Biei is a small farming town in Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost prefecture. The amazing scenery, consisting of 3000 plots of square farmland, creates a patchwork quilt of flowers and crops which attracts 1.6 million visitors every year.

But sadly, the influx of people is creating an unbearable strain on Biei’s farmers. Trespassing, parking in the middle of farm roads, destroying crops, and contamination risks are just some of the bad behaviours that the local farmers are railing against. Throughout the year there is no respite as the tourists flood in to see the different seasonal beauties of Biei.

Trespassing Influencers

A sign that we are living in the social media age, farmers have pointed the finger at ‘influencers’ in particular. They have been seen trespassing in order to get Instagrammable shots, then afterwards their followers will try to recreate the photo in the same spot, multiplying the problem.

What many visitors don’t seem to realise is that the attractiveness of the area is all thanks to the farmers who work the land and grow the crops. The landscape that they may think of as just a beautiful background for an Instagram shot, is actually land privately owned and maintained by farmers to earn a living.

The Sad Loss of The Philosophy Tree

One of the tourist draws of the area is the historic and famous trees. But the adverse effects of this over tourism caused one of the legendary trees to be tragically cut down.

The Philosophy Tree was named so because it slanted as though deep in thought. After media attention, many visitors came to take photos of the tree, trespassing on farmer’s land and killing the crops. With so many people occupying the roads, the farmers couldn’t even drive their tractors to the farm anymore, curtailing their ability to work.

The farmer who owns the land realised it was unsustainable. He finally felled the tree in 2016, hoping this would stop the flow of tourists.

There is another beautiful and famous tree still standing called the Seven Stars Tree. This tree is also located on private farmland, and without a change in the attitudes of visitors, this one could be lost too.

Hope for the Future of Biei's Farms

Despite all the stress, the people of Biei don’t want to give up on tourism completely. They are happy to share the beauty of the landscape with the world, but it is necessary to strike a balance.

This is why Tomoki Ohnishi, an administrator in Biei started a crowdfunding campaign, with a concrete plan to educate visitors about how to properly enjoy the beautiful landscapes. They will employ digital signs which will help visitors to learn about the farm and even allow them to donate money to help the farmer with upkeep.

The campaign has already had an amazing response and smashed the initial target, leading to more goals and ideas being formed. Hopefully when the ideas are put into place, both parties can be happy with the outcome.

The crowdfunding project is running until the end of June so there is still time to get involved, and if you wish to back the project there are a variety of special returns you can get.