From ChibaWiki

About Chiba Prefecture

Chiba Prefecture is located to the east of the Tokyo Metropolitan Area.

When many Japanese and foreigners hear the word "Chiba", they immediately dismiss it as a boring, gray suburb of Tokyo, semi-urban all the way through. Leaving the pejorative "boring" bit aside, this is just not true. Yes, about 40% of Chiba is urban - although Chiba ranks 28th out of the 47 prefectures of Japan in size, it ranks 6th in population. Most of this lies in the stretch of land between Tokyo and Chiba City. It means Chiba's population is younger and more dynamic than the national average, and gives Chiba considerable industrial and economic might as a prefecture. In fact, Chiba's urban area is home to several important "Tokyo" sites, such as Tokyo Disneyland in Urayasu, Lalaport and IKEA in Funabashi, and Costco and Makuhari Messe in Makuhari

Another important but lesser known face of Chiba is as Tokyo's breadbasket. A full quarter of Chiba's land is agricultural, making it the 2nd biggest producer of vegetables in Japan (next to Hokkaido). It ranks quite high in dairy production as well, and is 3rd in overall agricultural output. Tons and tons of fresh food is shipped from Chiba into Tokyo each day to feed the capital.

Finally, the last third of Chiba's lands are forest. Despite its close proximity to Tokyo, Chiba is home to a great deal of rich nature, especially in the southern parts of the prefecture, which are covered in dense green hills sloping down to meet beautiful coastline and beaches. Because it is formed in part by the Boso peninsula and is surrounded by the sea, the prefecture's residents are able to enjoy a pleasant oceanic climate throughout the year with mild winters and cooler summers, which is conducive to another of Chiba's famous industries – flower production.

Facts & Figures of Chiba

• Total Land Area: 5,156.64km²
• Total Population: 6,083,036 (as of February 2007)
• Capital: Chiba City (Government Designated City)
• Symbolic Flower: Nanohana (Rape Blossom)
• Official Bird: Hojiro (Siberian Meadow Bunting)
• Official Fish: Tai (Sea Bream)
• Official Tree: Maki (Podocarp)
• Citizens' Day: June 15
• International Affiliations:
  • State of Wisconsin, USA
  • City of Düsseldorf, Germany
  • Sophia Antipolis, French Republic
  • State of Para, Federative Republic of Brazil

Chiba Trivia

History

• Boso is the name of the peninsula, hence the entire prefecture is often referred to as Boso (now do names like Minami-Boso and the Sotobo-sen make more sense?) The peninsula's name comes from the former provinces that were located there: the kanji for "Bo" comes from one of the characters that make up Awa, and the kanji for "So" comes from one of the characters that make up Kazusa and Shimousa.
• Chiba Prefecture was extablished through a merger of the Kisarazu and Imba Prefectures in 1873.
• Kasori Shellmound in Chiba City is the largest shellmound in the world, and the city has the highest concentration of shellmounds in the world as well.

Population

• Chiba's population is the 6th largest in the nation.
• The average age of residents is 40.3, the 6th youngest in the nation.
• The life expectancy for men in Chiba City is longest in the nation. The life expectancy for women ranks 5th.

Industry

• Per capita GDP is 5th highest in the nation.
• Chiba's nominal total gross production is approximately equivalent to Hong Kong, the UAE, or all of Portugal.
• Chiba produces most (approximately 80%) of all peanuts in Japan.
• Chiba has the second highest agricultural output in Japan, after Hokkaido.
• Chiba has the second highest flower output in Japan.
• Chiba produces the most nashi (Japanese pears) in the nation.
• Chiba catches the most ise-ebi (spiny lobster - a delicacy) in the nation.
• Chiba Port handles one of the highest volumes of cargo in the nation.
• Yams spread throughout Japan after being developed in 1735 in Chiba City.

Land

• The Tone River is the third longest river in Japan.
• All of Mihama Ward in Chiba City is on reclaimed land.

Recreation

• The Chiba City Urban Monorail is the longest hanging monorail in the world.
• Chiba has the highest number of beach resorts in the nation.
• Tokyo Disney Resort is actually in Chiba Prefecture (Urayasu).
• Narita International Airport (which was called the New Tokyo International Airport until 2004) is located in Chiba Prefecture (Narita). It is the third busiest air freight hub and the sixth busiest passenger airport in the world. Its main runway, at 4,000m, is the longest in Japan.
• The longest artificial beach in Japan is 4,320m, and lies along Chibaminato, Chiba City.
• LaLaPort, located in Funabashi, is the largest mall in Japan, maybe even in Asia.
• Funabashi has Japan's first large-format IKEA store (built on the site of SSAWS, the former largest indoor ski slope in the world, which was demolished in 2003)
• Makuhari Messe, which opened in 1989, was Japan's first convention center. (Chiba City)
• Futa, the red ("lesser") panda of the Chiba City Zoological Park, became a national, and even international phenomenon because of his beautiful standing posture. All red pandas can stand on the back two feet, but Futa became famous because his posture is so humanlike, and can hold the pose for much longer than others. A little known fact is that Futa's mother accidentally picked him up by his tail when he was still a cub, and bit the tip off. The resulting shorter tail enables Futa to balance himself on three points.

Books

• The novel Neuromancer by William Gibson uses Chiba City as a setting.
• The novel Ningen Shikkaku by Osamu Dazai is set in Funabashi.
• The novel Nogiku no Haka by Sachio Ito is set in Matsudo.
• The epic novel Boso Satomi Hakkenden is set in the ancient Boso Peninsula.
• Chiba City has the most library books per resident out of the nation's designated cities.