Ibaraki prefecture (Kantou area)
Oarai Kaisen Ichiba
Oarai Kaisen Ichiba is a famous seafood market and tourist attraction located in Oarai-cho, Ibaraki Prefecture. Fresh fish, shrimp, crabs, and other seafood are abundant. Enjoy a variety of seafood dishes such as sushi, sashimi, and grilled fish. Various marine products and souvenirs were also sold. Oarai Kaisen Ichiba is a popular spot for both tourists and local residents, who come to taste authentic Japanese seafood dishes.
Mito Kairakuen
Mito Kairakuen is a Japanese garden located in Mito City, Ibaraki Prefecture, and is well known as one of the three most famous gardens in Japan.
It was built in the early 17th century by Tokugawa Mitsukuni, grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu and the second lord of the Mito domain, between 1614 and 1627 during the early Edo period. The Kairakuen Garden, with its beautiful pond garden, features magnificent weeping cherry trees in spring, which create a beautiful and magical atmosphere in the garden.
National Hitachi Seaside Park
Located on the Pacific coast of Hitachinaka City, Ibaraki Prefecture, the National Hitachi Seaside Park offers colorful flowers throughout the four seasons: nemophila, narcissus, and tulips in spring; poppies and roses in early summer; zinnias and sunflowers in summer; kochia and cosmos in autumn; and ice tulips in winter. The city of Hitachinaka and the magnificent sea can be seen from here in a profusion of colorful flowers.
Fukuroda Falls
Fukuroda Falls, one of the three most famous waterfalls in Japan, is the pride of Ibaraki Prefecture as well as Oshiko Town. Saigyo Houshi, a poet in the Heian period (794-1185), praised the charm of Fukuroda Falls in his poem, “Hana mo Michi Sutra ni yoroshite Yamahime no Nishikiori wo Mashidasu Fukuroda no Taki. Fukuroda Falls, which spans the Taki River, a tributary of the Kuji River, is one of the three most famous waterfalls in Japan, measuring 120 meters high and 73 meters wide. Fukuroda Falls changes its appearance in each of the four seasons: in spring, when the waterfall is bordered by the green foliage of newly sprouting trees; in summer, when it is cooler; in autumn, when the waterfall is covered with the colorful autumn leaves; and in winter, when it freezes over due to the harsh cold weather.
Ryujin Suspension Bridge
Ryujin Gorge is located in Okkuji Prefectural Natural Park in Ibaraki Prefecture.
The Ryujin Suspension Bridge was built over the Ryujin Dam that dammed the Ryujin River, which flows through the beautiful V-shaped gorge that stretches across the Ryujin Gorge. The bridge is 375 meters long, making it one of the longest pedestrian-only bridges in Japan.
Hananuki Valley
Fresh greenery in spring and autumn leaves in fall. The area’s changing natural scenery can be enjoyed as the seasons change. From the 60-meter long Shiomitaki Suspension Bridge, you can see Shiomitaki Falls cascading down below and the clear stream of Hananuki River flowing through a small pool.