Last year me and several friends drove to Ibaraki. One of our friend comes from Ibaraki and he suggested some places with good view. Originally I wanted to see the fall foliage at 袋田の滝 (Fukuroda Waterfall). However, our friend said that Ibaraki is almost as big as Tokyo and Fukuroda is at Northern Ibaraki, which is quite far from the other places we planned. We did not go there, but I’ll introduce you some other places that might be interested for you.
Hahakojimayusuichi (母子島遊水池)
Hahaha, ok the name might be hard and long, but I guarantee it’s one of the best scenic place in Chikusei, Ibaraki.
It’s a big lake with clear water that you can see the reflection of trees on the other side of the lake. On clear weather, there’s a mountain behind it (not mount Fuji tho) and people usually go there to take the photo of the mountain and sunset.
It was a bit cloudy when I went there, so I could not get any photo with the mountain.
This place is two hours driving from central Tokyo via the highway. The highway will cost you around 3000 Yen.
Ibaraki Ooarai Temple (大洗神社)
Ooarai Jinja is located at Higashi Ibaraki, it’s one hour driving from Hahakojima. No highway needed. You can enjoy the suburb scenery during the drive.
What so special about this temple is that… it’s located just next to the beach. It has a torii 鳥居 (the pillar on temple) in the middle of the sea. Kinda similar to the one in Miyajima, Hiroshima.
OK, not really in the middle of the sea. I mean.. on the edge of the cliffs. You can go till very near the torii, but be careful, the wave and wind can be so strong.
(And my boyfriend is doing a photoshot lol)
The easiest access if you go by public transportation is the Ooarai Station.
Hitachi Station
Hitachi station is one of major train station in Ibaraki that has direct express train to Tokyo. This station is also 1 hour drive from Ooarai Temple and is also located next to the beach.
This train station is decorated in colorful glasses and on second level, there’s a cafe that is facing directly to the sea. Unfortunately when I came there, it was already 7PM ish and can’t really take any pictures.
(Sad, take me home instead)
Summary:
There’s a lot of pretty place in Ibaraki that’s worth to visit. If you come only to Tokyo and have some spare time, I’d suggest Ibaraki to you. I haven’t see a lot of places in Ibaraki and definitely want to go there again.
Cons:
- Kinda far, your transportation budget might get bigger a little bit.
- Some places are little bit inconvenient to go with public transport
Pros:
- Less tourist, not crowded, yay!!!
- Clean air, beautiful scenery. It’s a good place if you’re bored of the big city.
There goes another short post for you. As usual, you comments are always loved! See you on the next post!