Japan Autumn Nov 2017 一人で日本の旅 - Hitachi JR Station 日立駅

Award winning. When I arrived at Hitachi JR Station, I was surprised by the modern appearance and novel outlook of the train station! The train station was designed by Kazuyo Sejima, a Japanese architect from Ibaraki Prefecture, and has become a pride of Hitachi city. In fact, the train station has won the Good Design Awards in 2012 and the prestigious Brunel Award (under the category of Station Building) in 2014. Clean modernist elements were incorporated into its design and intelligent usage of huge glass panels transformed the train station into a viewing gallery of Pacific Ocean. Seamless connection between the train station to the seaside and city was also made possible by a spacious and transparent walkway.

Trivia. For most of us, the first thing that comes to our mind naturally when "Hitachi" is mentioned is household appliances. In fact, the headquarters of this renowned household brand was actually first established in Hitachi city and was shifted to Tokyo in 1918. Hitachi still owns offices and manufacturing plants here, and you will be able to spot them around the train station.

Limited express trains serving Hitachi Station include:
(1) Ltd Express Tokiwa ときわ
(2) Ltd Express Hitachi ひたち
Both commute along Joban line (常磐線), which connects Tokyo to Koriyama in Fukushima Prefecture. From Hitachi Station,
- train commutes southwards to Mito, Tsuchiura, Toride, Ushiku and Tokyo.
- train commutes northwards to Takahagi, and eventually to Koriyama in Fukushima Prefecture.

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What's nearby?

(1) Tourist Information Center, located near Chuo Guchi (Central Exit).

(2) Bus Terminal, located just in front of Chuo Guchi (Central Exit). The main bus operator in Hitachi city is Hitachi Dentetsu Kotsu 日立電鉄交通, and attractions such as Kamine Park and Nikko Mining Museum can be assessed via bus. Unfortunately, my stay in Hitachi city was a short one ( just to stay for the night at Unoshima Villa) and I did not get to visit any places of interest here.

Hitachi Dentetsu Kotsu website: http://www.hitachi-dentetsu.co.jp/
Bus routes from Hitachi JR Station (in Japanese): http://www.hitachi-dentetsu.co.jp/bus/bus_map_2017.pdf

(3) Sea view! Exit the train station from the Kaigan Guchi (Seaside Exit) to enjoy the comfortable sea breeze and a view of Hitachi Bypass 日立バイパス, the road bridge running alongside Pacific Ocean. This is one spot not to be missed after arriving at the train station!

(4) Hitachi Civic Center 日立シビックセンター, 3 minutes walk from Chuo Guchi (Central Exit).
http://www.civic.jp/center/

Japan Autumn Nov 2017 一人で日本の旅 - Fukuroda JR Station 袋田駅, Hotel Kajikaen ホテル河鹿園

Fukuroda JR Station (袋田駅) is a train station in Daigo-cho (大子町), located along Suigun line (水郡線). From Mito, it takes slightly less than 1.5 hours to reach here by local train. As the name suggests, this is the gateway to Fukuroda no taki 袋田の滝, one of the most iconic landmark of Ibaraki Prefecture.

Remember.... Dedicating this blog entry to the kind lady working at Fukuroda JR Station. When I arrived at the train station, I was surprised to see a lady, who is at least in her sixties and not wearing the staff uniform, manning the ticket counter. Reason being this is a Kan'i-itaku station (簡易委託駅) and such train station is normally operated by the "local municipality, agriculture cooperative, a store in front of the station or a private individual". When she saw me diligently pressing the inked stamps placed just beside the ticket counter onto my book, she called out to me and passed me the original train station stamp which was kept with her. I thanked her and was extremely delighted to add another inked stamp to my collection. After that, I sat down to wait for the bus heading for Fukuroda no taki which was scheduled to arrive in an hour time. She walked out from her office and passed me a map of the nearby area. When she found out I was waiting for the next bus, she recommended me to walk to my destination and return via bus instead. I was reluctant to do so initially given the fact that I had covered quite a significant amount of walking distance when I visited Tsukimachi no taki (月待の滝) earlier in the day but her sincerity eventually won me over. Spurred by the encouragement given by her and fellow older passengers I met at the train station, I set off for my goal.

She was absolutely right. Throughout the entire walking route, I was greeted by beautiful autumn foliage and it was an excellent prelude to the majestic waterfall I witnessed later on. When I returned to the train station later in the day, I could not contain my joy and excitement when I saw her. When I told her that I enjoyed myself thoroughly all thanks to the advice she has given, she responded back with a smile on her face. I always cherish and would never forget such warm gestures from people I met during my trips in a foreign country - something I constantly remind myself to reciprocate whenever opportunities arise.

Moments captured on my way from Fukuroda JR Station to Fukuroda no taki...

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What’s nearby?

(1) Fukuroda no taki 袋田の滝

- 20 minutes by foot from the train station. 

- 5 minutes by Ibaraki Kotsu bus Fukuroda line 茨城交通バス 袋田線 from the train station.

Bus schedule: http://bus.ibako.co.jp/timetable/result/?no=70053&de=1&f_from_type=&f_from_genre=&f_from=

(2) Hotel Kajikaen ホテル河鹿園, located within 3 minutes walk from the train station.
〒319-3523　茨城県久慈郡大子町袋田2129
Day onsen operating hours: 1100 - 1700 hrs
Fee = 500 yen + 200 yen (towel rental)
http://kajikaen.com/

Skeptical. I ended my expedition of Fukuroda no taki earlier than expected and returned to the train station, more than an hour before the arrival of the next train heading for Mito. Was wandering around the vicinity of the train station and spotted this old and faded directional sign indicating that there is a hotel nearby which accepts day hot spring guests. Out of curiosity, I searched for the details of this hotel online and it did look pretty decent. Decided to drop by the place since I had time to kill, though at the back of my mind I was wondering whether the hotel was still in existence in such a remote area. Fortunately, after a short walk, a two-storey building appeared within sight. Fukuroda itself is a hot spring town and hotels/ryokans are established closer to Fukuroda no taki than the train station itself. Hotel Kajikaen inhabited in the less populated area and was not tapping its hot spring waters from Fukuroda Onsen source. Instead, the hotel "created" its therapeutic waters by submerging a radium stone, placed in a wooden box, into its water. I have previously tried radon (emitted as a result of radioactive decay of radium) containing hot spring in Misasa Onsen 三朝温泉 (located in Tottori Prefecture), so this was not new to me.

Awesome view. Came to the front desk where I was greeted by a middle aged lady, to pay for the hot spring facility usage and towel rental. She directed to me to their communal bathhouse which was located in a separate house but connected to the lobby by sheltered walkway. There were no other guests around when I arrived at about 3 pm, therefore I had the luxury to use the facility all by myself! Though there is only indoor pool, lined by rocks on its circumference, the enclosure has large glass panels overlooking Kuji River 久慈川 and its natural surroundings which was decorated with autumn foliage at that point of time, so it felt like an rotenburo (outdoor onsen) after all. As I had clocked at least 5 km walking that day, a soak in the hot spring felt so comfortable and rewarding! I was fully revitalised to make my way back to Mito. 

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Commemorative stamps:

Japan Autumn Nov 2017 一人で日本の旅 - Shimonomiya JR Station 下野宮駅, Tsukimachi no taki 月待の滝

Visited 07.11.2017. 

Shimonomiya JR Station.

Shimonomiya JR Station (下野宮駅), is an unmanned train station on Suigun line (水郡線) and closest to Tsukimachi no taki. The area around the train station is considered rural, sparsely populated in general. Upon exiting the train station, there is a post office (Daigo Shimonomiya Post Offfice) on the right. Upon reaching the first T-junction, turn left and continue walking straight following the signage which direct the way to Tsukimachi no taki. Unfortunately, there are neither no taxi stand nor bus stop outside the train station, travel by foot seemed to be the only option to get to Tsukimachi no taki at this point of time.

30 minutes walk from Shimonomiya JR Station to Tsukimachi no taki.

Greeted by rural scenery as soon as you exit from the train station. While waiting for my train to arrive, I dropped by the post office (on the right) and had a unexpectedly pleasant casual conversation with the staff! Yet again, touched by the friendliness of the locals. 

Boarded the train and made my way to Fukuroda next.

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Tsukimachi no taki (月待の滝)
http://www.daigo-kanko.jp/?page_id=2861

In a much more secluded spot than Fukuroda no taki is Tsukimachi no taki (月待の滝), where visitors can go behind the water curtain to capture a different view of this natural landscape. 

Tsukimachi no taki is very much more secluded in location and less touristy than Fukuroda no taki. Standing at 17 m tall and 12 m wide, Tsukimachi no taki comprises of three waterfalls. Only two of them are seen on all occasions; the third and smaller one will appear when there is a huge influx of water from the nearby Kuji River (久慈川). One unique feature of this waterfall is visitors are able to go behind the water curtain to capture a completely different view of this waterfall! This was my first encounter of such waterfall and I was extremely excited about it. Autumn is a good season (in November) to visit Tsukimachi no taki because the surrounding is decorated by mesmerising autumn foliage, making it an excellent photo-taking spot. Prior to this visit, the most vivid memory I have for waterfalls in Japan were the ones found along Oirase Keiryu (奥入瀬渓流) in Aomori Prefecture. Both Tsukimachi no taki and Fukuroda no taki are equally appealing, yet under-rated in my opinion. These are two attractions which I will highly recommend to pay a visit to while staying in Ibaraki Prefecture.

If you plan to extend your stay till lunch hours, there is a small eatery (Momiji-en もみじ苑) that overlooks the beautiful waterfall and serves Hitachi Aki Soba, a specialty of Ibaraki Prefecture.

Third and smallest waterfall appeared on the day of my visit!

Sneaked behind the water curtain!

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How to get there?

(1) By train and walk.
From Mito JR Station (水戸駅), board the northbound local train via Suigun line (水郡線) heading towards Fukuroda (袋田駅), Hitachi Daigo (常陸大子駅) and Koriyama (郡山駅). Alight at Shimonomiya JR Station and walk for another 30 minutes. The entire train journey takes slightly less than two hours.

Note: As direct train services between Mito and Shimonomiya are infrequent, it is prudent to check train schedule and plan your trip in advance. For my trip, I visited both Tsukimachi no taki and Fukuroda no taki on the same day. I started my day early and made my way to Tsukimachi no taki first. Spent approximately two hours, inclusive of one hour of travelling time between Shimonomiya JR Station and Tsukimachi no taki, in both directions. Hopped onto the train again and stopped at Fukuroda to visit Fukuroda no taki. As compared to the former, there are more train services between Mito and Fukuroda (still not ideal; about one per hour or one every two hours), therefore allowing travel to be more tolerable and flexible.
Train schedule (via hyperdia): http://www.hyperdia.com/en/

Japan Autumn Nov 2017 一人で日本の旅 - Mito JR Station 水戸駅

Ticket gates.

Mito is the capital city of Ibaraki Prefecture. As the train station is served by several railway lines, Mito is an excellent pit stop for exploring nearby cities within Ibaraki Prefecture.

Some of the railway lines serving Mito JR Station include:
(1) Joban line (常磐線): connects Tokyo to Koriyama in Fukushima Prefecture.
from Mito,
- train commutes southwards to Tsuchiura, Toride, Ushiku and Tokyo.
- train commutes northwards to Hitachi and Takahagi, and eventually to Koriyama in Fukushima Prefecture.
Both Tokiwa (ときわ) and Hitachi (ひたち) are limited express trains commuting along Joban line and there are about two limited express trains operated every hour.

Boarded Limited Express Tokiwa from Ueno Station heading for Mito.

(2) Suigun line (水郡線): from Mito, trains commute northwards to Fukuroda and Shimonomiya.
- Alight at Fukuroda for Fukuroda no taki (袋田の滝).
- Alight at Shimonomiya (下野宮駅) for Tsukimachi no taki (月待の滝).

(3) Mito line (水戸線): from Mito, trains commute westwards to Tomobe and Kasama.
- Alight at Kasama for Kasama Inari Shrine (笠間稲荷神社).

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What's nearby?

South Exit of Mito JR Station. Building on the left is OPA while the right one is Excel Minami.

(1) Shopping malls, fast food chains and restaurants
There are a couple of shopping facilities connected seamlessly to the train station.

• Excel and Excel Minami: Anchor tenants include Bic Camera, MUJI and local bookstore chain, Kawamata Books (川又書店). Yoshinoya, MacDonalds and Soup Stock Tokyo are located on the same floor as the ticket gates. 
• Mito OPA (水戸オーパ) located outside the South Exit of train station. Can Do (￥100 shop) can be found on on 5F while restaurants are located from 8F to 10F. 
• Marui Mito (丸井水戸店) located outside the North Exit of train station. ABC Mart and Daiso can be found on 5F while restaurants are located on 10F. 

(2) Tourist Information Center (水戸観光案内所), situated just outside the ticket gates.

Visited the information center on two occasions and was extremely grateful for the assistance rendered and advice provided by the approachable staff. It has been a routine ritual for me to drop by here whenever I reached a new place on the map. Followed their recommendations to explore Mito city by rental bicycle and also to try out several local specialties such as Hitachiaki Soba (常陸秋そば) and Stamina Ramen (スタミナラーメン).

(3) South Exit Rental Bicycles (水戸駅北口レンタサイクル), a minute walk away from the South Exit of train station.
If you are able to ride a bicycle, I will highly recommend utilising it to commute to nearby attractions especially when the rental cost is not too pricey. Rented a bicycle here and moved in an clockwise direction, covering Lake Senba (千波湖), which has a wide circumferential track catered for both cyclists and pedestrians, Kairaku-en (偕楽園) and Koudoukan (弘道館). Inclusive of lunch, it took me about 6 hours to cover the entire itinerary mentioned.
Operating hours: 0900 - 1800 hrs
Cost: 500 yen/day (only conventional bicycles; no battery operated ones)
Location (Point 1 on the map): http://www.mitokoumon.com/sightseeing/renta.html

North Exit of Mito JR Station.

Mito city.

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Commemorative stamp: