A Stunning Sea of Blue-Violet Flowers: The Dreamy Hitachi Seaside Park

By the MOOK Scenic Spots Travel Life Network Editorial Team

In Ibaraki Prefecture, a destination less frequented by Taiwanese travelers, there’s a must-visit flower spot recommended for those who love traveling in Japan and flower photography — the National Hitachi Seaside Park (国营ひたち海浜公园). As the name suggests, it is located near the ocean (the Pacific), allowing visitors to enjoy the flora while also taking in the sea view, adding depth to the scenery and creating a romantic, dreamlike fairy-tale atmosphere.

The park features a rich variety of flowers. In spring alone, you can admire plum blossoms, cherry blossoms, azaleas, tulips, and more. As April turns to May, there's the rare sight of the expansive blue-violet nemophila sea, a sweeping hillside of blossoms that is truly unforgettable. The beautiful blue-violet hues create a genuine “flower sea.” Nemophila, also known as baby-blue-eyes or Phacelia tanacetifolia,is native to North America. In the Hitachi Seaside Park, it is mainly found on Mikasa no Oka (見晴之丘). The vast flower sea, when viewed from different angles, has the ocean as a backdrop, and you can also gaze south at Mount Tsukuba and west at Mount Nasu. There are even multi-layered views such as a yellow rapeseed flower sea in the foreground. On clear days, the azure sky blends seamlessly with the flower sea, creating an incredibly dreamy and moving scene. It deeply captivates flower and photography enthusiasts alike, leaving them with unforgettable travel memories.

The operating hours of the National Hitachi Seaside Park in 2014 (Heisei 26) were as follows: Spring (March 1 – July 20) 9:30 AM – 5:00 PM, Summer (July 21 – August 31) 9:30 AM – 6:00 PM, Autumn (September 1 – October 31) 9:30 AM – 5:00 PM, and Winter (November 1 – February 28) 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM. Please note that the park is closed every Monday. If a Monday falls on a Japanese national holiday, the closure is moved to Wednesday that week (no closures occur during the periods March 26 – May 31, July 21 – August 31, October 1 – October 31, and December 25 – December 30). December 31 and January 1 are also closure days, as well as the first Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of February.