Northern lights in Biei tonight

The patchwork farmland north of Biei town sits on a plateau at 200-400 m elevation where the rolling hills reduce light scatter from the town below. The famous lone trees of the area - used in Japanese commercial photography for decades - provide foreground elements that make the aurora photography setting here distinct from anywhere else in Hokkaido. Bortle Class 3-4. The Asahikawa city glow is visible to the northwest at 30 km, but from the plateau ridgelines facing north and east the sky is workably dark. During a major Kp 8-9 storm, low red aurora can appear above the patchwork field horizon to the north.

Shirogane Onsen is a small hot spring village at the base of the Daisetsuzan range east of Biei. The surrounding forest and hills reduce urban light scatter effectively - Bortle Class 2-3 from positions on the approach road above the village. The Biei River valley to the north gives a dark corridor facing toward the open sky. The Blue Pond (Aoiike), 2 km from the onsen, is lit at night for tourism in peak season but the lighting is switched off in the shoulder periods; even when lit, positions 500 m further along the forest road are genuinely dark. A practical dark sky access point for those based in Biei or Shirogane.

The north-facing slopes of the Tokachi Hills give a clear horizon toward the open Hokkaido plain in the direction of the coast. Bortle Class 3. The farm roads here are maintained in winter for agricultural access but may be icy at night. The elevation of 300-450 m places the viewing position above any low-lying ground fog that can form in valley bottoms on cold clear nights. The slope faces north, the right direction for the low red glow that a major Kp 8-9 storm brings to this latitude. Best approached from the main road with 4WD or appropriate tyres.