Mito: A City in Bloom
One of the three best landscape gardens in Japan is found in Mito, the capital of Japan's Ibaraki Prefecture. The city is home to Kairakuen Garden, a perennial favorite among nature lovers for its profusion of plum trees and azaleas. The city is also famous for its impressive museum of modern art as well as its fermented soybeans. It is accessible from Tokyo via a two-hour train ride.
Best Time to Visit
Being a year-round destination, Mito has something to offer everyone regardless of the season. But it is towards the end of winter when tourists flock to Mito for the Mito Ume Festival, which takes place in months of February-March. It is a celebration of Kairakuen Garden’s plum blossoms with music and dance performances and fireworks. The blooming of the city's cherry trees blossom around April also draws many visitors to the area. If you’re planning to join in on the fun be sure to book your Mito hotel stay early to get good deals during this peak season.
What to Do & Area Attractions
The 4-star Daiwa Roynet Hotel Mito is near Kairakuen Garden, a famous garden in Japan with its 3,000 plum trees with about 100 varieties. The Hotel Mets Mito is near the train station for easy access to the attractions of the city while Court Hotel Mito is in the city proper. A few minutes away from these hotels are the Hitachi Seaside Park, an amusement park with green spaces for cycling and walking, the family-friendly Hiraiso Beach and the two Shinto shrines of Sakatsura Isozaki and Tokiwa.