Iwaki & Northern Ibaraki

Hi All,

I am trying to put the finishing touches to a 2 week trip in April (if borders are open) and am currently looking a potentially spending 2 nights/3 days around Iwaki and Northern Ibaraki. I might hire a car due to how spaced out things are - but getting more info is something I'm hoping for.'

My basic plan is

The stuff I'm basically interested in visiting includes: Iwaki Flower Park, Abukuma Caves, Iwaki City Living Village, Iwaki Coal + Fossil Museum, Iwaki Archeological Museum, Shiramizu Temple.

Iwaki Resort Hawaiians is of interest to be - but I'd only want to visit the onsen section. If you only want to go to this section - then is it the full entry fee? I can't find specific information on this.

For me - the onsen at the Daiichi Takimotokan is like heaven. A huge water park is like absolute hell

Any info on stuff to see (or miss) would be much appreciated. My knowledge of this area is much weaker than most areas of Japan - thus the asking for info.

If you like beautiful calligraphy then maybe Kanazawa Shoko Art Museum is for you.
Nakakamado Weeping Maple Tree is incredibly beautiful if you come at the right time of the year....
A nice temple in this area is Kozoji.
A nice shrine on the sea is Haryuji.
A little in the south are the Fukuroda Falls.

as accommodation in this area maybe Irinomotoyu Shinsentei?

ps: as far as i understood you come from Tochigi before, right?
so maybe you can squeeze on your route there also Daioji, Unganji, Yamamoto Fudoson or Suirakuen and Shirakawa Komine Castle (but i guess you have seen those already?)

Curious...going to Japan? You previously wrote you wouldn't be, if I recall.

It looks like you have a fair amount already, and a lot of time will be used up in driving. But a few suggestions to consider (you may have seen them previously, I didn't check) are Fukuroda Falls, the Rakuhōji Amabiki Kannon (Sakuragawa), Kasama Inari Shrine, Oarai Isosaki Jinja (especially high tide), Itajikisan Daikakuji, and the Seizansō (Mito Komon) Villa. There are some very nice gorges to see as well, but I'm concerned if you are visiting in April (especially early April) that there would not be enough green leaves to see - they are at their best from late spring through the autumn leaf season.

Thanks for the reply everyone.

Glimpigumpi: I've already visited Fukuroda Falls, at around the same time as Japan was trying to get the 2020 olympics. I'll miss the calligraphy museum but will have a look at the temple and shrine. I'll also look at the other locations in Tochigi. My main problem there is I'll have no car and will be using public transport.

Ken - I know I said I would not go back to Japan. However, covid has changed where I am willing to visit. JAL and Qantas have flights available for April (almost booked out!) at pre-covid flight numbers. I'm using this trip as an excuse to complete a job which will earn me a lot of money but is not what I want to exactly do. So visiting Japan is allowing me to save money :-)

Like always - I'll have a good look at your suggestions. Thankfully I'll be in these two areas in the second half of April.

I still think you should check out Licca Castle just because you have shown an interest in how things are made. I can tell you the machine they use for rooting doll heads is terrifying. I met a man in Chiba-ken who owned one in his home (he was a consultant to various doll companies and he held my lands while rooting it head.)

There seemed to be a bunch of cherry blossom spots along the rail line, depending on when you are there. Miharu Takizakura has a 1000 year old sakura tree.

If you want to travel by public Transport
You can buy JR Tokiwaji pass=2180 yen
Kanto and moka railway 1 Day=2300 yen
Kanto bus 1 Day=710 yen
Ibaraki kotsu 1 day=1500 yen

Iwaki city Located in Fukushima prefecture
Bus: shin joban kotsu,JR bus Tohoku
Tobu bus central, JR bus kanto, aizu bus
Joban expressway and banetsu expressway

If "Kanto and moka railway 1 Day=2300 yen" means one for Joso-line and Moka railway, which Kanto Tetsudo sells, I think this is good for exploring southern Ibaraki but not northern Ibaraki.

Kanto Tetsudou= kantetsu= 51 km joso Line
Toride to shimodate
Moka Tetsudou=42 km

As Moka is name of a city in Tochigi prefecture, that line go through almost south east of Tochigi not Ibaraki, it just linked with Shimodate city in Ibaraki. That one day ticket is not for Iwaki and north Ibaraki trip.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Like normal - finding stuff that is suggested close by often changes my plans. Here is a general plan.

Day 1: Pick up car from Iwaki Station. Then visit

Shiramizu Amidado, Coal & Fossil Museum, Aquamarine, Seizanso (Ken's suggestion) and stay the night in Daigo.

Day 2: Drive from Daigo to Shirakawa (Fukushima). Then visit:

Unganji, Daioji, Fukushima Prefecture Archeology Museum, Flower World, Suirakuen, Komine Castle, Komine Castle Museum

Day 3: Not fully decided, but will probably pick up a couple of locations on way to Iwaki before catching train to Tokyo for the night.

Glimpigumpi - I've taken a couple of your suggestions.

Ken - I know the suggestions you gave me were excellent for the area I was originally visiting, but Shirakawa grabbed my attention. There are however a couple of sites close to Seizanso I've got on my "running early time wise list" if I go through the previous sites earlier than expected.

rKold - I had a look at Licca Castle. It's directly opposite some caves I'll probably visit on Day 3, but the topic is really off what I like. It's up there with pottery for me - which is something I don't like.

In relation to how things used to be made - is it a more traditional method using old stuff? The reason I ask is that I do like industrial heritage.

@rkold
Thanks to @mfedley saying that he isn�ft interested in Licca castle (which I found very strange, because he seems to be interested in a lot of traditional Japanese sights - temples, Shrines, samurai houses�c) I finally looked up Licca castle on the Internet.
And was really surprised 😮

Never realized what you were talking about when being so enthusiastic about this castle. And always wondered why your kid wouldn�ft enjoy Matsumoto castle when she was such a fan of Licca castle . But finally I understand 🤓
Thanks!

BTW @mfedley
I think it could be very funny for all us readers of your travel posts to read YOUR description of Licca castle. 😊

Likebike - this is what happened the last time I took a chance on watching something outside of my comfort zone .....

https://www.japan-guide.com/community/mfedley/report-2517

@mfedley
The above link more looks like PARTICIPATING would be outside of the comfort zone of most of us 🥶

Nope it's not traditional at all. But I just find how things are manufactured both traditionally and with modern machinery fascinating. When I was close to my daughter's age I went on a tour of a factory where cars were produced. It was a brand new super modern at the time General Motors factory, and despite the fact I don't like cars at all, and only care for them as much as using them to get from place A to place B. I loved the tour. Since then, I've also gone on an herbal tea factory tour, a chocolate factory tour, and a jelly bean factory tour. At some point I would like to do another chocolate factory here in WA.

I do love traditional crafts in Japan and to be honest, I would love to do some pottery in Japan. lol

This is getting a bit off topic but @LikeBike, it's not that my daughter didn't like Matsumoto Castle, she just didn't *LOVE* Matsumoto Castle, it was OK. I suspect she might end up enjoying Hikone or Himeji more, or possibly the ruins at Ueda. She liked the Matsumoto Art Museum more than the Castle. She didn't like the city of Matsumoto vs. I did. I loved the cute old fashioned shopping arcades of the Nakamachi area and looking for fresh water springs to try. She was a lot less keen on this. I also partially blame myself. We were there two half days vs. a full day with an overnight and she was not happy with the places we chose to eat there. We're both vegetarian and one place was not strictly vegetarian and she just didn't like it and the other place was vegan and had a long wait and then "weird" food she didn't like. *shrugs*

The last time someone was recommending a trip to Matsumoto for a family with kids I warned them off because it is 3 hours each way from Tokyo and not near any other locations they wanted to go to, except sort of Kanazawa, but not really. As an adult, I am happy to sit on a train 3 hours each way to sightsee and then return to Tokyo or to spend 1 night and then go back to Tokyo. I did a day trip to Fukuoka from Kyoto and then did day a day trip to Takamatsu, the next day. But I find my kid and I suspect other kids don't deal as well with trips like that. If you were planning a trip with kids and going from say Tokyo to Nagano to Matsumoto to Takayama to Kanazawa and then back to Tokyo, that's very different. Or if someone was already in Nagano and looking for a day trip with kids, Matsumoto makes more sense. I would like to go back to check out the Nakamachi area and drink from more springs. She is OK not going back. It's not as high on our list of places she wants to go back vs. say Ritsuin, Miyajima, Shiga Kogen, and Nara. In general, unless she is the one actually doing something, she prefers something where she is moving. I keep hoping as she gets taller we will be able to find a bike rental for a few hours more easily in Japan.

We also tend to travel during the Summer because that is when school has its longest break and it can just be very hot and humid and sometimes that sort of ruins someplace we visit.

Kashima rinkai railway or rintetsu 1 day=1500y
Mito to kashima jingu station=56 km

I wonder why information on railway tickets not for Iwaki & Northern Ibaragi is continuously posted, although those tickets can be useful if OP is exploring whole Ibaraki not driving a hired car. I remember there was also a post which is recommending theme parks in totally different areas in another thread. How about making own thread if there is information which is worth to share?

I wonder why information on railway tickets for the other area are continuously posted, although there could be useful if OP explores whole Ibaragi, not driving. I remember there was a post suggesting thema parks in totally different regions in other thread. How about making a new thread if someone has information which is worth to shared?

If going farther north is now in your plans, that's fine. For me, if going to Fukushima, then Urabandai and Ouchijuku would be at the top of my list of suggestions. Or if going to Shirakawa, then up the tracks a bit is Sukagawa, and if you'll be there in late April or Golden Week, the Sukagawa Peony Garden should be in bloom. The Okanbara Azalea Garden might be really good too. And while it may be pushing it too much on how far you want to go, in Kitakata there is the Homare Shuzo sake brewery with a stunning traditional garden. Getting tipsy and walking through it might be a highlight of your trip.