I went to see Nemophila on Friday (Weekday) the day before Golden Week. The place is a National Hitachi Seaside Park (Hitachi Kaihin Koen) in Hitachinaka City, Ibaraki Prefecture.
Hitachi Seaside Park – A wide variety of seasonal flower gardens!
http://en.hitachikaihin.jp/
*Golden Week - About 1 week national holidays in Japan from End of April.
I brought the following camera gears.
SONY A7RII (ILCE-7RM2)
SONY A99 (SLT-A99)
SONY 100mm F2.8 Macro (SAL100M28)
SONY FE 24-70 F2.8 GM (SEL2470GM)
SONY FE 16-35 F4 ZA (SEL1635Z)
Canon EF8-15mm F4L Fisheye USM
RICOH GR + Wide conversion lens (GW-3)
RICOH Theta S
Viltrox EF-NEX EF-E MOUNT Lens mount adaptor
Tripod Really Right Stuff TQC-14
Bringing tripod is not prohibited.
Refer "Prohibited goods".
Information – Hitachi Seaside Park
http://en.hitachikaihin.jp/information.html
Contents
Access
I should go by car or by train. I spent a time to make it.
It takes about two hours if it is a car (highway) from Yokohama, it takes more than 3 hours if it is a train(Local) + bus.
| transportation | Car | Train(Local) | 電車(Express) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Approx. 2 hours | More than 3 hours | More than 2 hours |
| Cost(one way) | 4,430 YEN(Yokohama Park - Hitachi Seaside Park (Hitachi Kaihin Koen)) | About 3,000 YEN | About 4,500 YEN |
I was going to take a train(Local) because I seemed to be sleepy on the day and I did not want to spend a rent-a-car fee.
However, because it took quite a long time, it took a long time to say that it took a long time, so I had to get on a crowded train at the beginning as I passed through Tokyo on weekdays, so I thought that car might be the best choice.
If you go by more than one person, you should definitely use a car.
Bus Katsuta Station - Hitachi Seaside Park
There is a direct bus from Katsuta Station to Hitachi Beach Park. Moreover, the ticket which round trip fare + entrance fee set is sold in front of the bus stop.
Adult 1 sheet 1,200 yen. Bus is 400 yen for one way and admission is 410 yen for adults, so it is 10 yen cheaper than buying them individually.
There are so many people lined up at bus stops on a weekday. The bus was not packed cramped, but almost full. The direct bus leaves every 15 minutes.
Arrived at the west entrance of the Hitachi Seaside Park in about 17 minutes by bus from Katsuta station.
Meals in Hitachi Seaside Park
Stalls are everywhere in the park. There are various kinds such as fried noodles, Takoyaki, Frankfurt, ramen.
So you will not be bothered by what you eat.
Gourmet – Hitachi Seaside Park
http://en.hitachikaihin.jp/gourmet.html
Nemophila Curry
But since I came, I want to eat something with originality.
So Nemophila Curry comes in.
This Nemophila curry is offered at 750 yen at the garden restaurant.
In the garden restaurant on weekdays, the indoor seats are almost full. However, outside terrace seats are available.
Nemophila curry is a sweet curry which is colored blue like a nemophila. Fukujinzuke and rakkyo pickles are bundled.
By the way it comes out in a short time. So I recommend it to those who are in a hurry.
The taste is the curryish taste of the retort-pouch curry. The taste is normal.
However, because of this color, appetite is slightly reduced.
It is said that the inside of the mouth turns blue after eating, but the tongue really turned blue.
The next day's poop was also getting blue.
Nemophila field
To the "Miharashi no Oka" with Nemophila you can go without hesitation as guidances are at various places. The park inside the garden on weekdays is not crowded but the place on the hill of Nemophila is different. A queue is formed in a narrow path.
There are space for placing a tripod, although there are many people.
It is bright blue as seen on television.
There is a bell at the top of the hill of Nemophila.
There was a queue to ring the bell.
On a holiday this queue may be longer.
Bus and Train for return
How is crowd of the bus from the park to Katsuta station
The queue waiting for the return bus at the bus stop was quite long. I could not get on the first bus since I waited. However, as soon as the next bus came, I did not wait it long time.
Front side of the inside of the Bus was not crowded.
Trains for Tokyo area from Katsuta Station
I wanted to get on an express train, but there might be many people who have the same idea as mine.
Express tickets were sold out.
It cannot be helped. I returned to Yokohama by local train.
Ramen in Yurakucho
I got hungry during the train trip. I visited Kitakata Ramen Sakauchi in Yurakucho. I ordered set of Ramen, Cha-shu-gohan and beer.
Overall
I watched a news about traffic jam on Joban highway.
The reason is Nemophila and Keno-do(New highway).
You should go to Nemophila in Hitachi seaside park by car on weekday!