Farm Tomita

In high summer the gentle slopes of Farm Tomita turn violet, row after row of lavender running towards the Tokachi volcanic range on the horizon, while next to them long parallel bands of other flowers stripe the hillside in contrasting colours. The farm, in the Furano basin of central Hokkaido, kept the region's lavender alive when almost everyone else gave it up, and it is now one of the most visited places on the island.

Its story begins with settlers. Tokuma Tomita came to Hokkaido among the wave of migrants from Honshu who arrived after an 1897 law opened the island's uncultivated land, and in 1903 he started clearing the ground in what is now Nakafurano. His grandson Tadao Tomita began growing lavender for perfume oil in 1958, at a time when the crop was spreading across the Furano district, which at its peak had more than 230 hectares of lavender and over 250 growing households. From around 1972, as trade was liberalised and cheaper synthetic fragrances took over, the market collapsed, and by the following year Farm Tomita was almost the only lavender grower left in the area.

The fields survived thanks to a photograph. In 1976 a picture of the Tomita lavender appeared on a Japanese National Railways calendar, and photographers and visitors began to come; the popular television drama Kita no Kuni kara later made the area famous. The farm went on to distil its own essential oils, and in 1990 one of them won first prize at a lavender fair in France. Today about 15 hectares of lavender grow here among other flower fields named for their colours, from crocuses and tulips in spring to peonies and beach roses before the lavender opens towards the end of June, and greenhouses keep plants blooming into the colder months.

Getting there

Farm Tomita lies in the town of Nakafurano, in the Furano basin of central Hokkaido. JR Naka-Furano Station is about a 20-minute walk away, and the small Lavender Batake Station is closer still. Asahikawa Airport (AKJ) is about 28 km away.