The reconstructed watchtower in Kihara Castle Ruins Shiroyama Park offers expansive views across Lake Kasumigaura to Mount Tsukuba. Together with the walking trail and castle ruins, it makes Miho a place where visitors can discover scenic views, seasonal nature, and local history in different ways.

Scenic Views and a Seasonal Walk

From the observation tower, the view stretches across the lake to Mount Tsukuba. The park offers a specific viewpoint for visitors who want to focus their visit on the landscape around Lake Kasumigaura. A walking trail also passes cherry blossoms, tulips, and wisteria in spring; in summer, it runs alongside green lawns. The views and the trail offer different experiences: the tower opens up distant vistas, while the walk takes in the park’s seasonal changes.

Spring is especially striking, with 50,000 colorful tulips in Shiroyama Park. If you’re deciding between a spring or summer visit, you can use the differences described here as a guide: in spring, the blossoms along the walking trail and the tulips take center stage; in summer, it’s the green lawns beside the trail. These descriptions offer two different pictures of the park rather than prescribing one season for every visit. That way, you can choose when to travel based on the landscape you’d like to experience.

Kihara Castle and the Name Shiroyama

The ruins of Kihara Castle lie on the southern shore of Lake Kasumigaura. Local residents call them “Shiroyama,” and the park’s name takes up this local name. The date of the castle’s construction and its builder are not known for certain. According to one tradition, Kondo, a retainer of Toki, the lord of Edozaki, had it built toward the end of the Sengoku period. This is a tradition, not a confirmed account of when or by whom the castle was built. Visitors who want to combine a visit to the park’s landscape with a historical theme will find both here: the castle ruins’ lakeside setting and an explicitly uncertain account of the castle’s founding.

Festivals and Performances

The Kihara Shiroyama Festival features performances on a special stage and stalls selling specialties from Miho Village. Kihara Kasumi-bayashi also performs at festivals, including the Miho Village Shiroyama Festival and the Kihara Gion Festival. This adds an events focus to the park’s enduring landscape and history themes. If a particular performance is important to your trip, check the dates and program for your travel dates in advance. This lets you factor the festivities into your plans without assuming they’re a regularly available part of every stay.

Getting There and Planning Your Stay

By car, the park is about 30 minutes from the Sakura-Tsuchiura Interchange on the Jōban Expressway via the National Route 125 bypass. This travel time is an approximate guide; actual journey times may vary with traffic. You can use this estimate alongside your travel dates and preferred focus: tulips and the walking trail in spring, green lawns in summer, or a visit timed to coincide with a festival. If you’re looking for a vacation rental in Miho, first decide when you plan to travel, then match your dates with the park’s seasonal highlights or confirmed festival dates.

Discover more destinations: Tsuchiura, Oarai, Koga, Yūki, Shimotsuma, Tsukuba, Itako, Mito.

For the broader travel guide: Ibaraki Prefecture.