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Chiba, Chiba

Chiba
千葉市
Designated city
Top: Coastal industrial area, Chiba Folk MuseumMiddle: Makuhari Messe, Chiba Port Tower, Chiba Marine StadiumBottom: Skyscrapers of Makuhari on the coast.
Top: Coastal industrial area, Chiba Folk Museum
Middle: Makuhari Messe, Chiba Port Tower, Chiba Marine Stadium
Bottom: Skyscrapers of Makuhari on the coast.
Flag of Chiba
Flag
Official seal of Chiba
Seal
Location of Chiba in Chiba Prefecture
Location of Chiba in Chiba Prefecture
Chiba is located in Japan
Chiba
Chiba
 
Coordinates: 35°36′26.2″N 140°06′22.9″E / 35.607278°N 140.106361°E / 35.607278; 140.106361Coordinates: 35°36′26.2″N 140°06′22.9″E / 35.607278°N 140.106361°E / 35.607278; 140.106361
Country Japan
Region Kantō
Prefecture Chiba Prefecture
Government
 • -Mayor Toshihito Kumagai
Area
 • Total 271.76 km2 (104.93 sq mi)
Population (February 1, 2016)
 • Total 972,861
 • Density 3,580/km2 (9,300/sq mi)
Time zone Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
-Tree Zelkova serrata
– Flower Nelumbo nucifera
– Bird Little tern
Phone number 043-245-5111
Address 1-1 Chiba-minato, Chūō-ku, Chiba-shi 260-8722
Website www.city.chiba.jp

Chiba (千葉市 Chiba-shi?) is the capital city of Chiba Prefecture, Japan. It sits about 40 kilometres (25 mi) southeast of the center of Tokyo on Tokyo Bay. Chiba City became a government-designated city in 1992. In February 2016, its population was 972,861, with a population density of 3,580 people per square kilometer. The city had an area of 271.76 square kilometres (104.93 sq mi).

Chiba City is one of the Kantō region's primary seaports, and is home to Chiba Port, which handles one of the highest volumes of cargo in the nation. Much of the city is residential, although there are many factories and warehouses along the coast. There are several major urban centers in the city, including Makuhari, a prime waterfront business district in which Makuhari Messe is located, and Central Chiba, in which the prefectural government office and the city hall are located.

Chiba is famous for the Chiba Urban Monorail, the longest suspended monorail in the world. Some popular destinations in the city include: Kasori Shell Midden, the largest shellmound in the world at 134,000 m2 (160,000 sq yd), Inage Beach, the first artificial beach in the nation which forms part of the longest artificial beach in Japan, and the Chiba City Zoological Park, popular on account of the standing red panda Futa.

The name of Chiba in the Japanese language is formed from two kanji characters. The first, , means "thousand" and the second, means "leaves". The name first appears as an ancient kuni no miyatsuko, or regional command office, as the Chiba Kuni no Miyatsuko (千葉国造?). The name was adopted by a branch of the Taira clan, which moved to the area in present-day Chiba City in the late Heian period. The branch of the Taira adopted the name and became the Chiba clan, which held strong influence over the area of the prefecture until the Azuchi–Momoyama period. The name "Chiba" was chosen for Chiba Prefecture at the time its creation in 1873 by the Assembly of Prefectural Governors (地方官会議 Chihō Kankai Kaigi?), an early Meiji-period body of prefectural governors that met to decide the structure of local and regional administration in Japan.


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