At Suigo Itako Iris Festival （水郷潮来あやめまつり), you can see one million irises of 500 different kinds.
水郷"Suigo" means ”a riverside district." So the festival shows you a traditional wedding ceremony on the water, too. A beautiful bride in white kimono goes by on a boat through the quaint bridges.
In IBARAKI, the most touristy place is "Michi-no-Eki."
But the number of Michi-no-Eki in Ibaraki is 39th of all Prefectures...
There are only 13 Michi-no-Eki in Ibaraki.
However, 50 kinds of vegetables produced in IBARAKI are ranked as JAPAN'S TOP 10 in the quantity of product.
So you can enjoy all kinds of vegetables and fruits here.
Again, we have nothing special but we have all!
I highly recommend you to visit "Kawa-Plaza," in Hitachi-Omiya City.
→ "かわプラザ" in Hitachi-Omiya City
When you go there, do not miss seeing the other side of it.
The beauty of the river and the mountains will catch your breath.
瑞穂牛”MIzuho-Gyu" is the bland name for the beef produced in Hitachi-Omiya City.
You can taste the delicious beef steaks at a reasonable price here. You can also enjoy "メンチ” or breaded hamburger with small coins.
えごま"egoma" is a special kind of sesame. It is attracting the most attention as healthy food in Japan now. You can taste "えごま” ice cream here.
あゆ"Ayu" is a small fish caught in Kuji River. Many foreign people do not like Fishy Smell but "Ayu" doesn't smell fishy at all. It smells "Watermelon!" Why don't you try it?
At "Michino-Eki" in IBARAKI, you can find local food which Japanese Grand-ma usually makes at home.
The best egg for "Tamago-Kake-Gohan" (卵かけご飯）is this!
The bland name of the eggs is "Himawarikko." （ひまわりっこ）
You can buy this egg in Naka City, IBARAKI.
It's just Beautiful! I recommend you to try one!!
”卵かけご飯” is the most simple way to enjoy rice.
I guess that people in other countries hardly eat raw eggs. But in Japan, people love this!
If you ask 10 Japanese people whether they like "卵かけご飯," rice with a raw egg or not, I am sure that 9 of them will answer "Yes!."
Here is how you can make "Tamago-Kake-Gohan."
First, make a hole for your egg.
Second, put an raw egg on your rice.
And put soy source on it.
Then, mix all. And Enjoy your "卵かけご飯"!
Hitachi City is located in the north part of IBARAKI.
"Hitachi".........You must have heard of this name at least once.
Yes, it is the name which you can see on your electric appliances. Hitachi City has been developed with the electric company, "Hitachi."
This Fancy, Modern, Transparent Building is Hitachi Station designed by Kazue Sejima, a renowned architect.
Also, the building floating over the sea is a restaurant in the station building.
So you can see a panoramic 360-degree view of the city and 180-degree view of a horizontal line of the see while you are eating delicious food there. It's simply overwhelming!
Moreover, you can enjoy driving OVER THE PACIFIC OCEAN!
The road in front of the station is also floating over the sea!
鯨ヶ丘（Kujira-ga-oka)
Here in Kujiragaoka, Hitachiota City, you can find the old Japan as they were. Kujiragaoka is a street with a lot of old shops with a long history.
Especially in the season of Doll Festival(March), if you walk along this Kujiragaoka Street, you must be kindly invited to see those valuable historical Hina dolls displayed in each shop.
A Noodle Restaurant "慈久庵 鯨荘 塩町館”
The Kujiragaoka Street
梅津会館 "Umezu Kaikan" (Kenpoku Art Festival)
In IBARAKI, we have a lot of nice beaches where you can swim!
Actually, beaches are not always close, even you can see it just there..... In summer, beaches are usually very crowded with people and cars. So it is very hard for you even to find a parking lot......and also they charge you a lot for parking your cars while beaches are open .....In that sense, beaches are not so close.....nor convenient.
The east side of IBARAKI is 195 km long coast showing a gentle curve of the shoreline. For this advantage, we have a lot of beautiful and convenient beaches in IBARAKI.
You can just Park & Go!
In fact, a lot of surfers come to the beaches in Ibaraki in all seasons. They just park and surf!
Ibaraki is one of the TOP 3 Agricultural Prefectures in Japan. So you can taste the best of the ingredients using the local vegetables.
This is a restaurant in Namegata Farmers Village(なめがたファーマーズビッレッジ）.
more information about Daigo Town(大子町）→大子町公式ホームページ
Fireworks are a summer tradition in Japan. During summer, you can see gorgeous fireworks displays in more than 30 places in IBARAKI.------- 「観光いばらき」
「土浦全国花火競技大会」(Tsuchiura All Japan Fireworks Competition) is one of JAPAN'S BEST 3 fireworks displays. 20000 fireworks are set off at this night! This can not be compared with any other fireworks display. Also what makes it different is their creativity. You can see the "brand-new" fireworks made for the next summer. So that is why it is held in October.
For more information →「土浦全国花火競技大会」
Tokai Fireworks Display (東海まつり）
"The Least Attaractive Prefecture in Japan" !!
"Tokyo", "Kyoto", and "Osaka". These are probably the TOP 3 well known places to visit in Japan.
In fact, these are very attractive places and have lots of things to do for you as tourists. But if you really would like to experience "Bare JAPAN,"
Come See & Taste to IBARAKI !
We have got the Honor of "The Least Attractive Prefecture in JAPAN!" for years,
and this proves that IBARAKI has no decorations for tourists, but we are here as we are ...