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A blue pond in Biei, Hokkaido, Japan. The Blue Pond outside the hot spring town of Shirogane Onsen is named after its deep blue colour which it owes to natural minerals dissolved in the water. It is one of Hokkaido’s most popular sightseeing destinations!

Blue Pond (青い池, Aoi-ike)

How to Get to the Blue Pond

If you’re driving from Sapporo to the Blue Pond:

• 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).
• From Sapporo IC, get off at Asahikawa Takasu IC, and drive south towards Biei (about 180km).

If you’re driving from New Chitose Airport, use the Dōtō Expressway and get off at Shimukappu, then head north through Furano. The journey is roughly 160km or about 3 hours drive.

There is a parking lot next to the road, and the pond is about a 5 to 10 minutes walk away.

Buses between Biei Station and Shirogane Onsen stop at Shirogane Aoiike Iriguchi bus stop along the way. The one way ride from Biei Station to the pond takes about 20 minutes. 

There are bus tours from Sapporo Station and can be easily arranged through tour companies.

Blue Pond

The Shirogane Blue Pond is an artificially created pond, and it is rather new. It is one of the ponds that were a by-product of creating a dam at the Biei River. This was to stop the volcanic mud of the erupting Mount Tokachi from reaching the town of Biei in 1988. However, it is the only one of these ponds that displays the beautiful blue colour.

The amazing blue colour of the pond comes from minerals in the water, colloidal aluminium hydroxide.

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Credits to:

https://matcha-jp.com/en/7983
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6832.html
https://livejapan.com/en/in-hokkaido/in-pref-hokkaido/in-furano_biei_sounkyo/article-a1000326/
https://hokkaido-labo.com/en/biei-blue-pond-4197
https://www.japan.travel/en/spot/1889/
https://hokkaidoguide.com/blue-pond/

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