The itinerary for this trip to Hokkaido is very reasonable, convenient and time-saving!

1⃣ First stop: Asahiyama Zoo to watch penguins In the morning, head to Asahiyama Zoo. The penguins walk at 11 am, so you need to arrive and buy tickets in advance. Take a 1.5-hour express train from Sapporo Station, and choose the 8 am train. After arriving at Asahikawa Station, immediately go to platform 6 and take the 9:40 bus from Asahikawa Station to Asahiyama Zoo, which takes about 40 minutes and costs 500 yen. After arriving at the zoo, buy tickets and queue up to enter, it is expected to be around 10:30. Then go to the penguin walking route, find a good photo spot, and wait for the penguins to appear. 2⃣ Second stop: Lonely Christmas Tree. After watching the penguins, please be sure to enjoy a bowl of hot ramen near the main exit of the zoo (make sure to choose the main exit). The restaurant is in the park, do not leave the park. Then, prepare to take the bus from the zoo to Asahikawa Station (the bus stop is in front of the main entrance of the zoo). You can check the bus schedule on Google Maps, we chose a bus around 12:10. After arriving at Asahikawa Station, take the Furano Line to Biei Station, which takes about 1 hour. Once you arrive at Biei Station, use Google Maps to search for "クリスマスツリーの木" (I tried English search and it didn't work), and follow the navigation for about 20 minutes to arrive. The scenery along the way is very beautiful, just like what you see in pictures 2 to 5, you can take pictures while walking. It is recommended to arrive at the Christmas tree before 2:30 in the afternoon, because taking pictures may take a lot of time, and it gets dark very early, so you must ensure that there is enough time to return to Biei Station to catch the return train. The train intervals in this small rural area are relatively long, so you need to arrange your itinerary based on the train time on Google Maps (we chose a train around 4 o'clock to return to Asahikawa Station, and then return to Sapporo from Asahikawa). Please pay special attention: all transportation card points need to be checked and confirmed on Google Maps to match your itinerary!