Hokkaido Travel Diaries: Day 3 — Merry Christmas

Travel diaries: December 23rd, Day 3 - a visit to the Christmas tree.

Bibaushi, Hokkaido

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Although the third diary in the series covers December 23rd, I felt the title was still fitting because of the site it features.

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As I woke on Monday morning and checked multiple weather channels,¹ it was clear that, due to low visibility, it was not a good day to visit Asahidake, Hokkaido's highest mountain, which is a 45-minute drive from Biei—twice that if you rely on a bus, as I would the next day.

So instead, I decided to have a slow morning: organize the notes I would later use for these diaries, try to control my coffee intake to find a balance between feeling energized and anxious, and then take the train to Bibaushi village.

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Just seven minutes by train from Biei, Bibaushi is home to only 107 residents. However, it regularly welcomes at least ten times that number as daily visitors, if not more, thanks to one very famous landmark—the Christmas Tree. In recent years, the tree has become such a major attraction that the town introduced traffic restrictions, diligently enforced by multiple police officers stationed at the site.

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Sure, it’s a beautiful sight. Picture a natural tree—its shape, though a bit skinny, as perfect as any Christmas tree could be—standing on a slope with nothing but endless snow-covered fields in the background during winter. But honestly, the road leading to it, which takes about 40 minutes from Bibaushi Station on foot, offers scenery just as striking, if not more. So, if you have the chance, I highly recommend taking the longer route instead of driving. That may also help minimize the disappointment when you get to the site: joining the hundreds of others lining the side of the road to give the Mona Lisa treatment to the Christmas Tree.

Scenes from the road leading to the Christmas Tree.