Ibaraki Travel Guide for Japanese Learners

Seasonal flower parks, a giant Buddha, and natto just north of Tokyo.

Ibaraki is an easy escape from the capital. Hitachi Seaside Park bursts with blue nemophila in spring and red kochia in autumn, and Ushiku hosts one of the world's tallest bronze statues.

History & background

Ibaraki (茨城) was the Mito (水戸) domain of a senior Tokugawa branch; the scholarly Mito lords created Kairaku-en (偕楽園), one of Japan's three great gardens, as a space to share with the public.

What to see

• Hitachi Seaside Park flower fields
• Ushiku Daibutsu (giant Buddha)
• Kairaku-en — one of Japan's three great gardens
• Fukuroda Falls

What to eat

Mito is the home of natto (fermented soybeans); also fresh anglerfish (ankō).

Getting there & when to go

Getting there: Mito is ~1h15m from Tokyo by limited express; Hitachi Seaside Park by bus from Katsuta.

Best time: Late April–May for blue nemophila; October for the crimson kochia hills.

When to go — season by season

Spring (late April–May) fills Hitachi Seaside Park (国営ひたち海浜公園) with sky-blue nemophila; autumn turns its kochia hills crimson. Plum blossoms open Kairaku-en in late winter.

A suggested visit

Time a day trip from Tokyo to the nemophila or kochia peak at Hitachi Seaside Park, then add the giant Ushiku Daibutsu (牛久大仏) on the way back. Mito's Kairaku-en suits a plum-season visit.

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