Article

08202 ／ひたちし

Hitachi City

Cormorants are pulled in under a wall.

Cormorant catching technique

Photo by Papakuro (CC BY 3.0)

01 ／ Spring

At the presumed site of the Fudoki's “Mitsuki no Oi,”water wells up, stirring pale blue sand.

Spring in Hitachi City — Photo by On-neko (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The spring lies in the grounds of Izumi Shrine, and its water stays at about 13°C all year. The city's leaflet says it wells up, puffing out pale blue sand. It is a prefectural historic site, and in 2008 the Ministry of the Environment selected its water as one of the Heisei-era Top 100 Waters.

Water about 13°C all year
Prefectural historic site (1969)
Heisei-era Top 100 Waters (selected 2008)

02 ／ Grove

On a seaside knoll near the northern limit of its range,junipers of an estimated 400 years grow.

Junipers grow wild on a small hill at the mouth of the Hananuki River in Juo-cho. The city's plan describes the grove, of a tree that favors windswept shores, as near the northern limit of its natural range. It was designated a national natural monument in 1922.

National natural monument (1922)
Estimated age about 400 years
Near the northern limit of its range

03 ／ Official road

Traces of an ancient road about 6 m widelie beside the foundations of 20 or more buildings.

At the Chojayama site in Juo-cho, traces of an ancient official road about 6 m wide were found, along with foundations of more than 20 buildings from the 8th to 10th centuries, set off by ditches. The area around the place name Mejima to the east is considered a strong candidate for Meshima Post Station in the Hitachi no Kuni Fudoki.

National historic site (2018)
Road about 6 m wide
Foundations of 20+ buildings

Hitachi City from the sky

Now and 1974–78. Tap a photo to zoom in.

Now1974–78

Wide (about 6 km across)

Close (about 1.5 km across)

Now (shot June 2017)Shot 1974–78

Source: Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI) GSI Tiles（全国最新写真（シームレス）／国土画像情報（第一期：1974〜1978年撮影））

Open in GSI Maps (now)Open in GSI Maps (1974–78)

Living here

93 minutes to Tokyo, 86 to Ueno.

about 170,000 people
90 min to a city centre

The city covers 225.73 km², with both sea and mountains. Its station is Hitachi on the JR Joban Line, where the Limited Express Hitachi runs without a change: 93 minutes to Tokyo and 86 to Ueno. The city hall is about 10 minutes from the central exit by Ibaraki Kotsu bus.

People living here: 174,508people
Area: 225.73km²
Households: 77,911households
Rent (average for rentals): 42,535yen
Healthcare: 14 hospitals ／ 96 clinics

Area and habitable land at the same scalee-Stat B1101 / B1103

Population from 2005 onward (municipal boundary changed).2004-11-01 に合併。2005年調査から市域が変わっている。

Children waiting for childcare: —26 nurseries and similar
Home purchase subsidy: —
Average annual temperature: —

These 3 items are waiting on a nationwide data source. We do not fill them with estimates.

ACCESS

Where you can go from here.

Hitachi City in Japan36.599°N 140.651°E

to TokyoLtd. exp. Hitachi93min
to UenoLtd. exp. Hitachi86min

Travel times follow JR東日本の駅の時刻表（2026年10月号）の特急ひたち7号（品川09:45発・東京09:53発・上野10:00発・日立11:26着） (checked 2026-10-22). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 4 municipalities.

Territory of Hitachi City

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (Administrative Area Data), MLIT. Processed by Machigatari.Lakes: National Land Numerical Information (Lake Data), MLIT. Processed by Machigatari. Prepared with the approval of the Director-General of the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, using its Digital Map 25000 (Spatial Data Framework) and Digital Map 25000 (Place Names and Public Facilities). (承認番号平27情使、第585号)

North to south

26.6km

Hitachiota City, Takahagi City, Tokai Village, Naka City

Hitachi City isthis kind of town.

01At Ishihama coast, wild cormorants lured by decoys are hooked with a pole from a hut built on a cliff; this cormorant-catching technique is a city intangible folk cultural property, and the city's public relations office says the birds go to cormorant-fishing sites across Japan
02The spring at Izumi Shrine wells up at about 13°C, stirring pale blue sand; it is a prefectural historic site and was selected as one of the Heisei-era Top 100 Waters
03In Juo-cho are a juniper grove on a small hill at the mouth of the Hananuki River, a national natural monument, and the Chojayama Government Office Site and Hitachi no Kuni Kaido Road Remains, a national historic site

See the town as it is now.

Instagram@hitachi_city ↗

Source: Wikidata (P2002, P2003, P2013, P2397)

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Hitachi City official site ↗Wikipedia ↗

From this town's themes