurano, where a family's stubborn 1950s gamble on lavender - a crop nearly wiped out by cheap synthetic fragrance oil in the 1970s - grew into the rolling purple hillsides and rainbow-striped flower fields that now draw over a million visitors a year. Walk the historic Traditional Lavender Field up to its panoramic viewpoint over the Furano basin and the Tokachi mountains, wander the famously photogenic striped Field of the Flower People, and step inside the farm's working distillery where lavender oil is still extracted the same way it was decades ago. Along the way, we cover where to eat on the farm grounds and at the nearby Furano Cheese Factory, known for its wine-infused cheddar and wood-fired pizza, plus two easy add-ons for your itinerary: the artisan log cabins of Ningle Terrace and the strikingly blue waters of Biei's famous Blue Pond.Visit NorthStarTravelers.com to explore our other podcast shows and browse gear recommendations for wherever your next journey takes you.