Exploring Ibaraki’s Top 5 Must-Visit Floral Destinations

① A Beach Park Blooming All Year Round

Ibaraki, Japan, is a small city near Tokyo that is a popular tourist destination. Many tourists visit the Hitachi Seaside Park, which is full of flowers all year round. To get to Ibaraki from Tokyo, you can take the JR Joban Line train from Ueno Station.

Hitachi Seaside Park is a famous attraction in Ibaraki, where endless fields of flowers grow. The park covers an area of about 494.2 acres and has a large flower garden. Each season offers dazzling views of different flowers. The park has seven sections, with walking paths between the flower beds. Shuttle buses are also in operation for convenient travel.

In spring, you can see daffodils, tulips, and nemophila. The most popular among them are about 4.5 million nemophila spread out on Miharashi no Oka. This place has been selected as one of the “31 most beautiful places in Japan” by CNN. The vast field is filled with sky blue, creating a magnificent view.

At Hitachi Seaside Park, you can enjoy various attractions and events and admire the flowers. There are 28 types of attractions, including a Ferris wheel that allows you to look down at the flower garden from an altitude of 328 feet. You can also enjoy various activities, including a barbecue square, picnics, and cycling.

② Representative Flower Attractions of Ibaraki Prefecture

There are many places in Ibaraki Prefecture where you can admire flowers. It’s also a popular outing spot for locals. There are places as famous as Hitachi Seaside Park.

Kairakuen is considered one of Japan’s three great gardens. It’s a representative travel destination of Ibaraki Prefecture and becomes even more beautiful in spring. This park, established in 1842, has been loved for a long time.

Kairakuen is famous for its plum blossoms. Over 3,000 plum trees bloom with flowers, carrying a variety of colors. Apricot flowers are also representative. Every spring, the Mito Apricot Festival is held. In spring, cherry blossoms and azalea flowers also bloom.

You can also enjoy the scenery of a lake at Kairakuen. To visit Kairakuen, you can take a bus from Mito Station and travel for about 20 minutes.

The Suigo Itako Iris Festival is where you can see over 500 kinds of irises and various flowers. Along the Itako River, purple, white, and yellow flowers bloom. It’s a famous flower festival in Japan, attracting about 800,000 tourists annually.

In the park, about a million flowers bloom. Creating waves of flowers, it’s a travel destination where you can enjoy spring. At night, the park is lit up with many lights, creating an even more beautiful atmosphere. The light reflects on the canal’s surface, creating a picturesque landscape.

The Suigo Itako Iris Festival is held at the Suigo-Itako Iris Garden from late May to late June every year.

③ Places Famous for Spring Travel in Japan

Amabiki Kannon is a place where hydrangeas bloom beautifully. Every June, about 3,000 hydrangeas start to bloom. In July, the hydrangeas settle in the pond cre, creating a dazzling view. It’s a place where colorful hydrangeas gather, one of the representative hydrangea spots in Japan. A hydrangea festival is held every year from June 10th to July 20th.

Here, you can also enjoy the cherry blossoms in full bloom, not just hydrangeas. Every March and April, it’s full of cherry blossoms. Thanks to the lighting, you can enjoy the night view. Amabiki Kannon is a travel destination where you can enjoy from spring to summer.

The Ushiku Daibutsu in Ibaraki Prefecture is the tallest bronze Buddha statue in the world. With a total height of 394 feet, it boasts an astonishing size. You’ll be amazed at its enormity when you see it in person. Ushiku Daibutsu is a temple where the Buddha statue is a temple, and you can enter inside.
There are many places to see inside, making it an excellent place to tour.

The highlight of Ushiku Daibutsu is spring. In spring, numerous flowers bloom in the Jodo Garden under the Ushiku Daibutsu. The garden has ponds and wide flower beds. Various flowers, such as cherry blossoms, hydrangeas, and cosmos, bloom in spring.

Here, you can enjoy the feast of flowers surrounding the pond. From the 5th-floor observation deck of Ushiku Daibutsu, you can even see Mount Fuji in the distance. If you visit on a nice day, it’s a perfect place to enjoy a spring trip.