Hitachi Seaside Park

The state-run Hitachi Seaside Park is located in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, facing the Pacific Ocean to the east and only an hour's drive from Tokyo. The transportation is very convenient. It used to be a military site in the early years, and was converted into a park after 1973. The Chinese translation of the park is often called Hitachi Seaside Park, which is a bit of a misunderstanding. Ibaraki is called Hitachi Country in the old Japanese administrative division system. The Japanese pseudonym of "Hitachi" is the same as Hitachi. It is written as ひたち (Hitachi), so it is often translated as Hitachi Seaside Park in China. In fact, the official translation should be State-run Hitachi Seaside Park. The park has four entrances and exits: west gate, south gate, central gate and seaside gate. The interior is divided into flower area, west entrance area, south entrance area, woods area, grassland area, sand dune area and amusement park area, each area has different characteristics. The sand dunes on this coast are gentle and vast, and are full of different flowers all year round. In spring, tulips, daffodils, and pink butterflies are blooming. In summer, zinnias, lavender, and sunflowers are in full bloom. In autumn, cosmos and kohlrabi It is the protagonist who does my part, and the cold winter ice tulips and plum blossoms bring life to the snow-white world. The park is especially famous for the flower area (みはらしのしの Hill), where more than 4.5 million graceful blue-and-white pink butterflies bloom every month from late April to late May, and the blue sky can be seen in the distance. The sea, the sky, the sea, and the sea of flowers are all blue, making you feel like falling into the blue world of Avatar Pandora. In summer, this flower field will be planted with round and small kohlrabi, which are green at first, then gradually become mixed with green and pink, and in autumn, they will show a gorgeous deep red. At this time, you can take pictures of the beauty of cosmos blooming on the red hills. Local residents will also bring their families to enjoy the flowers and have a picnic here. If you want to experience the local life, you might as well bring simple food and picnic cloths and sit on the grass to enjoy the beautiful scenery. Xikou District is a good place to appreciate tulips and daffodils in spring. There is a tulip flower show every spring; near the seaside gate is the vast dune area, where there are more than 100 kinds of spice crops such as mint, lavender and rosemary. The prairie area in the center of the park is full of colorful zinnias in summer and autumn. Here, you can take beautiful photos of bright colors with the tall Ferris wheel in the amusement park area as the background. Entering from the central gate is the amusement park area, where there are very popular Ferris wheels, Kappa houses, merry-go-rounds, roller coasters in the forest... Here, both children and adults can enjoy a day of fun. The SeaSideCafe in the dunes area is also a must-see. This is a cafe facing the sea, opened in a glass house (グラスハウス), just as its name, the appearance is full of floor-to-ceiling glass windows. Sit in the open-air cafe directly facing the Pacific Ocean, order a cup of fragrant coffee with a Western-style light meal, and look at the sea and sky in a bright and quiet space. Because the park covers a large area, the whole journey is very labor-intensive. Many tourists choose to take the park's seaside train or rent bicycles in the park. The seaside train has stops at each area and 4 gates of the park. Small trains generally start from the central gate, followed by Rose Garden Station, Nanmen Station, Forest of Desert and Sea Station, Seaside Terrace Station, Seaside Gate Station, Prairie Station, Flower District (みはらしの Hill) Station, Memorial Forest Station , Ximen Station these 10 stations. Bicycle rental points in the park are located at the entrances of the 4 gates, and bicycles need to be returned at the rental office.