Chiba

Chiba (千葉) is a city in Japan serving as the capital city of the Chiba Prefecture. It is located just east-southeast of Tokyo, but is on the Tokyo Bay. One of the cities main industries is exports and imports. This city is the primary seaport for the Kanto region. Chiba produces 300,000 tons of raw milk and 221,779 tons of raw fish. This city is mainly residential, but there are many factories and warehouses along the coast.

The population of Chiba itself is over 900,000, but the Chiba Prefecture has over 6,000,000 people in it. The total land area is 272.08 km2. The city is split into 6 different wards. The city tends to have moderate climates. The average temperature is 60 degrees. The cities tree is the Keyaki tree and the flower is the Nelumbo nucifera.

There are two major airports close to this city and its region. These airports are the Narita International Airport and the Tokyo International Airport. The Chiba Urban Monorail runs right through Chiba city. The Higashikanto Expressway and Tateyama Expressway connect Chiba to Tokyo, Narita, Kashima and Kisarazu.

History

Chiba was founded as a city on January 1st, 1921. The first known records of this city are of a man that called himself Chiba no Suke. He ruled the region known as Chiba today. This family ruled here until the Muromachi Period. Despite the government changing many times it retained the name Chiba City and in 1871 when the domain system was abolished a Prefecture was created with the name Chiba.

In the 16th century the Chiba clan decreased in power because of wars in the Kanto region. The servant of the Chiba clan shortly took over and their names were the Hara clan. Although the city has not been involved in many wars it was bombed during World War II in 1945. There was little damage done and the city quickly recovered.

Points of Interest

Chiba is located in such a way that it has great access to Tokyo, many beautiful beaches and is very close to Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo Disney Sea. These attractions often cause tourist to skip right over it. Chiba is located next to the Hanamigawa river and some woodlands to the west.

The city includes a baseball stadium, soccer arena, a zoo and a skating rink/pool powered by recycled energy. The longest monorail line in the world is located here as well. there are many railways throughout Japan, but the longest has its home in Chiba. There are multiple botanical gardens, museums, libraries parks and beaches. The Chiba City Museum of Art is one of the most fascinating museums in Japan.

There are a couple different sports teams located in Chiba. The Chiba Lotte Marines is a baseball team created in 1950. Their home venue is the Chiba Marine Stadium based in the Pacific League. The JEF United Ichihara Chiba is a football team founded in 1946. Their home venue is the Ichihara Rinkai Stadium.

External Links

• Chiba Official Website (English)
• Chiba Official Website (Japanese)