Mito
水戸市36°22′ N 140°28′ ECityPop. 270,783Ibaraki and Tsukuba
Mito suits riders who want a station base for the Okukuji hill route and the Oarai coast, with ankou hotpot in winter, and the Ring-Ring Road lies well south of it.
Photo MaedaAkihiko · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 and others, credited in the gallery
Who should base here
Stay by Mito station to ride north into Okukuji or east to the coast, with the Joban Line straight back to Tokyo.
Things to do in Mito
Mito is the capital of Ibaraki and sits about 70 to 80 minutes from Tokyo on the Joban Line limited expresses. The prefecture names it as the base for its Okukuji Satoyama hill-climb route, which starts up the JR Suigun Line, and for the coast ride through Oarai and Hitachinaka.
Winter is ankou season. From about November to March the prefecture's food bureau says the anglerfish caught off Ibaraki go into hotpots and dobu-jiru, the version thickened with liver. Winter is also the season for hoshi-imo, the dried sweet potato that Hitachinaka next door makes for most of Ibaraki.
Quick answers about Mitoよくある質問
Is Mito a good place to stay?
Stay by Mito station to ride north into Okukuji or east to the coast, with the Joban Line straight back to Tokyo.