Xrthnty

This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in Japanese. (December 2016) Click [show] for important translation instructions. View a machine-translated version of the Japanese article. Machine translation like Deepl or Google Translate is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary (using German): Content in this edit is translated from the existing German Wikipedia article at [[:de:Exact name of German article]]; see its history for attribution. You should also add the template 茨城県 to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

Ibaraki Prefecture .mw-parser-output .noboldfont-weight:normal 茨城県
Prefecture
Japanese transcription(s)
• Japanese	茨城県
• Rōmaji	Ibaraki-ken
Flag Symbol
Country	Japan
Region	Kantō
Island	Honshu
Capital	Mito
Government
• Governor	Kazuhiko Ōigawa
Area
• Total	6,095.58 km2 (2,353.52 sq mi)
Area rank	23rd
Population (February 1, 2017)
• Total	2,903,925
• Rank	11th
• Density	476.40/km2 (1,233.9/sq mi)
ISO 3166 code	JP-08
Districts	7
Municipalities	44
Flower	Rose (Rosa)
Tree	Ume tree (Prunus mume)
Bird	Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis)
Website	www.pref.ibaraki.jp

Ibaraki Prefecture (茨城県, Ibaraki-ken) is a prefecture of Japan, located in the Kantō region.^[1] The capital is Mito.^[2]

History

Ibaraki Prefecture was previously known as Hitachi Province. In 1871, the name of the province became Ibaraki.

Geography

Map of Ibaraki Prefecture
     City      Town

Mito

Tsukuba

Tsuchiura

Kashima

Ibaraki Prefecture is the northeastern part of the Kantō region, stretching between Tochigi Prefecture and the Pacific Ocean and bounded on the north and south by Fukushima Prefecture and Chiba Prefecture. It also has a border on the southwest with Saitama Prefecture. The northernmost part of the prefecture is mountainous, but most of the prefecture is a flat plain with many lakes.

As of 1 April 2012^[update], 15% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks, namely Suigo-Tsukuba Quasi-National Park and nine Prefectural Natural Parks.^[3]

Cities

Thirty-two (32) cities are located in Ibaraki Prefecture:

Towns and villages

These are the towns and villages in each district:

Mergers

Economy

Ibaraki's industries include energy production, particularly nuclear energy, as well as chemical and precision machining industries. The Hitachi company was founded in the Ibaraki city of the same name.

As of March 2011, the prefecture produced 25% of Japan's bell peppers and Chinese cabbage.^[4]

Demographics

Ibaraki's population is increasing modestly as the Greater Tokyo region spreads out.^{[citation needed]}

Culture

Ibaraki is known for nattō, or fermented soybeans, in Mito, watermelons in Kyōwa (recently merged into Chikusei), and chestnuts in the Nishiibaraki region.

Ibaraki is famous for the martial art of Aikido founded by Ueshiba Morihei, also known as Osensei. Ueshiba spent the latter part of his life in the town of Iwama, now part of Kasama, and the Aiki Shrine and dojo he created still remain.^[5]

There are castle ruins in many cities, including Mito, Kasama, and Yūki.

Kasama is famous for Shinto, art culture and pottery.^{[citation needed]}

The capital Mito is home to Kairakuen, one of Japan's three most celebrated gardens, and famous for its over 3,000 Japanese plum trees of over 100 varieties.

Education

University

• Ami
  
  • Ibaraki Prefectural University of Health Sciences


• Hitachi
  
  • Ibaraki Christian University


• Mito
  
  • Ibaraki University
  
  
  • Tokiwa University
  
  


• Tsuchiura
  
  • Tsukuba International University


• Tsukuba
  
  • Tsukuba University
  
  
  • Tsukuba Gakuin University
  
  
  • National University Corporation Tsukuba University of Technology
  
  


• Ryugasaki
  
  • Ryutsu Keizai University

Sports

The sports teams listed below are based in Ibaraki.

Football (soccer)

• 
  Kashima Antlers (Kashima)


• 
  Mito HollyHock (Mito)

Volleyball

• 
  Hitachi Sawa Rivale (Hitachinaka)

Rugby

• Kashima Rugby Football Club RFC

Baseball

• Ibaraki Golden Golds (Regional club)

Wrestling

• Hitachi Pro Wrestling (Regional group)

Basketball

• Cyberdyne Ibaraki Robots

Tourism

• Kairaku-en


• Mount Tsukuba


• Kashima Shrine


• Ibaraki Prefectural Museum of History

• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  A panoramic view of Kasumigaura and Tsuchiura, from　Mount Hokyo
  

  
  

  
  


• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  Fukuroda waterfalls in Daigo
  

  
  

  
  


• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  A view of Mount Tsukuba, from Tsukuba City
  

  
  

  
  


• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  A view of Suigo Itako Iris Garden
  

  
  

  
  


• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  A view of Rokkakudo and Pacific Ocean in Kitaibaraki
  

  
  

  
  

Transportation and access

Railways

• 
  East Japan Railway Company
  
  • Jōban Line
  
  
  • 
    Utsunomiya Line (Tōhoku Main Line)
  
  
  • Mito Line
  
  
  • Suigun Line
  
  
  • Kashima Line
  
  


• Tsukuba Express


• 
  Kantō Railway
  
  • Jōsō Line
  
  
  • Ryūgasaki Line
  
  


• 
  Kashima Rinkai Railway
  
  • Ōarai Kashima Line
  
  
  • Kashima Rinkō Line
  
  


• 
  Minato Line (Hitachinaka Seaside Railway)


• 
  Mooka Line (Mooka Railway)

Cable cars

• Mount Tsukuba Cable Car


• Mount Tsukuba Ropeway

Roads

Expressways

• Jōban Expressway


• Ken-Ō Expressway


• North Kanto Expressway


• East Kanto Expressway

National highways

• 
  National Route 4 (around Koga area)


• 
  National Route 6 (Nihonbashi of Tokyo-Toride-Tsuchiura-Mito-Hitachi-Iwaki-Sendai)


• National Route 50


• 
  National Route 51 (Mito-Kashima-Itako-Narita-Chiba)


• National Route 118


• National Route 123


• National Route 124


• 
  National Route 125 (Katori-Tsuchiura-Tsukuba-Koga-Gyoda-Kumagaya)


• National Route 245


• National Route 293


• National Route 294


• National Route 349


• National Route 354


• National Route 355


• 
  National Route 400 (Mito-Nakagawa-Nikko-South Aizu-West Aizu
  


• National Route 408


• National Route 461

Ports

• Port of Ibaraki

• Hitachi Port


• Hitachinaka Port


• Oarai Port - Ferry route to Tomakomai, Muroran of Hokkaido
  

• Kashima Port

Airports

• Ibaraki Airport

Pronunciation

The prefecture is often mispronounced "Ibaragi". However, the correct pronunciation is "Ibaraki". According to the author of "Not Ibaragi, Ibaraki",^[6] this is most likely due to a mishearing of the softening of the "k" sound in Ibaraki dialect.

See also

• Ibaraki gubernatorial election, 2005

Notes

References

• Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). Japan Encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
  ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5.
  OCLC 58053128.

External links

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Ibaraki.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ibaraki Prefecture.

• 
  Ibaraki Prefecture Official Website (in Japanese)
  


• 
  Ibaraki Prefecture Official Website (in English)
  

Coordinates: 36°14′N 140°17′E / 36.233°N 140.283°E / 36.233; 140.283