Ibaraki Day Trip: Oarai Isosaki Shrine's Torii Gate in the Sea & Nakaminato Fish Market & Amabiki Kannon & Hitachi Seaside Park (Departing from Tokyo)

A refreshing escape from Tokyo as it offers a perfect mix of nature, culture and great food.The local seafood was fresh and delicious. Seaside park was a bit disappointing as now is the season for the flower hills but since the park is big so still a nice walk in the green forest. There is fun fair and play ground for children but no time to play. Overall, exploring scenic parks, visiting temples and shrines, taking in the ocean views, Ibaraki offers a different side of Japan that's well worth discovering.

We went in late May when Japan had a cold spot right when we expected summer heat. The weather was glorious and we rode a coaster (which I like better than a smaller van or a bigger bus). Our guide Arpun was chill, friendly and responsive to all questions and requests (like a bathroom break soon after we took off from one of the senior tour guests....) But due to the timing of our visit, we did not see as many flowers. I think best to come early to mid June. So we just explored the shrines and the temples. There were a lot of nice spots for photos. At Hitachi Seaside Park, be ready to do a lot of walking, though you have the option to rent a bike for a small fee. At the Seafood market, wish we had more time to explore because the nice places had a queue and we weren't quite sure where best to dine. In the end, we went to Minato Bistro, good service and good food.

Beautiful day trip — highly recommend This was a really nice experience. The park was stunning, especially the flower fields and ocean views. Everything was well organized and ran on time. Our guide, Ashley, was friendly, helpful, and made sure everyone was comfortable throughout the day. The seafood lunch was fresh and delicious, and the whole trip had a relaxed, enjoyable pace. Definitely worth it if you want to see a more scenic side of Japan. 5/5 — would recommend.

It was a nice tour with Arpan, Amabiki hydrangea festival was especially beautiful. Guide made sure everybody know where to go and get the most from the trip.

My tour guide, Ashley, was very enthusiastic and provided detailed explanations of the attractions. She even recommended places to buy fruit cheaply, and we ended up getting incredibly inexpensive cantaloupes. During hydrangea season, the drive to Yuuki Kannon was very long due to heavy traffic and extremely narrow roads, but the driver was very steady. The fully bloomed hydrangeas in various colors were truly beautiful, and there were special Goshuin stamps available, which were well worth purchasing as a souvenir. The last stop, the seaside park, was just okay; we mainly saw lavender and had afternoon tea. We spent about an hour at each attraction, and I felt that the traffic significantly cut into our sightseeing time, which is probably the biggest drawback of a one-day tour.🤣

Great location with pretty sights. The tour was organized well. It’s worth visiting for a day tour when you’re in Tokyo.

The itinerary is quite full and worthwhile, but I personally don't think the first two stops are worth an hour each. It was a good day and peak season, so there were a lot of people at the fish market. One hour for lunch wasn't enough because many restaurants had lines...it should be adjusted according to the situation. The Taiwanese tour guide was very aloof and said they didn't know anything.

Enjoyed this trip a lot!! Family actually really favoured this trip a lot. The trip was well paced, we were given toilet breaks during the long travelling time and the itinerary was well paced with enough time for every spot. Guide was really nice too also introduced well every spot and was always around. The bus driver was also the best we had too, really nice to everybody! Had a really great experience and would love to book from the same agency and guide again!

The tour guide was a Hong Kong native who spoke Cantonese and was very attentive throughout the trip. Although the journey was a bit dull, being able to visit different places in the outskirts of Tokyo made it a worthwhile experience.

nice flower view great place for lunch at fish market