including koshihikari rice, nashi pears, small watermelons, cucumbers, strawberries, and tomatoes. Taking advantage of the location near the Tokyo metropolitan area and with abundant wide flat land, multiple industrial parks were created from the 1980s, forming a part of the Kanto inland industrial area. It is also within commuting range for to the cities of southern Tochigi Prefecture. Education Chikusei has 20 public elementary schools and seven public middle schools operated by the city government, and four public high schools operated by the Ibaraki Prefectural Board of Education. These is also one private middle school and one private high school. Transportation Railway JR East – Mito Line - - - Kantō Railway – Jōsō Line - - Mooka Railway - - - Highway (nearest interchange is Mooka IC in neighboring Mooka)] Local attractions site of Seki Castle (national historic landmark) site of Isa Castle Funatama kofun site of Kogeta Castle site of Shimodate Castle Shimodate Gion Festival Noted people from Chikusei Hazan Itaya, ceramist Norihiko Akagi, politician Shingo Katayama, golfer Yōko Teppōzuka, voice actress References External links Official Website Cities in Ibaraki Prefecture Chikusei