Kitaibaraki: Art, Coast, and Tradition in the Travel Area

A trip to Kitaibaraki can bring together a variety of themes: art, historic waterworks, tradition, and landscape. The destinations are located at different geographic levels: in the wider travel area, in the associated municipality, or in the broader regional surroundings. When choosing your vacation rental, it is therefore worth first deciding which experiences you would like to include, then choosing the specific location of your accommodation accordingly.

Art and History in the Wider Travel Area

In the wider travel area, the 茨城県天心記念五浦美術館 (Ibaraki Tenshin Memorial Museum of Art) presents Okakura Tenshin’s life in the 岡倉天心記念室 (Okakura Tenshin Memorial Room) through letters and personal belongings. This lets you encounter his life story through written and personal accounts. Individual displays may change. In the associated municipality, the museum also regularly presents special exhibitions devoted mainly to modern and contemporary Japanese painting. The memorial room and exhibition program thus offer different ways to explore the subject: one through Okakura Tenshin’s life, the other through painting.

From 大津港駅 Station on the JR Jōban Line, the museum is about five minutes away by taxi. Check the official access information before you travel. Rokkakudo and Okakura Tenshin’s former residence are also located in the wider travel area, at 727-2 Otsu-Goura in Kitaibaraki City. The designation “former residence” reflects its historical connection; check current access information before visiting.

Tradition and Waterworks

The 常陸大津の御船祭 (Hitachi-Otsu Ofune Festival) is the spring grand festival of 佐波波地祇神社 Shrine in Otsu, Kitaibaraki City. A mikoshi is carried through the town on a wooden boat. Prayers are offered for a bountiful catch and safe voyages. The festival is normally held every five years on May 2 and 3. If you plan to attend, check the dates in advance; the usual schedule makes choosing the dates an important part of planning.

The 十石堀 (Jukkoku-bori Canal) also connects history with continued use. A roughly two-kilometer section has remained in its original condition and in use for 350 years since its construction, from the water source onward. The 掘割 (canal) built there follows the natural contours of the land and is likewise still used in its original form. Because of its historical value, it is designated a historic site by the city of Kitaibaraki. Here, the relationship to the terrain goes hand in hand with the continued use of historic waterworks.

Coast and Landscape in the Broader Region

The Goura Coast is in Otsu-Goura, Kitaibaraki City. Rokkakudo and Okakura Tenshin’s former residence are also in Otsu-Goura. Farther afield, Nanatsutaki Waterfall plunges down seven tiers along the approach to the inner sanctuary of Hanazono Shrine. Hanazono Gorge is in Hanakawa, Kitaibaraki City, and is part of Hanazono-Hanuki Prefectural Natural Park. The landscape theme thus extends from the coast to a tiered waterfall and a gorge within a natural park.

A Different Museum Experience

In the associated municipality, visitors to the 北茨城市漁業歴史資料館『よう・そろー』 (Kitaibaraki City Fisheries History Museum “Yo-Soro”) can interact with projected underwater images that respond to their movements and answer quiz questions about marine life. This offers a different focus from the Okakura Tenshin Memorial Room: here, the emphasis is on movement-responsive images and questions about life in the sea. Together with art, festival traditions, and historic waterworks, it expands the range of possible trip themes, even though the destinations are not all in the same place.

When searching for a vacation rental, you can base your decision on these different interests: art and biography, the festival dates, or the coast and landscape. First decide which destinations you want to shape your stay. Then compare the location of a specific accommodation with your travel plans, and check the access or event information mentioned here wherever it is relevant to your planning.

Discover more destinations: Joko, Oarai, Chikusei, Toride, Itako, Kashima, Tsuchiura, Tsukuba.

See the wider travel overview: Ibaraki Prefecture.