Access
Ibaraki prefecture is near to Tokyo, and separated in five parts; Ken-hoku(Northern area), Ken-ou (Central area), Rokkoh (South-east area), Ken-nan(Southern area), Ken-sei(Western area). Each part has very famous traveler’s spots, but this time, I’d like to share about Ken-nan area (especcially, Tsukuba and Ushiku)
Tokyo – Tsukuba
- Highway bus 1.5h 1260yen
- Train 1h 1210 yen
Course (around 6 hours)
I’d like to share my model course.
Tsukuba Station
Start of the travel. This station has huge buildings with it, and you can enjoy shopping, having meals. the buildings include ordinary clothing shops(such as GAP), interior shops, and dining store.
Mt.Tsukuba
You can go by shuttle bus (40 min, once an hour). You can use Ropeway to go up, and enjoying beautiful viewing (Tokyo sky tree, Shinjuku buildings, Mt. Fuji and so on). Also there are Japanese Plum Garden. In February, you can enjoy its beautiful flowers and scent.
JAXA Space Centre
<Access from Tsukuba staion>
Using Kantetsu Bus for “Arakawaoki Station” and get off at “Busshitsu Kenkyu Kiko”, or using taxi for 15 min.
You can enjoy JAXA (Japanese version of NASA) materials, such as ISS’s model, real artificial satellites. Also, there are many photo locations there. Japanese rockets history was the most impressive for me. It was started on pencil rocket (around 20 cm) and it made bigger and bigger while the technology was growing!
Ushiku Daibutsu
It is the world’s largest bronze statue, registered in the Guinness World Records. As you approach it, you will be overwhelmed by its size. You can also enter the womb of the Great Buddha and see Buddha’s bones and many smaller Buddha images lined up. The park also has a small zoo, a garden with seasonal flowers, and a souvenir shop.
Souveniors
・blend of seven spices (cayenne, sesame, Japanese pepper, citrus peel, etc.)
Mt. Tsukuba is famous for blend of seven spices. It is Japanese famous seasoning for Ramen, Miso soup, Soba, Egg rice(TKG) and so on. Especcially Mt. Tsukuba’s one uses special orange peal in it. You can taste it along the hiking road.
・Karinto Manju @ Numataya
This store’s sweets is historic (more than 100 years) and really yummy. outside is crispy and inside is filled with anko. The sweetness level of anko is so good, and many people come here to buy it.
・incense sticks
Tremendous kinds of incense sticks were sold in Ushiku Daibutsu. You can find many kinds of flowers such as osmanthus, sakura(cherry brossoms), hydrangea, and so on.
Summary
In this way, I recommend you three spots for sightseeing!
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