Article

08215 ／きたいばらきし

Kitaibaraki City

A slope canal done in about half a year.

Jukkoku-bori, Nakago

Photo by Indiana jo (CC BY-SA 4.0)

01 ／ Monument

Part of the site was levelled with dynamite.The offshore reefs are garden elements too.

Okakura Tenshin moved to Izura in 1903. The site sits on hard bedrock sloping to the sea, and part of it was levelled with dynamite. A residence, gatehouse and Rokkakudo stand in the garden, and the coast of Oizura and Koizura, reefs included, is part of it. It is a nationally registered monument.

Part of the site levelled with dynamite
National registered monument (18 March 2014)
Tenshin moved here in 1903

02 ／ Festival

Lattice frames are laid on the road,and a boat with a mikoshi slides over them.

The Hitachiotsu Ofune Festival is the spring grand festival of Sawawachigi Shrine in Otsu. A large wooden boat carrying a mikoshi is rocked from side to side and slid through the town over lattice-shaped wooden frames called soroban. It is a nationally designated Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property.

Frames are called soroban
Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property (3 March 2017)
On the UNESCO list since December 2025

03 ／ Excavated find

Bell mirrors are generally often later fakes,so one with a known find spot is vital.

Kamiokakami Tumulus Group Mound No. 3 is a round mound about 33 m across, with a stone chamber 8.4 m long. The seven-bell mirror found about 2 m from the rear wall measures 12.66 to 12.69 cm. The prefecture calls it a fine piece, well cast and well preserved. The mound was lost after the excavation.

Prefectural Tangible Cultural Property (24 January 2013)
Seven bells on the mirror
Judged late 6th to early 7th century

Kitaibaraki 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 April–May 2019)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

108 minutes to Tokyo by limited express, 101 to Ueno.

about 40,000 people
2 hours to a city centre

Limited Express Hitachi No. 7 runs to Isohara Station in 108 minutes from Tokyo Station and 101 from Ueno Station, with no change of trains (the city says about 2 hours from Ueno). The city says about 32% of its area is forest, and its eastern part is lowland facing the coast.

People living here: 41,801people
Area: 186.79km²
Households: 17,042households
Rent (average for rentals): 41,270yen
Healthcare: 3 hospitals ／ 18 clinics

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

Children waiting for childcare: —5 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.

Kitaibaraki City in Japan36.802°N 140.751°E

to TokyoLtd. exp. Hitachi108min
to UenoLtd. exp. Hitachi101min

Travel times follow JR東日本の駅時刻表（timetables.jreast.co.jp の 2610 版）の常磐線下り〔デジタル時刻表 240d1（平日）・240d2（土曜・休日）〕で、各列車の品川・東京・上野の『発』と磯原の『着』を数えた（2026-10-22 閲覧） (checked 2026-10-22). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 4 municipalities across 1 prefectures.

Territory of Kitaibaraki 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

21.8km

Ibaraki Prefecture: Takahagi City
Fukushima Prefecture: Iwaki City, Hanawa Town, Samegawa Village

Kitaibaraki City isthis kind of town.

01Jukkoku-bori is an irrigation canal built in 1669 from the farmers’ own initiative and plan, and the work was finished in about half a year
02The Former Residence and Garden of Okakura Tenshin and Oizura and Koizura is a nationally registered monument, and the reefs along the coast count as garden elements
03The town has the Hitachiotsu Ofune Festival, a national Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property, and a prefecturally designated seven-bell mirror

See the town as it is now.

X@KitaibarakiCity ↗

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

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Kitaibaraki City official site ↗Wikipedia ↗

From this town's themes