Chiba (place)

At a glance:

• Area: 5,156 sq. km.
• Population: 5,810,000
• Population density: 1,126/sq. km. (#6 in Japan)
• Industry: ¥11.6 trillion in annual output. Tertiary industry (the service economy) accounts for 68% of Chiba's output—the fourth-highest proportion of service industry in Japan.
• Agriculture: ¥485 billion per year (#2 after Hokkaido). Crops account for ¥197 billion; rice for much of the remainder. Annual rice output is 360,000 tons.
• Gross product per capita: ¥3.1 million (#5 in Japan)
• Largest cities: Chiba City (846,000), Funabashi (538,000), Matsudo (455,000), Ichigawa (428,000), Kashiwa (319,000), Ichihara (278,000). Other important cities include Narita, Kisarazu, Matsugishi, Kashima, and Tateyama.
• Infrastructure: New Tokyo International Airport at Narita; the JR Sobu, Narita, Gaibo, Naibo, Musashino, and Keiyo lines; the Keisei Railway and Tobu Railway; the East Kanto Expressway link Chiba to the rest of Japan. There are major shipping facilities at Chiba City, Funabashi, Kisarazu, and Kashima.
• Borders: Ibaraki to the north on the Tone River: Tokyo and Saitama to the west on the Edo River. The Pacific Ocean and Tokyo Bay draw Chiba's southern boundary.
• Geography: Most of Chiba lies on the hilly Boso Peninsula, where much of its farming takes place. The east coast of the Boso Peninsula, known as the Ninety-Nine Ri Plain, is an especially productive region. The most populous zone, in the northwest of the prefecture, is part of the Kanto Plain that extends into Tokyo and Saitama.
• Historical names: Shimousa, Kazusa, Awa. Part of the Tokaido region.