Opened in 2010, Ibaraki Airport [url=http://www.ibaraki-airport.net/en/index.html]]is in the city of [[Omitama[/url]], near the center of the prefecture and 40 minutes away from [wiki=8538cce382d464d1844e5ae4279efe1b]Mito[/wiki] by bus. Planned as a low-cost alternative to the major airports of [wiki=62413a57c5e3dc51177995fa175d3286]Tokyo[/wiki] (85 km and 1.5 hours away), service is presently limited to flights from [wiki=676c34d7107e519616752eeec31e7305]Kobe[/wiki], [wiki=e9d6eb12ff84740501a444198e2675c2]Sapporo[/wiki],[wiki=5bc3817ec3f56e19c7e8e4a976a5139f]Naha-Okinawa[/wiki], [wiki=fd38499c5c04df42d1d78807aa4b7d7d]Seoul[/wiki] (South Korea) and [wiki=5466ee572bcbc75830d044e66ab429bc]Shanghai[/wiki] (China).
Perhaps the easiest (and often cheaper) way to get to the sights of Ibaraki is via the JR Kanto Highway bus[wiki=60440ba0e76f807a3384f5bc01f78574]http://www.jrbuskanto.co.jp/bus_route_e/ (list03)[/wiki]. A number of buses leave from both Tokyo and Shinjuku Stations to many destinations in Ibaraki, some as often as 4 times per hour.
There are no Shinkansen stations in Ibaraki, but the Joban Line passes through [wiki=8538cce382d464d1844e5ae4279efe1b]Mito[/wiki] on its way to northern [wiki=a6424372390f75074b152c17b84a447a]Tohoku[/wiki]. There is an express train called the "Fresh Hitachi" which links Ueno and the capital Mito in approx. 1 hour. The local Joban line takes just over 2 hours. The Tsukuba Express Line connects Tsukuba to [wiki=c553dc01257bddd5ed72e4a50ee811c4]Akihabara[/wiki] in downtown [wiki=62413a57c5e3dc51177995fa175d3286]Tokyo[/wiki] in about 45 minutes.