Surveys in recent years have often resulted in Ibaraki being named as the least attractive prefecture in Japan which certainly suprised me as I’ve had many lovely day trips over the years to see various sights in the area. On this occasion though my wife and I actually spent the night there a decade ago to allow us to see and do some things at a more leisurely pace.

Though the Japanese have a strong affection for animals the downside of living in such dense areas is that many landlords don’t allow residents to keep pets so to get their animal-fix the people subsequently have to make do with alternative ideas such as animal cafes (dog, cat, rabbit, hedgehog, owl, pig etc etc), petting zoos, dog rentals, islands solely devoted to one animal (e.g. rabbit island or cat island) and special animal-themed amusement parks.

Once my wife found out about this dog one, she wanted to visit it so we took a 45 minute Tsukuba Express line from Akihabara. It was then a 20 minute bus ride to Tsukubasan-Guchi bus stop followed by a 15 minute walk where we could see the beauty of Mount Tsukuba in all its glory.

It was an absolutely sweltering day with temperatures around 34 degrees celsius as we arrived at the entrance gate and paid 1500 yen for two tickets having picked up a 50% discount coupon in the tourist information centre at Tsukuba Station.

This dog amusement park has different sections such as Wan Wan World (a dog-performance stage), a dog run and Wan Wan Park; a pen separated into two sections; one for big dogs and the other for the smaller ones. Wan wan is the sound that dogs make according to Japanese ears. Until I moved to this country I had never given thought to the idea that animals make different sounds according to each country!

I should clearly state that despite posting about this place, my wife and I generally felt more sad than happy throughout our time there due to the relatively poor conditions the dogs were in. Many of them were barking constantly throughout as they were no doubt confused by an ever-changing cast of admirers trying to stroke them and take photos. It should be noted that petting times are limited to give the dogs a rest so it’s not all bad, and of course we don’t know the full story about why they’re kept in this vicinity rather than being in family homes with loving owners.

Wanting to give some love to the dogs, we decided to cough up 2000 yen (20-25 minutes per dog) to take a couple of them out and give them a break from their enclosed environment in the cage. Within a minute or two, the first one took a dump which got me thinking that I’d basically paid money to pick up it’s poo!

Shabu-shabu is a Japanese dish consisting of thinly sliced beef and vegetables boiled in water and served with dipping sauces. It’s not a speciality of Iberaki but we were tired and this place was conveniently located close to our lodgings. The deal was very good value and it was nice to enjoy a dish that I hadn’t had for about a decade… and have maybe not had since!!

The following day we we took a 40 minute mini-bus journey to Tsukubasan jinja iriguchi bus stop. We walked through a giant red torii gate and on up the road for a few minutes until we reached Tsukuba-san jinja; a historic shrine dedicated to the sacred mountain which has been worshipped for over 3000 years.

Before arriving at the mountain I really was just expecting to take the cable car up as I’d hardly been able to walk two days earlier having injured it slightly on a run. However, my legs were feeling better and when facing the mountain I decided that I could (and should) climb it as signboards said the Miyukigahara Course was just a 90 minute ascend.

All being well, I knew I could probably conquer it quicker than the estimated time. On another boiling hot 34-degree celsius day, it was very sweaty work on the two kilometre climb and not surprisingly my t-shirt was absolutely drenched by the time I reached Tsukuba-sancho station at the top an hour later.

Technically it wasn’t the top as the twin peaks of Nantaisan and Nyotaisan required a further 15 minutes on foot. I met my wife and chilled for a bit allowing my t-shirt to be dried by the sun (yuck!) before continuing on my lonesome to the summit.

The peak I chose to climb was the 877 metre high Nyotaisan which is six metres taller than the other peak so I was quite happy that I unwittingly chose that one. The views from the top were rather splendid and well worth the extra effort.

There was another lookout point at Tsukuba-sancho station, and after some time taking in that scenery we went down the mountain together in the cable car.

Admittedly, I have done far more on day trips to “Japan’s least attractive prefecture” before and since our overnight stay but that’s not the point. It was just nice to experience it in a more relaxed manner and I would thoroughly recommend checking out some of the wonderful sights that the prefecture has to offer but do give the dog amusement park a miss!

Click here to read ‘Tokyo Daytripper: Top 10 Ibaraki Sights’

Click here to read ‘Pilgrimage To Find A Religious Cult Building In Ibaraki Prefecture (+ Details Of 4 Others In Japan)’

Click here to read ‘Tokyo Daytripper: The Minimalist-Face Tower In Ibaraki’

Click here to read ‘Tokyo Daytripper: Mito City In Ibaraki Prefecture’