Ibaraki Prefecture

Kanto region · Prefecture

Ibaraki is among the top prefectures in Japan for agricultural output. It has the largest harvests of melons and lotus roots in Japan and is also known for producing hoshi-imo (dried sweet potatoes). Tsukuba Science City brings together national research institutes, and Hitachi is the birthplace of Japan's heavy electrical industry.

Natto (fermented soybeans)
Melons and hoshi-imo (dried sweet potatoes)
Tsukuba Science City
Kairakuen

Key facts

Prefectural capital: Mito City
Municipalities: 44 (32 cities, 10 towns, 2 villages)
Population: 2,789,856 11th in Japan2025 Census
5-year change: −2.7% 38th in Japanfrom 2,867,009 in 2020
Area: 6,098 km² 24th in Japan
Population density: 458 people/km² 12th in Japan

Source: Statistics Bureau of Japan, 2025 Population Census (population, area and density); area from the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI), Area Statistics of Prefectures and Municipalities (2025). National ranks are among the 47 prefectures, ordered by this site from these values.

Places to know

Mito City Kairakuen, one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan, and Mito natto.
Tsukuba City A science city with many research institutes and universities.
Hitachinaka City Hitachi Seaside Park, a national government park famous for nemophila flowers.

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Chosen automatically, most popular first, from landmarks and cultural properties registered in Wikidata (we have not checked whether each is open). Names and descriptions: Wikidata (CC0); photos: Wikimedia Commons (photographer and license under each photo).

Municipalities in Ibaraki Prefecture (44)

Municipality	Population	5-year change	Area
Mito City	265,692	−1.8%	217 km²
Hitachi City	158,681	−9.1%	226 km²
Tsuchiura City	141,509	−0.4%	123 km²
Koga City	136,253	−2.2%	124 km²
Ishioka City	67,339	−7.8%	216 km²
Yuki City	48,145	−4.9%	65.76 km²
Ryugasaki City	73,904	−3.3%	78.59 km²
Shimotsuma City	40,750	−4.2%	80.88 km²
Joso City	57,918	−4.8%	124 km²
Hitachiota City	43,769	−9.9%	372 km²
Takahagi City	25,001	−9.7%	194 km²
Kitaibaraki City	38,386	−8.2%	187 km²
Kasama City	71,424	−2.4%	240 km²
Toride City	103,381	−1.1%	69.94 km²
Ushiku City	82,508	−2.5%	58.92 km²
Tsukuba City	268,832	+11.2%	284 km²
Hitachinaka City	151,618	−3.2%	101 km²
Kashima City	63,954	−4.5%	106 km²
Itako City	25,158	−8.9%	71.40 km²
Moriya City	70,199	+2.6%	35.71 km²
Hitachiomiya City	35,708	−9.1%	348 km²
Naka City	51,527	−3.7%	97.82 km²
Chikusei City	94,761	−5.9%	205 km²
Bando City	51,306	−1.8%	123 km²
Inashiki City	35,353	−9.4%	206 km²
Kasumigaura City	38,396	−4.2%	157 km²
Sakuragawa City	35,256	−9.9%	180 km²
Kamisu City	93,309	−2.2%	147 km²
Namegata City	29,212	−9.2%	222 km²
Hokota City	43,331	−5.7%	208 km²
Tsukubamirai City	52,100	+4.5%	79.16 km²
Omitama City	46,714	−4.4%	145 km²
Ibaraki Town	29,429	−6.3%	122 km²
Oarai Town	14,444	−8.1%	23.89 km²
Shirosato Town	16,373	−9.5%	162 km²
Tokai Village	37,783	−0.3%	38.01 km²
Daigo Town	13,698	−13.0%	326 km²
Miho Village	13,585	−7.0%	66.61 km²
Ami Town	49,667	+2.3%	71.40 km²
Kawachi Town	7,149	−13.1%	44.30 km²
Yachiyo Town	20,090	−4.5%	58.99 km²
Goka Town	7,507	−7.2%	23.11 km²
Sakai Town	23,885	−1.3%	46.59 km²
Tone Town	14,852	−3.2%	24.86 km²

Source: Statistics Bureau of Japan, 2025 Population Census (population in 2025; change compared with 2020). Area: GSI (2025). Designated cities are shown as one city (wards combined). "Temperature now" is the latest JMA AMeDAS observation (preliminary) at the nearest station in the same prefecture, loaded and shown unchanged when you open the page.

Figures come from official Japanese statistics (such as the 2025 Census by the Statistics Bureau of Japan), with the source and year shown next to each one. Photos are freely licensed images from Wikimedia Commons; the photographer and license are shown under each photo.

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