Continuing where I last left off with Hitachi Seaside Park in part 1, one of the things that amazed me with this park is that there is an actual forest. As a matter of fact, this park has so many other areas that I’m just amazed.
But to have so much land dedicated as a forest is awesome and because it’s all man-made, one should expect any wild boar, deer or bears, it’s a forest that pretty much is self-contained with birds and insects.
It’s also well-maintained park, with no trash or litter to be seen anywhere near the path.
But I’ve been to numerous, large parks in Japan, Hitachi Seaside Park is an experience that I’ve never had at a park in my life.
The location tries to incorporate so many things, may it be a forest, may it be a hill, may it be for trail walking, jogging, walking your dog, bird watching, flower viewing, BMX track, concerts, etc. There is so much this park has to offer.
So, the first thing on my list… to visit Hitachinaka Nature Forest.
From the West Gate Theater area, head left towards Lakeside Cafe and continue west. At first you see a lot of trees but everything still looks like a park, but when you walk 50 yards in, you quickly realize, “Hitachinaka Nature Forest” is a tranquil forest.
As you continue to walk, you realize the environment quickly changes… You are now in a forest.
Granted, I went in December, so a lot of the leaves have fallen.
You also will come across various signs telling you what kind of plants or trees are nearby. Also, a few signs that tell you what kind of birds or nests may be up a tree.
No doubt great for bird watchers, trail runners but it’s an area that one can easily wander into as it’s quite peaceful.
There is a cabin nearby for one to rest and there are trail markers to point you to the right direction.
But as I went inside the forest, to tell you the truth, I was more or less wondering where I was going to go. And each time I did come up to a sign, it was a hard decision of choosing right or left.
To be truthful, as I was in the forest, it reminded me of Shakuji Park and even Inokashira Park with the attention towards bird watching. But while those parks had plenty of trees, the trail does not lead you through the forest but more of established paths. I can understand as the park wants to practice safety first.
The same thing can be said about Hitachinaka Nature Forest but you are immersed in the environment that you are surrounded by trees and knowing you may not see anyone in the forest and it’s you on your lonesome.
The forest area and it’s patch is quite long, depending whether you choose to exit to visit a new area, if you stay in the forest, make sure you have good walking shoes.
But after an hour of walking, while I enjoyed the walk and it was great exercise, this is a vacation and I’m in a far distant place where my time was limited as I had other areas of Ibaraki to explore. So, I decided that I didn’t want to spend too much time walking a forest because there is so much more to Hitachi Seaside Park that I have to explore.
And I’ll discuss more about that in tomorrow’s part 3 of my coverage of Hitachi Seaside Park in Ibaraki.
Remember to visit “The One about Hitachi Seaside Park Part 1”.
