Hitachi Seaside Park

For a few weeks each spring, a low hill on the Pacific coast of Ibaraki turns entirely sky-blue. Miharashi Hill in Hitachi Seaside Park is planted with several million nemophila, the small "baby blue eyes" flower, and when they peak, usually from late April into mid-May, the blue runs from the foot of the slope over the crown so evenly that hill and sky seem to merge. In autumn the same hill changes character completely: it is covered in rounded bushes of kochia, which turn from green to a vivid red, usually best in early to mid October.

The ground was not always a garden. Before the park, the land was the Mito East airfield, later used by the US Air Force as a bombing range. Planning to turn it into a public park began in 1979, construction in 1984, and the first 70 hectares opened in October 1991. Today the park covers around 350 hectares, and the hill is only one of its seasonal pictures: around a million daffodils open from mid-March, more than 170 varieties of tulips follow in late April, and cosmos colour the fields later in the year.

Beyond the flowers there is a good deal of open space, with cycling trails, a small amusement area with a Ferris wheel, and plenty of room simply to walk. A large rock festival once filled the park every August, but for most visitors the reason to come is simply to stand on the hill at the right moment, when the planting is at its fullest.

Getting there

The park is in Hitachinaka, about 5 km from the city centre, and around 29 km from Ibaraki Airport (IBR). From Tokyo, take the JR Joban Line via Mito to Katsuta Station; buses run from Katsuta to the park in about 15 minutes. Ajigaura Station on the Hitachinaka Seaside Railway is the nearest rail stop.