Fukuroda Falls in Ibaraki!

My friend and I drove up to Fukuroda Falls in Ibaraki Prefecture this past Sunday! I remember seeing pictures on Instagram last year of Fukuroda Falls and I knew that I had to go see it for myself! Located in Northern Ibaraki in Daigo Town, Fukuroda Falls was about a 2.5 hour drive from Chiba.  It is one of the three most renowned waterfalls in all of Japan. We got there just before the sun started to set, so it was especially beautiful!

Fukuroda Falls

Suspension Bridge

There were many parking lots along the road to the falls, but the one that we ended up parking at cost 500 yen.  But instead of paying the 500 yen, the store owner asked that we buy something at their store that cost about 500 yen. I had never experienced this kind of payment plan before in Japan, but it ended up working out well for us!

As we were walking down the road, our noses were greeted with not only the smell of autumn, but with the smell of Ayu fish, or sweetfish.  Cooked over a fire, it is slightly salty and delicious! 

Ayu sweetfish

Getting dark...

We finished walking around dusk, so then we made our way to our hotel.  We stayed at the Mito Keisei Hotel in Mito City.  We found that they had a special offer for people who stay on Sunday, so if you plan on staying on Sunday, please try to check it out! It only cost us 4,400 yen per person for one night.  After checking in, we walked to Kushitonbo which was located just outside of the JR Mito Station.  Not only was the food delicious, but the atmosphere was a lot of fun!  For certain drinks, if you win a game of rock-paper-scissors against the server your drink will be upgraded to a bigger size for free! Definitely a fun restaurant for anyone!  After eating, we walked to Jazz Bar S&F for more drinks.  After walking up a flight of stairs we could hear jazz piano music through the door.  The bartender greeted us and took our order in English, and even gave us free fruit with our drinks!  For jazz or record enthusiasts, this bar is a must!  The bartender had an entire room of jazz records!

Drinks and fruit at Jazz Bar S&F

It was raining a lot the next day, so we decided to go home in the afternoon.  But we stopped at Kani Hompo Ganko-ya for a crab lunch!  We got crab legs and a crab gratin.  Both were amazing, but the legs were the best!  There was too much food for me though, so I couldn't finish my crab legs.  Since we went during lunch, the bill came out to about 2,500 yen for the both of us!

Crab Gratin

Crab Legs

Beautiful Roses at Hitachi Seaside Park

Yesterday (June 7), I went to Hitachi Seaside Park in Ibaraki with my brother and one of my friends.  My brother said that he wanted to visit there while he is in Japan, so we decided to go for the day.  For flower enthusiasts, I highly recommend going there! It makes for a lovely day trip.  Even if you don’t like flowers, there is also an amusement park with a Ferris wheel as well as a large open space to play sports.

 

Ferris Wheel and Poppies

We left around 10:30 am and arrived there around 12:30 in the afternoon.  I had driven my car, so we had to pay 510 yen to park my car at their parking lot.  There are three parking lots (West, South, and Seaside) and the price is the same for all three of them.  We parked at the Seaside Parking lot, which is furthest away from the rose garden, but we were able to find a parking space pretty easily.  We could also see the coast as well which was very nice.

 

View of the coast from top of the hill

About once a month, they have a free admission day, so we were very lucky that it happened to be on the day that we went.  Admission is 410 yen for adults, 80 yen for children, and 210 yen for seniors.  Unfortunately I couldn’t find information about the free admission days on their English website, so please check their Japanese website for more information!

Roses are currently in bloom, so we could see many beautiful roses.  We could also see some poppies too when we first entered the park.  

The park is very big, so if there are lots of things that you want to see but if you don’t feel like walking around the entire park there are some convenient modes of transportation.  Bicycles can be rented there at 500 yen for the day, or 400 yen for three hours (it’s an extra 50 yen for every 30 minutes after the three hours). (For children it’s 300 yen for the day, 250 yen for three hours + 20 yen for every 30 minutes after) [As written on their Japanese website].  They have many kinds of bicycles that can be rented, including tandem bicycles.  If you decide to rent a tandem bicycle you and your partner will both have to pay to use the bike.  There is also a cute train that goes through the park as well that one can ride for 500 yen for the whole day.

The flowers change every season, so please check their website to find out which flowers are blooming!  

Tiko