2025 Namegata Travel Guide: Must-see attractions, popular food, hotels, transportation routes (updated in August)

It was a beautiful sunset ♡ #Couple trip

#asiabudgetchallenge Sanmaizuka Tumulus is a fascinating ancient burial mound located in Ibaraki, offering a quiet but historically rich experience. This keyhole-shaped kofun dates back to the Kofun period and is surrounded by lush greenery, walking paths, and interpretive signs. It’s an excellent stop for history lovers and those interested in Japan’s early imperial culture. The peaceful setting also makes it a great place for a reflective walk or photography. Rough Budget: Entrance is free. Total cost for transportation and light snacks is around ¥1,000–¥1,500. #1 Travel Tip: Travel Hack: Visit in spring or autumn for beautiful foliage and fewer bugs. Use offline maps—signal can be spotty in some areas.

#summervacay ### **Why Visit?** This **sprawling lakeside park** in Ibaraki Prefecture offers: ✔ **Japan’s largest tulip fields** (1.5 million blooms in April-May) ✔ **Stunning views of Mount Tsukuba** reflected in Lake Kasumigaura ✔ **Lesser-known alternative** to crowded sakura spots ✔ **Free admission** with seasonal floral displays year-round --- ### **Must-Do Solo Experiences** ### **1. Floral Wonderland** - **Tulip Festival** (Mid-April to Early May): Rainbow stripes of 300+ varieties - **Cosmos Fields** (October): Pink-and-white ocean under autumn skies - **Hidden Rose Garden** (May-June): 500+ fragrant varieties ### **2. Lakeside Relaxation** - **Rent a bike** (¥500/hr) to cruise the 10km shoreline path - **Sunset picnic** at the wooden deck pier - **Birdwatching** for migratory swans (November-February) ### **3. Local Delights** - **Kasumigaura Pear Ice Cream**: Made with local fruits - **Freshwater fish dishes**: Try the signature "hijiki tempura" --- ### **Solo Traveler Hacks** 🚆 **Getting There**: - From Tokyo: **Hitachi Express to Tsuchiura Station** (1hr) → **Bus to Kasumigaura Park** (20 min) 🚗 **Better Option**: Rent a car (1.5hr drive from Tokyo) for flexibility ⏰ **Best Time**: - **Weekday mornings** (opens 9AM) for uninterrupted photos - **Golden hour** for magical light on the lake 📸 **Photo Spots**: - **The Dutch Windmill** amid tulip fields - **"Floating Pathway"** through cosmos flowers --- ### **Why Perfect for Solo Travelers?** ✅ **Safe & well-maintained** paths ✅ **Easy to meet** friendly local photographers ✅ **Tranquil atmosphere** perfect for sketching/writing **"Kasumigaura is where flowers dance with lake breezes - a living watercolor painting that changes hues with each season."** --- ### **#KasumigauraPark #HiddenIbaraki #SoloJapan #FlowerLover #LakeViews #TulipFestival #DayTripTokyo** **Which season would you visit for - spring tulips or autumn cosmos?** 🌷🌼 Comment below!

#springitinerary The cafe sells several types of smoothies for various purposes, such as recovery from fatigue or beauty, and it's fun to choose one. On sunny days, you can also eat and drink on the terrace. In addition to a variety of sweet potato sweets, the shop also sells products using lbaraki Prefecture's specialty products, as well as vegetables and seedlings. You can also play with the ground playground equipment, which is great for letting small children play. The toilets are very clean.

[Ibaraki Prefecture Ishioka City - Lake Kasumigaura - Namegata City - Omitama City Locally produced and locally consumed gourmet food - Ibaraki Airport Drive] This guide is based on the records of my visit to distant friends who are farmers in Ibaraki Prefecture when I was a student. Since I traveled all over the region by car and stayed at friends' houses, I recommend that those who go to Ibaraki Prefecture first make local Japanese friends, or if you want to visit quietly and stay leisurely, consider renting a car and reserving a local inn or private lodging that suits you, or a campsite. Ibaraki Prefecture is a really large agricultural prefecture, and it is home to the academic city of Tsukuba, has access to Tokyo, and in a sense is an international hub of the Kanto region. ⭐️Start from JR Ishioka Station The area heading northeast from Ishioka City to Omitama City is full of ancient tombs and castle ruins, which at first glance look like nothing more than a rise in the grassland or a plain shrine gate and altar, but this area is full of Japanese history from the Kofun period (250AD-538AD), the Sengoku period to the Muromachi period, which is also the inspiration for Japanese Ghibli works, and there are many golf courses, sports parks, and campsites. After we cleared the chestnut burrs and spread fertilizer together, he took us on a fairly wide drive along the shores of the vast Lake Kasumigaura. Funatsukayama Kofun 📍Location: 597 Kitanemoto, Ishioka, Ibaraki 315-0044 ♨️Local Community Return Facility Mirai Exchange Center Local Super Sento 📍Location: 2006 Takasaki, Omitama, Ibaraki 311-3433 🐏Kasumigaura Fureai Land Amusement Park 📍Location: Ko-1234 Tamatsukuri, Namegata, Ibaraki 311-3512 🥦🍅Municipal Local products corner Koikoi. Namegata City Tourist Products Center Koikoi 🏖️Atmosphere/Facilities: A roadside station selling locally produced fruits and vegetables, meat suitable for BBQ, processed meat suitable for German cuisine, eggs with the highest domestic production, Ibaraki Prefecture's specialty dried sweet potato, natto, sake, and more. They cooked dinner for us using ingredients that they had bought here back then. 📍Location: Ko-1963-5 Tamatsukuri, Namegata, Ibaraki 311-3512 🧅🥬Roadside rest area Sorara. 🏖️Atmosphere/Facilities: In addition to supermarkets, regional cities in Japan also have "roadside stations" where local farmers set up stalls, and you can get good ingredients. Vegetables from Namegata City and Omitama City are widely shipped, mainly to the Tokyo metropolitan area. 🕰️Opening hours: 9AM–6PM Close Tue 📍Address: 1628-44 Yamano, Omitama, Ibaraki 311-3413 ☘️Takasuzaki Park 📍Address: Ko-1969-3 Tamatsukuri, Namegata, Ibaraki 311-3512 Memorial tower for drowning victims: There are memorials and towers here and there that preserve the history of the area 📍Address: Tabuse, Kasumigaura, Ibaraki 300-0202 🏕️CAMPiece Kasumigaura Haiko Camping Ground 📍Address: 2039-1 Saka, Kasumigaura, Ibaraki 300-0214 🟦JASDF Hyakuri Air Base 📍Address: 170 Hyakuri, Omitama, Ibaraki 311-3415 ✈️Ibaraki Airport: A joint airport of a private airline and a defense base, the scenery of the observation space is unique. Skymark Airlines' diverse ideas for domestic flights in Japan, international flights to Taipei, Shanghai, and various parts of Asia, and regular flights from Ibaraki to Cheongju from May 15th. 📍Location: 1601-55, Yozawa Omitama, Ibaraki Japan 311-3416 ✈️Ibaraki Airport Park Fighter aircraft display 📍Location: 1601-55 Yozawa, Omitama, Ibaraki 311-3416 🚌Kanto Railway Bus: It takes about 100 minutes to get from Ibaraki Airport to Tokyo Station. Reservations required from the official website, a valuable means of transportation for prefectural residents commuting to the city center #Domestic travel #0 yen trip #Asia trip #Hot springs #Accommodation report #Ibaraki sightseeing

#tripDomesticTravel I went to Sairenji Temple in Ibaraki Prefecture✨There are two large ginkgo trees here that are over 1000 years old☺️The way the entire temple grounds shine in gold is a spectacular sight! The carpet of ginkgo trees was very beautiful🫶There was also a flower water basin, and it was cute with its pink color🥰 Spot information━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━📍Sairenji Temple 🗺Address: 504 Sairenji, Namegata City, Ibaraki Prefecture 311-3514🚗Access: About 30 minutes from the Hokota Interchange on the Higashi-Kanto Expressway/About 30 minutes from the Itako Interchange on the Kanto Expressway⏰Opening hours: 9:00-16:00💵Budget: Free #Sairenji Temple #Ibaraki Tourism #Ginkgo

This keyhole-shaped tumulus was built on alluvial land along the shores of Lake Kasumigaura, and is 85m long, 47m in diameter at the rear mound, 36.5m wide at the front, and 8m high at the rear and 6m high at the front. It is surrounded by a moat that is thought to be about 2m deep. The mound is surrounded by three layers of cylindrical haniwa clay figures. A box-shaped stone coffin was placed in the center of the rear mound, 2.7m below the top of the mound, and the remains were buried in an extended burial. The grave goods included a gilt bronze horse-shaped ornamented crown, gilt bronze pendant earrings, a flat green deformed mirror depicting the four gods and four animals, and other remains such as a short armor, iron arrowheads, and cylindrical and figural (human and animal) rings. This tumulus is thought to have been built in the second half of the 5th century, and is a representative site of Namegata City and an important site when considering the tumulus culture of the time. This ancient tomb was leveled in early spring 1955 during construction of the Lake Kasumigaura embankment, but after three excavations, it was restored and maintained in 2005. It is on the shores of Lake Kasumigaura, and I think it was probably the sea rather than a lake at the time, but when I look at the idyllic rural scenery today, I feel like it must have looked like this back then too! #SammaitsukaTomb #IbarakiPrefecture #NamegataCityIbarakiPrefecture #NamegataCity #KeyholeTomb #LakeKasumigauraSide #AncientTomb