Ibaraki Prefecture - 茨城県
Ibaraki Prefecture boarders the Pacific Ocean and is situated north-east of Tokyo. Travel between Ibaraki and the country’s capital is made easy with the Tsukuba Express railway that runs through the prefecture.
Ibaraki is known for its plum trees, whose blossoming are celebrated in Mito, the capital city, during the Mito Plum Blossom Festival from late February to late March. Plums are also a speciality of the prefecture.
The prefectural capital is also home to Kairakuen Garden, ranked as one of Japan’s greatest landscape gardens. It is recommended to visit the garden also during the blossom season.
The city of Tsukuba, known as the “Science City”, is home to a space centre and an EXPO centre that houses one of the world’s largest planetariums as well as the Ushiku Daibutsu, the world’s tallest buddhist statue over 120 metres tall. There is also a viewing platform on site, with views as far as Tokyo from its apex.
For more information about Ibaraki prefecture, see their official tourism website.
How to get there
Air - Ibaraki airport is located in the centre of the prefecture and just 40 minutes by bus from Mito city. The airport operates regular flights to/from Fukuoka, Sapporo, Kobe and Okinawa(via Kobe). Click here for its English website.
Ushiku Daibutsu - This giant Buddha statue is 120 metres tall and officially recognized as the tallest standing bronze statue in the world by the Guinness Book of Records. Visitors can enter inside the statue and take an elevator up to the observation platform 85 metres above the ground.
Ryujin Bridge is the largest inland suspension bridge on Honshu, Japan’s main island. The bridge is 375 metres long and hangs over the beautiful Ryujin Gorge in the Okukuji Prefectural Natural Park. The bridge is also host to various festivals throughout the year, most notably the Carp Festival, held in May.
Fukuroda Falls has been officially ranked as the third most beautiful waterfall in Japan and is one of the top tourist attractions with visitors to the prefecture.
Aqua World is a hugely popular tourist attraction and boasts the largest number of sharks in Japan. There are nearly 600 hundred different marine species to see and visitors can enjoy live shows featuring dolphins and sea lions throughout the day.
Weather in Ibaraki
Average daily temperature (oC)