Chiba

Located in the Kanto region on the eastern coast of Honshu, the Chiba Prefecture is a part of the Greater Tokyo Area and home to well over 6 million people. It is the 6th most populous prefecture in Japan, despite not even being one of the 25 largest ones by land area.

The Boso Peninsula, which encloses the eastern side of Tokyo Bay, constitute a major part of the province. This hilly peninsula is known for its intense agriculture and over 75% of all the peanuts produced in Japan are grown here. Chiba is also renowned for its soy sauce production, and has been ever since the Edo period.

Compared to the Tokyo Province, the Chiba Province has milder summers and winters, largely due to the nearby Kuroshio Current. The climate is humid subtropical, with a rainy season that lasts for around 50 days in June – July.

Short facts about the Chiba Prefecture

The name Chiba is formed from two kanji characters; the first one means “thousand” and the second one “leaves”.

Cities

There are 37 cities in the Chiba Prefecture:

• Abiko
• Asahi
• Chiba (the capital of the prefecture)
• Chōshi
• Funabashi
• Futtsu
• Ichihara
• Ichikawa
• Inzai
• Isumi
• Kamagaya
• Kamogawa
• Kashiwa
• Katori
• Katsuura
• Kimitsu
• Kisarazu
• Matsudo
• Minamibōsō
• Mobara
• Nagareyama
• Narashino
• Narita
• Noda
• Ōamishirasato
• Sakura
• Sanmu
• Shiroi
• Sodegaura
• Sōsa
• Tateyama
• Tomisato
• Tōgane
• Urayasu
• Yachimata
• Yachiyo
• Yotsukaidō

Tourism

Examples of popular tourist destinations in the Chiba province:

• The Tokyo Disney Resort in Urayasu
• Kujukuri Beach
• Onjuku Beach
• Nokogiriyama (Mount Nokogiri)
• The Suigo-Tsukuba Quasi-National Park
• The Minami Bōsō Quasi-National Park

Nature Parks

The coast of the Chiba Province consists of two dramatically different parts. To the north-east, we have the heavily industrialized Keiyo Industrial Zone. Outside of this zone, the rest of the coast is protected by two quasi-national parks and one prefectural natural park.

Quasi-National Parks in the Chiba Prefecture

• A large area of the Tone River basin falls within the Suigo-Tsukuba Quasi-National Park, and this includes the mouth of the Tone River as it flows into Tokyo Bay in the Chiba Prefecture. The park also contains an area around Mount Tsukuba which is in the Ibaraki Prefecture.
• Minami Bōsō Quasi-National Park contains coastal areas in parts of the Chiba Prefecture, from Cape Futtsu in on Tokyo Bay in the south to Cape Inubo in northeastern Chiba. Several temples associated with the 13th century Buddhist priest Nichiren are located within the park.

Both these parks were established in 1953 to protect both nature and the local cultural heritage.

Prefectural Natural Parks

• Inba Tega
• Kasamori Tsurumai
• Kujūkuri
• Mineokasankei
• Ōtone
• Takagoyama
• Tomisan
• Yōrō Keikoku Okukiyosumi