Ibaraki Prefecture offers tourist attractions such as Mt. Tsukuba, Fukuroda Falls, and Itsukushima Shrine; sightseeing events such as the Gion Festival, Hitachi Cherry Blossom Festival, and Kashima City Fireworks Festival; and local delicacies such as Shishi-nabe (lion's head stew), Shomon-semochi (rice cracker), and anko-nabe (red conger).
Ibaraki Prefecture is located in the northeast of the Kanto region. It is said that the name of Ibaraki Prefecture is based on a description in the Fudoki of Hitachinokuni and that the name is derived from Ibaraki in the Manyoshu, the oldest extant collection of poetry in Japan.
Ibaraki Prefecture is also called "Ibaragi" or "Ibaraki," depending on who you ask, but the official reading is "Ibaraki.
When one thinks of sightseeing in Ibaraki Prefecture, the first thing that comes to mind is the Ume Festival held at Kairakuen Garden and Mount Tsukuba. Kairakuen Garden is one of the three most famous gardens in Japan, and the Ume Festival held at this garden will be held a total of 118 times in 2014. The Ume Festival has been held for more than 100 years.
Although not as large as the Kairakuen Plum Blossom Festival, the Tsukuba Plum Blossom Festival will be held 41 times in 2014, and both festivals attract large numbers of visitors. The fantastic scenery of white and pink plum trees in full bloom and the scent of plum blossoms around the area will make you feel as if you are in a dream world just by being there.
In Ibaraki Prefecture, there is Fukuroda Falls, one of the three most famous waterfalls in Japan, where you can see the ice fall in winter when the entire waterfall freezes over, and the Hina Matsuri (Doll Festival), a spectacular festival where various dolls are displayed on a 100-tiered platform.
Oarai Town, which recently became the setting for an anime production, is attracting not only tourists but also an increasing number of anime fans, and the town is also working with the Self-Defense Forces to revitalize the town.
The enjoyment of sightseeing is not limited to the beauty of nature. Food is another enjoyment of sightseeing. The local cuisine, which can only be tasted in a particular area, is a precious memory of the trip.
In Ibaraki Prefecture, Yoshinuma-cho in Mito City offers a variety of delicious foods, such as salmon takikomi-gohan (rice cooked with salmon) using salmon from the Naka River, and sumitsukare, a celebratory dish eaten on the first horse day of February using the heads of salmon.
Ibaraki Prefecture is also one of Japan's leading soba (buckwheat) noodle producing areas, and each of them has their own unique sudon with different ingredients.
And speaking of Ibaraki Prefecture, natto (fermented soybeans) is a typical food of Mito. Mito's natto is made from small soybeans and can be enjoyed not only over rice, but also in a variety of other dishes.
In spring, beautiful flowers bloom one after another. At Miharashi no Oka, an event called "Flowering" is held from late March to early May, where visitors can enjoy a variety of spring flowers. The park is divided into a vast area of about 200 hectares, with large flower gardens spread over severa...»
This bronze statue of the Great Buddha stands 120 meters tall, comparable in size to the Kasumigaseki skyscraper.It is the sixth tallest standing statue in the world.It is the world's largest "bronze" humanoid structure (Buddha statue) above ground level and is registered in the Guinness World Recor...»
The waterfall spans the Taki River, a tributary of the Kuji River, and boasts a height of 120 meters and a width of 73 meters. It is also called "Yodo no Taki" (Four Degrees Fall) because the water falls in four stages down a large rock face. From a distance, Fukuroda Falls appears as a gentle whi...»
This five-story facility with a total floor space of approximately 19,800 square meters is one of the top-class aquariums in Japan. It is a comprehensive museum of the sea that incorporates museum and science museum-like exhibition techniques, and offers a wide range of fields to see, touch, and pl...»
This historic shrine was built in 856 and sits on a hilltop on the nature-rich Oarai coast. The white torii gate "Kamiiso-no-Torii" built on the reef where the waves wash over the rocks is a spectacular sight, and the sea, the wild splashing of the waves, and the sunlight create a fantastic atmosph...»
Located in Okkuji Prefectural Natural Park, this bright blue iron bridge over the Ryujin Gorge spans over the Ryujin Dam that impounds the Ryujin River, which flows through a beautiful V-shaped valley. The bridge is a popular sightseeing spot for tourists, offering a panoramic view of the four seas...»
Located at the foot of Mt. The park is the largest comprehensive leisure land in the prefecture, with facilities such as a zoo, amusement park, leisure land and municipal swimming pool on its vast grounds. Approximately 1,000 cherry trees, including yaezakura, yamazakura, and someiyoshino, are plan...»
Kasama Inari Shrine is one of the three major Inari shrines in Japan, along with Fushimi in Kyoto and Yutoku in Saga, and has a history of more than 1,350 years. The deity is Ukanomitama-no-kami. During the Edo period (1603-1867), the shrine was highly revered by successive feudal lords, who donate...»
The Ibaraki Prefectural Museum of Nature opened with the basic philosophy of "learning from the past, understanding the present, and measuring the future. The museum is characterized by the following three features. First, the museum has a vast site area of 15.8 hectares, which includes a wooded ar...»
Ryujinkyo Gorge Located in Okkuji Prefectural Natural Park, this scenic spot has been selected as one of the 100 most scenic spots in Ibaraki. It is a V-shaped gorge formed by the erosion of the Ryujin River over a long period of time, where clear water flows through steep rocky terrain and is dott...»