Kasumigaura Park (Kasumigaura Sogo Koen)
霞ヶ浦総合公園
A lakeside park in Tsuchiura with a 25 m Dutch windmill, tulips in spring, over 200 lotus varieties in summer and views of Lake Kasumigaura and Mount Tsukuba.
A Dutch windmill on the lakeshore
Kasumigaura Park is a park of about 46 hectares on the shore of Lake Kasumigaura in Tsuchiura, Ibaraki Prefecture. It has sports facilities, nature-watching facilities, a day-use bathhouse, a rest house and more.
The park's symbol is a Dutch-style windmill built to mark the 50th anniversary of Tsuchiura becoming a city. It is 25 m tall, its sails are 20 m across, and it is turned by electricity. Halfway up the tower is a 360-degree observation deck: on one side you see Lake Kasumigaura and the aquatic botanical garden, on the other the streets of Tsuchiura with Mount Tsukuba behind them. Tsuchiura City singles out the sunrise seen from the deck as especially beautiful.
Tulips in spring, lotuses in summer
In spring, Somei-yoshino and weeping cherry trees blossom, and the flowerbeds in the square in front of the windmill are planted with colourful tulips. The windmill and the tulips together make the park's signature view.
Tsuchiura produces more renkon (lotus root, the underground stem of the lotus and a common vegetable in Japanese cooking) than anywhere else in Japan. The park's Karen-en lotus garden grows more than 200 varieties of flowering lotus, which reach their peak in mid-July.
In the aquatic botanical garden along the lakeshore, you can observe waterside plants through the seasons, such as reed beds and asaza (yellow floating heart, a water plant with yellow flowers on the surface).
A nature centre and baths with a lake view
The Nature Centre displays fish from Lake Kasumigaura and freshwater fish from around the world, and you can go birdwatching from the wild bird observation corner on the first floor up.
At the day-use bathhouse Kaho no Yu, the baths are on the first floor up, so you can soak while looking out over Lake Kasumigaura. In summer an outdoor pool with a lazy river and other attractions also opens.
Getting there
It is about 10 minutes by taxi from the east exit of JR Tsuchiura Station. Buses also run from the west exit of Tsuchiura Station (get off at Oiwata Niku). There is a free car park. Check Tsuchiura City's official website for each facility's opening hours and prices.
Tips
- In lotus season, many people come early in the morning to take photos. Tsuchiura City's website posts regular updates on the lotus garden's blooms, so check that they are at their best before you set off.
- Part of the boardwalk in the aquatic botanical garden is closed (as of September 2026).
- A jogging course of about 1,580 m runs around the edge of the park, and it also makes a pleasant walk with lakeside views.
Sources
Updated 30 September 2026. Opening hours and prices change, so check the official site before you go.
