Ibaraki Hidden Gems
Ibaraki is close enough to Tokyo to be a day trip and far enough that almost nobody treats it as one, which is the whole opportunity. The prefecture is mostly flat farmland — it grows more of several crops than anywhere else in Japan, including the natto soybeans it is teased for — with Lake Kasumigaura, the second-largest lake in the country, spread shallow across the south. The coast north of Hitachi is the interesting edge: cliffs and reefs rather than beach, with the torii at Oarai standing out in the surf. Mito was a Tokugawa branch domain and its scholars did much of the intellectual work that helped end the shogunate, which is why Kairakuen, one of the three great gardens, was built as a public park rather than a lord's private one. The flower parks are the modern draw and are engineered around single species, so a visit outside their few weeks is a visit to a hillside of stems.
1 spot
Climate & Best Season
Mild and relatively dry, with warm summers and little snow. Spring (nemophila) and autumn (kochia) are the signature seasons.
Famous For (Food)
- Natto
- Melon
- Anko-nabe (monkfish hotpot)
- Chestnuts
Signature Sights
- Hitachi Seaside Park
- Kairakuen plum garden
- Fukuroda Falls
- Ushiku Daibutsu
When to Go
Two weeks matter more than the rest of the year. The nemophila on Miharashi Hill at Hitachi Seaside Park turn the slope blue from mid-April into early May, and the kochia on the same hill turn red in mid-October. Kairakuen's plum blossoms come earlier, in late February and March, when the rest of Japan is still waiting. Ibaraki's winters are dry and sunny with little snow and January highs near 10°C; summers are hot and humid in the low 30s°C. Golden Week is when the seaside park is at its most crowded — arrive at opening or skip it.
Getting Around
The Joban line is the spine: limited express trains from Tokyo's Ueno and Shinagawa reach Mito in about 70 minutes and Katsuta, the station for Hitachi Seaside Park, a few minutes later. Ibaraki Airport handles a small number of domestic and Asian routes and is not a practical entry point for most travellers. Buses cover the last stretch to the seaside park and to Oarai, and the Oarai Kashima line serves the coast. Fukuroda Falls needs a bus from Fukuroda Station on the Suigun line, which runs infrequently. The Kasumigaura shore and the rural pottery towns are far easier with a car.
Local Food
Natto is the prefecture's signature and Mito has sold it at the station for over a century; the small-bean version made here is milder than the supermarket standard. Ibaraki grows more melons than anywhere else in Japan, ripening from May through July. Anko-nabe, a hotpot built around monkfish and its liver, is a winter dish along the northern coast at Kitaibaraki. Chestnuts from Kasama come in September and October, and the same town has made pottery since the Edo period.