Mito / Oarai / Hitachinaka

Top Things to do

• Hitachi Seaside Park

  Ibaraki Pref. Hitachinakashi Mawatari Onuma 605-4

  A national park located in Hitachinaka City in Ibaraki Prefecture. The spacious grounds, totaling some 200 hectares, are filled with huge flower gardens. The nemophila in summer and bassia in autumn are particularly attractive seasonal plants. When in bloom, the park’s 4.5 million blue nemophila seem to bleed into the sky, creating a stunning sight. The fluffy bassia in autumn turning the area scarlet. The park also has a cycling course and barbecue area, making a perfect place for the whole family to enjoy an entire day together.

• Mentai Park Oarai

  4.0

  90 Reviews

  Ibaraki Pref. Higashibarakigunoaraimachi Isohamachou 8255-3

  Located in Oarai Town, Higashiibaraki County, Ibaraki Prefecture, this is a theme park focusing on mentaiko (seasoned cod roe) and run by Kanefuku Co.—a well-established mentaiko shop. The interior includes a mentaiko plant that you can observe through glass, and a wholesaler where you can buy mentaiko directly. A great place for kids and adults to spend the day with mentaiko. The food corner has popular eats like “mentaiko onigiri” and “mentaiko ice cream.”

• Aqua World-Ibaraki Prefectural Oarai Aquarium

  Ibaraki Pref. Higashibarakigunoaraimachi Isohamachou 8252-3

  This aquarium is located along the coast of Oarai Town, Higashiibaraki County, Ibaraki Prefecture, and is among the largest in the country. Sea mammals and oceanic/freshwater fish from around the world and Oarai Sea are kept here. Exhibits are divided into nine zones, like “The Encounter Sea” and “Seas of the World.” You can watch a variety of living creatures, like popular penguins and sunfish, or see the impressive shark tank. The dolphin and sea lion shows are particularly lively and popular.

• Kobuntei

  4.5

  149 Reviews

  Ibaraki Mito-shi Tokiwacho 1-3-3

  A structure in Kairakuen, located on the grounds of Tokiwa-jinja Shrine in front of Kairakuen Station in Tokiwa-cho 1-Chome, Mito City. Said to have been designed by Tokugawa Nariaki, the 9th feudal lord of the Mito domain, it consists of a two-layered three-story wooden main building and a wooden single-story annex. The current building was restored after being destroyed by air raids during World War II. Open to the public, you can enter for a fee and enjoy the view from the third floor Rakujuro as well as the fusuma-e paintings on the sliding doors. A formal tea gathering is held once a month.

• Hitachinokuni Izumo Taisha Shrine

  4.0

  55 Reviews

  Ibaraki Pref. Kasamashi Fukuhara 2006

  About a seven-minute walk from Fukuhara Station on the JR Mito Line, Hitachinokuni Izumo Taisha is a shrine for worshipping mainly the Okuninushi, dedicated in 1992. There is the main hall where the presiding god sits in repose, as well as the Yakushin Shrine for medical needs and Ryujya Shrine for protection from water. The grounds include multiple cemeteries—even a pet cemetery—for religious and funeral ceremonies, as well as a restaurant serving Inaniwa udon, a glass studio— “Izumokan,” and an art gallery— “Sakurabayashi-kan.”

• Art Tower Mito

  4.0

  100 Reviews

  Ibaraki Pref. Mitoshi Gokenchou 1-6-8

  The Art Tower Mito is a joint art facility located about 10 minutes by car from Mito Station. It has an art museum with mainly modern art exhibits, a concert hall complete with pipe organ, and a stage for musicals and traditional arts like rakugo. Uniquely composed of equilateral triangular panels, the Symbol Tower features a lookout deck with a view of Mito City and vicinity. You can get a tour of the interior (includes the tower) even as an individual.

• Oarai Seaside Station

  3.0

  107 Reviews

  Ibaraki Pref. Higashibarakigunoaraimachi Minatochuou 11-2

  This outlet mall—located near the beach of Oarai Town, Higashiibaraki county, Ibaraki Prefecture—is a great spot for shopping or meals while feeling the beach wind on your skin. It has been undergoing renewal as “Oarai Seaside Station” since the operating company changed in July 2017. They are maintaining operations during the renewal, and it is scheduled for a grand re-opening in spring 2018.

• Ibaraki Prefectural Archives and Museum

  4.0

  55 Reviews

  Ibaraki Pref. Mitoshi Midorichou 2-1-15

  "A facility which serves as both an archive and museum located a two-minute walk from the ""Rekishikan Kairakuen Iriguchi"" bus stop on the bus leaving from Mito Station on the JR Joban Line. The facility presents the results of research into materials and artefacts connected to the history of Ibaraki. The facility's spacious grounds also enclose an Edo period farmhouse and Meiji period Western-style school house which were dismantled and moved here. The facility's standing exhibit focuses on the history of Ibaraki. Easy to understand videos, graphic panels, and other exhibits present the prehistoric, ancient, near-modern, and modern history periods of the prefecture. The facility also holds lectures and activities for elementary and junior high school aged children."

• Oarai Isosaki Jinja

  Ibaraki Pref. Higashibarakigunoaraimachi Isohamachou 6890

  The Oarai Isosaki Jinja is a shrine in Oarai Town, Higashiibaraki County, Ibaraki Prefecture, that venerates Ohonamuchi-no-mikoto and Sukunahikona-no-mikoto. The worship hall for the presiding god—a protector of domestic safety and safe naval passage—demonstrates the architectural style of early Edo period, and has been designated a prefectural cultural property. Also, the Kamiiso torii gate praised by Mitsukuni Tokugawa is first among big torii in the Kanto region, and is set on rocks in the sea, for a great view during sunrise and sunset. Shrine worship deals with the ocean, so the Oarai Sea Museum is located nearby.