Hotels in Hitachi

Hitachi is a company town in the most literal sense: engineer Namihei Odaira founded what became Hitachi Ltd here in 1910 as a mining-equipment repair shop, and the firm's name and the city's are the same for a reason. Kamine Park, up on the hill above the harbour, gives sweeping Pacific views and a spring cherry-blossom show that locals rate as highly as the famous nemophila fields nearby.

Those blue nemophila fields, at Hitachi Seaside Park, are actually in neighbouring Hitachinaka, reached by train to Katsuta station and then a bus, not a walk from central Hitachi, so plan the connection before you book. The city itself is workaday and industrial rather than picturesque, built around the Hitachi works rather than tourism. Stay near Hitachi station for direct trains to Katsuta and the seaside park, and easy access to Kamine Park on foot.