Koga (古河)

Map

Getting There

• train
• bus
• car

Best Times to Visit

• spring: Late March to early April brings the Peach Blossom Festival, with more than 1,500 trees in bloom.
• summer: June and July offer lotus blossoms at Koga Park, including the historically significant Ogahasu variety.
• autumn: Milder conditions are suitable for walking through Koga’s historic district, museums, castle traces, and expansive park.

What's There

• art: The Street Corner Museum exhibits creative works by citizens and artists connected with the region.
• castle: Koga Castle ruins preserve documented moat and embankment traces from the former castle-town landscape.
• culture: Museums, historic sites, traditional houses, and local products showcase Koga’s regional culture.
• festival: The annual Peach Blossom Festival features performances and special events beneath flowering trees.
• flowers: Koga Park is known for more than 1,500 peach trees and summer lotus blooms.
• food: Koga promotes curry noodles and certified regional sweets, tea products, and Hitachi Beef foods.
• garden: Koga Park combines landscaped plantings, ponds, traditional houses, and culturally significant natural scenery.
• history: The history museum and archaeological sites document Koga’s ancient, medieval, early-modern, and modern development.
• museum: The History Museum and Street Corner Museum provide formal venues for historical and artistic exhibitions.
• nature: The park contains wetlands, ponds, lotus plants, flowering trees, and preserved natural landscapes.
• park: Koga Park covers approximately 250,000 square meters and includes ponds, farmhouses, historic sites, and plantings.

Specialties

• Koga no Shichifuku Kareemen (古河の七福カレーめん): Koga’s curry-noodle initiative uses curry powder blended in the city and is served in local restaurants as curry udon, soba, ramen, and other dishes. It is a documented local food-promotion project combining cuisine with city tourism.
• Kogaharuka Hoshiimo (こがはるかほしいも): Koga Brand products include Kogaharuka hoshi-imo, a dried sweet-potato confection. The city tourism association lists it among Koga’s certified food and souvenir products.
• Sashima Tea and Amanatto Cake (さしま茶と甘なっとうのしっとりケーキ): This cake combines Sashima tea with sweetened beans and is included in the Koga Brand product range. It represents a locally marketed confection associated with the wider Koga area.
• Hitachi Beef Meat Bun (常陸牛 牛肉まん): The Hitachi Beef meat bun is listed by the Koga Tourism Association as a Koga Brand food product. It uses Hitachi Beef in a packaged local specialty suitable as a souvenir.
• Koga Egg Basque Cheesecake (こが卵のバスクチーズケーキ): Koga Egg Basque Cheesecake is listed among the city’s certified Koga Brand foods. The product is presented by the local tourism association as a regional confection and souvenir.