Katōzu’s Jūnikyō

In 1960, the area stretching from the Hokusō region to southern Ibaraki Prefecture was established as Suigo Tsukuba National Park. At the southernmost end of the park is Katori City. Located within this part of the city is Katōzu’s Jūnikyō, the only riverside district that has been famous since long ago. Katōzu’s Jūnikyō is part of a vast paddy field located between the Tone River and the Hitachi-Tone River. Canals, collectively known as Enma, spread throughout this area, and boats would go back and forth along the canals to get from one house or rice paddy to another. Spanning over these canals were 12 simple single-plank bridges that connected houses to each other. As such, these bridges became known as “Jūnikyō (lit. Twelve Bridges).”

Today, you can tour Katōzu’s Jūnikyō in a Japanese flat-bottomed boat steered by a female skipper, passing under these bridges as you move along the canal. It is especially lively from late spring to summer, when the Siberian irises and Japanese irises bloom at Lake Yodaura’s Suigo Sawara Ayame Park, where the boat arrives and departs. During this season, hydrangeas also blossom along the waterfront and souvenir shops open, welcoming boat passengers.