Ibaraki Prefecture is also home to Kairaku-en, one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan, and is an important center for the martial art of Aikido.

In Japanese Paleolithic, humans are believed to have started living in the present-day prefecture area before and after the deposition of the volcanic ash layer from the Aira Caldera about 24,000 years ago.

In 1657, a Mitogaku was created when Tokugawa Mitsukuni, head of the Mito Domain, commissioned the compilation of the Dai Nihonshi, a book on the history of Japan.

The Watarase River has become a small boundary of the southern border between Ibaraki and Tochigi prefectures.

Thirty-two (32) cities are located in Ibaraki Prefecture: These are the towns and villages in each district, 10 towns and 2 villages in 7 districts: Ibaraki's economy is based on energy production (particularly nuclear energy), chemical and precision machining industries, research institutes, and tourism.

[7] Ibaraki's vast flat terrain make it highly suitable for industrial development.

This complements its proximity to the Tokyo metropolitan area, giving it a high reputation as an industrial base.

The prefecture is also home to Tsukuba, Japan's most extensive research and academic city, and the birthplace of Hitachi, Ltd.[8] With extensive flat lands, abundant water, and suitable climate, Ibaraki is among the prefectures with the highest agricultural production in Japan.

Its main products include melons, pears, peppers, various varieties of rice and sugar cane, as well as flowers and ornamental plants.

The Hitachigyū cattle (常 陸 牛 - ひたちぎゅう - Hitachi-gyū, Hitachi-ushi), which is a prefectural bovine breed, is noteworthy in livestock.

In 1833 Tokugawa Nariaki (徳川 斉昭) established the breeding of black cattle in the present Migawa-chō (見川 町) of the city of Mito.

Ibaraki is known for nattō, or fermented soybeans, in Mito, watermelons in Kyōwa (recently merged into Chikusei), and chestnuts in the Nishiibaraki region.

[12] Ibaraki is famous for the martial art of Aikido founded by Morihei Ueshiba, also known as Osensei.

[14] The capital Mito is home to Kairakuen, one of Japan's three most celebrated gardens, and famous for its over 3,000 Japanese plum trees of over 100 varieties.

Hitachi Fūryūmono, a puppet float theater festival, Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.