Kanto, Japan · City
The prefectural capital, with Kairakuen, one of Japan's three great gardens (about 3,000 plum trees, spectacular in bloom from late February through March), and the Kodokan, the largest surviving domain school for samurai in Japan, an Important Cultural Property.
Train — Direct limited express Hitachi/Tokiwa from Tokyo/Ueno, no transfer, ~70min, ¥4,000 unreserved (slower local-train alternative, ¥2,420, ~2h). Also reachable as a short trip from Oarai (private Kashima Rinkai Railway, 15min, ¥420) or from Daigo (direct JR Suigun Line, 1h16min, ¥1,040) for anyone based in either.
One of Japan's three great gardens, with about 3,000 plum trees blooming from late February through March.
One of Japan's most famous plum blossom festivals, from late February to late March at Kairakuen, with stalls, performances and a special night illumination ('Kairakuen UME The Lights') on selected dates.
The largest surviving domain school for samurai in all of Japan, an Important Cultural Property.
The prefecture's winter dish: a hot monkfish stew with vegetables, served in restaurants across central Mito.
A cultural complex designed by Arata Isozaki in 1990 for the city's centenary, with a 100-metre helical tower and one of the most ambitious contemporary art programmes outside Tokyo, plus a theatre and a concert hall.
The city's big festival since 1961, in August: mikoshi and a parade of some 2,500 dancers along the main avenue, in honour of the legendary lord Mito Komon.
Archive and treasury of the Mito branch of the Tokugawa: the original manuscripts of the 'Dai Nihonshi' (the monumental history of Japan written here over 250 years), along with the clan's armour and swords.
The city's football team plays in the J.League at K's Denki Stadium, with a very local atmosphere and tickets easy to get.
Mito's district of bars and 'snacks', with retro alleyways and old game arcades: the nightlife of a provincial capital, with no tourism.
A circuit of about 3 km next to Kairakuen where locals run and row: swan boats, bike rental, and new cafes and a brewery on the shore.
A prefectural museum with a room devoted to the Hitotsubashi-Tokugawa branch, best known for its ginkgo avenue, which turns yellow in November and has a festival of its own.
In late July, some 5,000 fireworks burst over the lake next to Kairakuen.
A free public park dotted with life-size concrete dinosaurs, a local classic for a day out with children.
Mito is the birthplace of traditional straw-wrapped natto; several shops and small local museums explain how it's made and sell it fresh.
On the shore of Lake Senba, some 3,700 works with European impressionists (Monet, Renoir, Pissarro) alongside Japanese masters such as Yokoyama Taikan and Foujita.
One of Mito's historic natto houses keeps a small museum on the history of the product, with a window onto production; it adds to a simple tasting.
A rare case of a castle of earthworks and moats with no stone keep; the great Otemon gate was rebuilt in 2020 and the inner grounds are now occupied by high schools and an open square.
Next to Kairakuen, an 1873 shrine dedicated to the lords Tokugawa Mitsukuni and Nariaki, with a small museum of documents from the Mito school of thought.
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