Ibaraki茨城県
Ibaraki-ken, いばらきけん. The name ends in 県 (ken), prefecture.
Ibaraki is north-east of Tokyo. It has Lake Kasumigaura and the research city of Tsukuba.
Facts
- Japanese name
- 茨城県
- Reading
- Ibaraki-ken / いばらきけん
- Region
- Kantō 関東
- Capital
- Mito 水戸市
- Population
- 2,867,009 (2020 census)
- Area
- 6,097 km²
- Density
- 470 people per km²
- Municipalities
- 44: 32 cities, 10 towns, and 2 villages
- Designated cities
- None
- Districts (郡)
- 7
- Codes
- JIS 08, ISO 3166-2 JP-08
- Website
- www.pref.ibaraki.jp
- Tree
- Japanese plum ウメ
- Flower
- rose バラ
- Bird
- skylark ヒバリ
The tree, flower, and bird are the prefectural symbols, chosen by ordinance. Every prefecture has all three.
The most populous municipalities
| Municipality | Population | km² | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mito City水戸市 | 270,685 | 217.32 | 9.4% |
| Tsukuba Cityつくば市 | 241,656 | 283.72 | 8.4% |
| Hitachi City日立市 | 174,508 | 225.86 | 6.1% |
| Hitachinaka Cityひたちなか市 | 156,581 | 99.97 | 5.5% |
| Tsuchiura City土浦市 | 142,074 | 122.89 | 5.0% |
| Koga City古河市 | 139,344 | 123.58 | 4.9% |
| Toride City取手市 | 104,524 | 69.94 | 3.6% |
| Chikusei City筑西市 | 100,753 | 205.3 | 3.5% |
| Kamisu City神栖市 | 95,454 | 146.97 | 3.3% |
| Ushiku City牛久市 | 84,651 | 58.92 | 3.0% |
2020 census. Share is the municipality's part of the prefecture's population. The other 34 are listed below.
How an address here begins
茨城県水戸市…
Ibaraki-ken, Mito-shi, …
The prefecture name is written first, then the municipality name. The guide explains the rest of the address, and the map finds any address you paste into it.
Neighbouring prefectures
Every municipality in Ibaraki市区町村
44 local governments, each with its own mayor and assembly. Each has a page with its population, area, neighbours, and boundary on the map.
Cities市
- Mito City水戸市
- Hitachi City日立市
- Tsuchiura City土浦市
- Koga City古河市
- Ishioka City石岡市
- Yuki City結城市
- Ryugasaki City龍ケ崎市
- Shimotsuma City下妻市
- Joso City常総市
- Hitachiota City常陸太田市
- Takahagi City高萩市
- Kitaibaraki City北茨城市
- Kasama City笠間市
- Toride City取手市
- Ushiku City牛久市
- Tsukuba Cityつくば市
- Hitachinaka Cityひたちなか市
- Kashima City鹿嶋市
- Itako City潮来市
- Moriya City守谷市
- Hitachiomiya City常陸大宮市
- Naka City那珂市
- Chikusei City筑西市
- Bando City坂東市
- Inashiki City稲敷市
- Kasumigaura Cityかすみがうら市
- Sakuragawa City桜川市
- Kamisu City神栖市
- Namegata City行方市
- Hokota City鉾田市
- Tsukubamirai Cityつくばみらい市
- Omitama City小美玉市
Districts, with their towns and villages郡 町 村
A district is a name that groups towns and villages in an address. It has no office and no election. Each town and village in it is a government.
Questions about Ibaraki
- What is the capital of Ibaraki?
- Mito (水戸市). The prefectural office is there. It is also the largest municipality in the prefecture.
- What does 県 mean in 茨城県?
- 県 (ken) means prefecture. It is the ordinary word for prefecture, used by 43 of the 47. The other four are Tokyo (都), Hokkaidō (道), Osaka, and Kyoto (府), which are the same kind of government with a different word at the end of the name.
- How many municipalities are in Ibaraki?
- 44: 32 cities, 10 towns, and 2 villages. Each is a local government with its own mayor and assembly. The towns and villages are grouped into seven districts (郡), names used in addresses, not governments.
- What is the population of Ibaraki?
- 2,867,009 at the 2020 census, on 6,097 km², which is 470 people per km². Ibaraki is the 11th most populous of the 47 prefectures and the 24th largest by area.
- Which prefectures border Ibaraki?
- Four prefectures: Fukushima (福島県), Tochigi (栃木県), Saitama (埼玉県), and Chiba (千葉県). Borders across water are not counted.
- What region is Ibaraki in?
- Kantō (関東). A region is a customary grouping of prefectures, not a government, so Ibaraki elects a governor and an assembly but the region elects nothing.
- How is Ibaraki written in Japanese?
- 茨城県, read Ibaraki-ken and written いばらきけん in hiragana. The last character, 県, is the word for prefecture, and the name is often used without it in English.
- How does an address in Ibaraki begin?
- With the prefecture name, then the municipality name: 茨城県水戸市… (Ibaraki-ken, Mito-shi, …). After that are written the named area, the chōme, the block, and the building number.
- What is the largest city in Ibaraki?
- Mito City (水戸市), with 270,685 people at the 2020 census. It is also the capital. The three most populous municipalities are Mito City (水戸市, 270,685), Tsukuba City (つくば市, 241,656), and Hitachi City (日立市, 174,508).
- What are the symbols of Ibaraki?
- The prefectural tree is the Japanese plum (ウメ), the flower the rose (バラ), and the bird the skylark (ヒバリ). Ibaraki chose them by ordinance, as every prefecture has.
Boundaries: MLIT 国土数値情報. Population: 2020 Population Census (令和2年国勢調査). Area: Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (全国都道府県市区町村別面積調, 2020). Municipality counts are from the boundary data on the map. Website and symbols: the prefecture's Japanese Wikipedia article, read in September 2026.