Ibaraki Prefectural and Police HQ, Mito City
Ibaraki Prefecture lies on Japan’s Pacific Ocean coast north east of Tokyo, with two main railway lines and trains taking 72 minutes linking the capital to Mito, the administrative centre of the prefecture, and 45 minutes to Tsukuba with its concentration of research and development facilities.
The population of the prefecture is 2.9 million, the 11th ranked prefecture of Japan by population and covers a liveable area of 3974 km2 – and with an average total area per home of 424.79 m2 has the most space per house in Japan adding to the sense that the prefecture is one of Japan’s most liveable. In recent years, the number of factories built in the prefecture has seen Ibaraki take the number one spot nationally as well, an indication of the region’s success as a destination for investment and its healthy economy.
Further to this, high tech manufacturing and electrical is a major industry in the prefecture with many companies in the supply chain for a range of Hitachi Ltd products. Tsukuba, south of Mito, has a cluster of 29 research and education institutes based around the university and was in 2011 designated an International Strategic Zone by the national government for the promotion of the practical use of robots for next generation cancer treatment, as well as the use of robots to support people with mobility issues live independently.
Hitachi Seaside Park is a major tourist attraction and facility in the prefecture, and many events take place throughout the year including the annual Rock in Japan Festival an annual four-day rock festival held during early August at the Hitachi Seaside Park, in Hitachinaka. At this festival mostly Japanese ‘J-Rock’ and ‘J-Pop’ artists perform. According to the organisers, Rock in Japan Festival is the biggest rock festival in Japan in terms of attendance.
Hitachi Seaside Park WEBSITE (LINK)
‘Nemophila’ in Hitachi Seaside Park, Hitachinaka City VIDEO (LINK)
The park is also famous throughout Japan for its flowers, particularly daffodils and tulips, and its variety of different blooms throughout the year. It is particularly popular during Japan’s ‘Golden Week’ holiday season, where tourists flock to the park to take part in public events like the flower ‘stamp rallies’ where walkers and cyclists compete to collect stamps in a book from each of the different flower gardens around the park of about 200-hectare.
Downtown Tsukuba City and looking onto Mount Tsukuba
Ibaraki Prefectural government is currently promoting the area as the location in Japan for companies looking to establish R&D centres in the country, with its ‘Five Reasons’ campaign (links to PDF fact sheet download):
No.1 Easy access to the capital, Tokyo, and to Narita International Airport
45 minutes by train to Tokyo from Tsukuba, in southern Ibaraki;
55 minutes by expressway bus to Narita International Airport from Tsukuba, in southern Ibaraki
No.2 Ideal environment for R&D
Concentration of national public research institutions, private research institutions, and highly skilled personnel
No.3 Reasonable start-up costs and running costs
Cheaper land and office rental than the neighbouring prefectures
No.4 High quality of life and easy living
Pleasant climate, rich natural environment, international school, multilingual consultation services
All information needed is provided through cooperation with JETRO Ibaraki and the Ibaraki Small and Medium Enterprise Promotion Public Corporation
For more details on relocating in Ibaraki Prefecture, please view the Invest Ibaraki website [LINK]
